My new project is almost ready!
I’m super-excited to share that The Blacksmith and the Porcupines, my awesome new fairy tale/political satire chapbook, is releasing September 12th! The chapbook is a standalone long-ish short story based in the same universe as Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers, narrated by Glimrick Therrinbottom, the Bard of Granitaria. It’s also a thinly veiled fantasy satire of politics in my home state of New Hampshire—think George Orwell’s Animal Farm, but making fun of libertarian extremism.
If you haven’t read Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers, not to worry! The Blacksmith and the Porcupines is designed to be read on its own, though if you’ve read Carcrash you’ll definitely notice a few tie-ins, particularly with the Granitaria mythology and place names.
What is a chapbook, you ask? It’s a small, paperbound book held together by staples—think of it like a slightly longer, more polished version of a zine. The fairy tale blacksmith header image on this post is also just a placeholder—I’ll be doing the actual cover announcement in a few weeks!
The Blacksmith and the Porcupines is a true indie project in the sense that it won’t be sold on Amazon or other online stores, and no big distributors or publishers are taking a piece of the pie. The only ways to buy it will be through my webstore or at a local NH bookstore.
Pre-orders are now open in advance of the September 12th release. If you’re in the NH area, you should also totally come to the launch event at MainStreet BookEnds in Warner on Saturday, September 12th at 2:00pm—it’ll be a fun one!
Some Notes on Making a Chapbook
The Blacksmith and the Porcupines came together ridiculously quickly. While I’ve wanted to do a political satire story set in the Carcrash Parker world for quite some time, I only had the idea back in May. Once I had it, though, I wrote and revised the draft in less than four weeks, sometimes working five or six hours a day to meet my deadlines.
I’m also not working alone on this one. Early on, I reached out to ace graphic designer Justin Cornell, who designs the interior and covers for the indie art and literary zine The Charleston Anvil, which we’re also both on the review team for. Justin was down for helping with the project and doing the cover (which we’re super-excited to share when it’s done!), and having his expert design eye for the layout and interior was a BIG step toward making the project happen and look good.
You’ll also notice the return of the Granitaria fantasy map by illustrator Sam Roman from the inside pages of Carcrash Parker, which will not only add some more visual flair, but it’ll also help readers trace the blacksmith’s journey. I was also stoked to have expert line editor Timothy Repasky (who also did the proofreading for Carcrash Parker) sign on to catch any typos and continuity errors that snuck in—even editors need a fresh set of eyes to check their work!
The Blacksmith and the Porcupines has been a whirlwind for sure from conception until now, and there’s still a lot of work to be done before September. It’s been made possible partly because I have amazing collaborators and partly because this isn’t my first book release rodeo, and the key steps feel more familiar than before.
Keep your eyes open for updates—I’ll be doing a cover reveal later this month, and the pre-order is now available! This is going to be a fun one, and thanks as always for following along with the ridiculous work I do!
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