What a week! Last week at this time we were all writhing in anticipation of the Something Awesome that Andrew kept telling us was coming. Now we've met not only the initial fundraising goal but TWO stretch goals, and are well on our way to a third! So much is happening around here that it's hard to keep up.Our initial goal of $110,000 not only allows us to create an animated short film starring the three Igiby kids, but also gives us a brand-new short story by Douglas McKelvey. This first story in the new Wingfeather Tales series will be illustrated by Aedan Peterson (whom you might know as Ollister B. Pembrick himself!). And now that we've started unlocking stretch goals, we'll get even more stories, as well as more animated characters to make that film even more awesome (Thwaps! Podo!). The first stretch goal gives us a story written by Jonathan Rogers and illustrated by Justin Gerard. The second stretch goal means we're getting a story by Jennifer Trafton with illustrations by John Hendrix. If you don't know how utterly amazing this is, drop everything and read Andrew's glowing recommendations (here and here), posted as updates at the Kickstarter page.As I was typing this update, the ticker rolled over to $139,000. At $145,000 we'll get another short story, as well as another new animated character. Go check that out—and share, share, share! That is the very best way to ensure more stories, more animated characters, and more of everything Wingfeather.Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and help! This week Andrew heads to Sweden for a week-and-a-half-long tour. How far can we get in those stretch goals before he gets back? :-)
Want to indoctrinate invite your friends? Here's a link to the teaser on YouTube, for easy sharing!
Animated series Kickstarter: Update #1
Just before the 48 hour mark, the Kickstarter to bring The Wingfeather Saga to the screen was FUNDED. This was insane and awesome to watch unfold! And now, on day four of the campaign, we've surpassed our first stretch goal and are well on our way to the next. The first stretch goal allows us to animate a whole sack's-worth of thwaps—and the next goal will give us Podo, who's sorely needed now that those darn thwaps are loose!Thank you so much to everyone who's contributed by pledging, sharing on social media, and telling all your friends about this! There's no way to bring a huge project like this to life except with the help of many, many (many) generous folks like you.Here's the official teaser trailer:[embed]https://www.facebook.com/WingfeatherSaga/videos/1125279257504224/[/embed]Read Andrew's announcement post here.Invite your friends to participate! Here's the Kickstarter link.
We're Going to Animate the Wingfeather Saga!
This news has been a long time coming, dear readers, hence the many, many exclamation points which will most surely pepper this post. (!) My friend Chris Wall (VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins), and I formed Shining Isle Productions (see what we did there?) in order to tell the story of the Wingfeather Saga in a multi-season animated series. We want to bring the Igiby children all the way from book one to book four on the screen, so you and your family (and hopefully a lot of other folks) can experience this story in a whole new way. (!!)So here's the fun part. Well, one of the fun parts. If we can raise enough funds, we're going to publish Wingfeather Tales, a brand new collection of short stories from the world of Aerwiar. But that's not all. I've invited a bunch of author friends to write the stories, and a bunch of illustrator friends to illuminate them. If we can reach enough stretch goals, we'll get Wingfeather tales from N.D. Wilson (100 Cupboards), Douglas McKelvey (The Angel Knew Papa and the Dog), A. S. Peterson (Fiddler's Gun), Jennifer Trafton (The Rise and Fall of Mt. Majestic), and Jonathan Rogers (The Wilderking Trilogy). And check this out! We'll get illustrations from John Hendrix (Miracle Man), Joe Sutphin (The Warden and the Wolf King), Justin Gerard (The Monster in the Hollows), Aedan Peterson (Pembrick's Creaturepedia), and Doug TenNapel (Ghostopolis, Earthworm Jim). I'm going to supervise and edit the book, and we're going to fling open the doors to Aerwiar again so we can find out what else has been going on in Glipwood and the Green Hollows and Dugtown. But we're going to need your help to make this happen.There's SO much to tell you about, and the best way for you to discover it will be to click this link and be whooshed to the Kickstarter page. You can read about all the cool rewards for our backers (stickers, posters, t-shirts, original concept art, patches, character cards!), and find out about our master plan to take over at least a tiny part of the world.THANK YOU for your enormous support for these books (and hopefully the film). Team Peterson here at the Warren give you thanks and wish you peace.AP
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"Enjoyable and thought-provoking"—A Wingfeather review
Greetings, readers! Here is a snippet of a review for you to review.
The character development of Janner, Tink, and Leeli makes this saga that much more enjoyable to read. ... And it is in the struggles of each that you find yourself identifying. Fear, feeling unfit for a task, unwanted leadership, strength through weakness—all were “I’ve been there” moments.
Thanks for the thoughtful reflections, Antone.Read the rest of the review here. (There are a few spoilers, but just for the first book.)
p.s. Check out the forum to find two new discussion threads. They're questions written for our book club kit (which you can download and use with your friends/siblings/pets/students/imaginary friends/arch-nemeses/neighbors), but I thought it'd be fun to post them here, too, because it's so fun to hear what you guys are thinking. See you over there!
Leeli and Nugget
Here's Leeli and her little dog, Nugget, drawn by a reader named Emily. Note the detail on the crutch! I also love Nugget's begging pose, and am very impressed that Emily even included the faint lines of Leeli's collarbones. What a great drawing, Emily—thank you! I can almost imagine that these two are singing together. :-)
The Florid Sword and Shadowblade
Check this out: The Florid Sword and Shadowblade! I love the symmetry, the crosshatching, the fluttering capes and ties—and the motion in their poses is really impressive. Thank you, Noah!
A fearsome Fang
This is from Gabriel. Look at the determination on that face, the high-quality uplifted sword, and the pointy fangs just waiting to be put to hideous use. I love the armor—it reminds me of Storm Troopers. :-) It's clear from the faint pencil lines that a lot of thought and hard work went into making this picture just right. Thanks, Gabriel!
Snow at the Warren and a Chapter House update
On Wednesday last week, it began snowing in Nashville. Warren Wood was transformed into a fairyland.
By Friday, the snow was deep enough to play in. Andrew and his kids don't get snow nearly often enough, but they know exactly what to do with it when it arrives.
Do you see that magical little cottage? It isn't quite ready for story-writing yet. But it will be. New little fictional brothers and sisters, their many joys and sorrows and adventures, yet lie dreaming. So for now, we dream too.