the dragon of ynys

A Project We Love – Fully Funded!

Things are moving so fast I can’t even keep up blogging about them – and I can only be very grateful for that!

We have (already!) reached the point where we can proudly say that the audiobook of The Dragon of Ynys will definitely be made. This is absolutely amazing! A big thank you to all the wonderful people who want to support us and our project. And to Kickstarter, for making us a “Project We Love” and featuring us on the main page as a “Fresh Favorite”.

Project We Love Kickstarter

Now what’s next? Well, for starters, you can still pledge to grab your own copy of the audiobook (and perhaps the ebook, paperback, or limited edition hardcover!) on the same Kickstarter page, with audiobooks starting at $1, in the next 8 days. You can even see yourself in a story in the universe of Ynys, if you select the Rainbow Catcher, or get a new story written especially for you if you select the Wish Fairy level. Moving beyond our funding goal allows us to improve the quality of the hardcover, increase the amount of new material, and of course supports Atthis Arts, which has been going through a rough time as a small publishing business – and believe me, they deserve a boost. As there are so many improvements that could be done, we don’t have any set stretch goals as yet, but of course, if we really go way beyond the goal, who knows what we’ll come up with…

For now, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I think I speak for almost every writer when I say that getting an audiobook made of your work is a dream come true. It’s so magical to know that people who wouldn’t get to read the book in its current form will get access to it.

If you’d like to see something silly but fun, I’m making countdown dragons on Instagram: number-shaped dragons who will guide us through the Kickstarter campaign.

Again, thank you, and please keep sharing the news about the audiobook to everyone you think might be interested!

Hugs,

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

What an Actual Dragon Sounds Like

Everyone!!! Our Kickstarter is live!!!

I am SO excited that everyone is finally getting to hear Ryan’s introduction video. And of course, that’s only the beginning! Hearing this, can you imagine how awesome the finished product will be?!

So… It’s real now. In the next 10 days, you can help the Kickstarter reach its minimum goal and make our The Dragon of Ynys audiobook see the light of day. Yes, the campaign is only on for ten days – so don’t wait too long! If money is tight, you can get yourself the audiobook and ebook for as little as $1. This Kickstarter works on a “pay what you can” basis. Of course, if possible, you are most welcome to give more, with recommended prices being indicated in the Pledge descriptions on the right of the page. There will also be a limited edition, one-run-only, hardcover edition of The Dragon of Ynys! This reward level starts at $100 and the hardcover edition will include exclusive content – unseen material which, in turn, you can also get as a digital add-on starting from $5. So… We think there’s something for everyone who likes to spend a little time in Ynys. Please do spread the word about this to all of your friends (and foes – they can probably use a little extra message of acceptance, or they wouldn’t be your foes, right?). I really, really hope we’ll make it – I can’t wait to listen to more of Ryan’s narration!

Click here to open the Kickstarter!

Did you never hear about my queer fairy tale novella The Dragon of Ynys before? Read more info about it here!

Thank you so much for your support!

Lots of love,

Minerva

 

the dragon of ynys

Is that a Dragon I hear?

No, not yet.

But it may be, soon.

With your help.

That’s right… The Dragon of Ynys will be made into an audiobook!!!

I can’t describe how exciting this is. Not only will we be able to hear the characters talk, but this also means that the book becomes more widely accessible. I can’t wait to see this happen!

Ryan H. Reid will be narrating the book. I’ve heard some voice samples and it’s going to sound absolutely amazing. Fellow fans of draconic voices, rejoice!

But to get to that point, Atthis Arts, Ryan, and I will need your help. Making an audiobook isn’t cheap, and as we all know, the past couple of years haven’t been kind to the publishing industry. So I would like to ask you to go to this Kickstarter page and click the green button saying “Notify me on launch”. Even if you’re not sure if you’ll end up supporting the Kickstarter itself, this will help us to make the campaign more visible.

The campaign will launch on December 5. Thank you so much for your support!

(No but. Listen. An actual audiobook!!! Of my story!!! Eep!)

Love,

Minerva

The Dragon of Ynys book and ebook preview

the dragon of ynys

Dragon Biscuits!

Hello!

I have a feeling Snap will approve of this post’s title… Happy Publishiversary, Snap & co.!

That’s right – it’s already been a whole year since The Dragon of Ynys came out with Atthis Arts. If you’re new to my blog: welcome! You can read all about my queer fairy tale novella via this link!

Buy links: Publisher’s websiteSmashwordsAmazon.comAmazon.deiBooksBarnes & NobleKoboBookshopVrolijk.nu (NL) – Kartonnen Dozen (Belgium)

Add the book to your shelves: The StoryGraphGoodreads

To celebrate the anniversary, I made real The Dragon of Ynys biscuits! I used a gingerbread recipe and Rainbow Crate’s rolling pin (which you can still find here). As it was the first time I made patterned biscuits, I still have some experimenting to do before every single sword, cupcake, and little dragon will be visible on the dough, but I already learned a lot as I went!

Dragon biscuit - unbaked.
An unbaked biscuit with the Dragon of Ynys-pattern rolled into it.

Baked biscuits, the rolling pin, and a copy of "The Dragon of Ynys".
Baked biscuits, the rolling pin, and a copy of “The Dragon of Ynys”.

As you can see, my biscuits even include the spiders’ forest! (Yes, that is Minerva-speak for: “Look, there is a little tree!”)

And while you’re enjoying a biscuit, remember that the Dragoniversary story Lost in Ynys, by Ava Kelly and me, is still out there for the party.

Cheers, and thank you for being here!

Minerva

Ink, Projects by Friends, Skulls & Spells

Flash publication in Ink!

Hi!

Great news: my genderfluid flash piece “Not Alone” will be part of Queer Sci Fi’s Ink anthology! This story was my 300-word entry for the yearly flash fiction contest that also gave us 2019’s Migration and 2020’s Innovation anthology. The release of Ink is planned on August 10, 2021, and by that time, Queer Sci Fi will be announcing honorable mentions (still proud of getting one last year!), judge’s picks, and three winners. Check out the full list of stories that will be published in the new anthology here – notice the names of friends L.S. Reinholt and Ava Kelly. Congratulations to these 120 writers!


While I’m here, an update on the Skulls & Spells Kickstarter. They took a great start and are now 58% funded. Let’s hope this keeps going! Their latest update talked about a secret stretch goal, so I can’t wait to see what Jinx and Jonas have in store. And, of course, I’m extra invested, as L.S. Reinholt and I have our story “The Bound Heart” in this book. If you like magical horror from queer creators, I’ll ask you once again to please consider supporting this Kickstarter.


Two more things on the topic of Kickstarters:

  • Alia Terra, the illustrated book of dragon fairy tales in English and Romanian, written by Ava Kelly and published by Atthis Arts, which I kept talking about in my previous posts, is fully funded and reached its stretch goal of becoming a fully illustrated book! I’m so happy we’ll get to see all the beautiful dragon art by Matt Spencer. If you missed the Kickstarter, you can still preorder your copy via BackerKit through July. The Dragon of Ynys can also still be added to your order there!
  • Xenocultivars is a plant-themed speculative fiction anthology about queer growth from Speculatively Queer. I’d love to see this book happen, but with only 5 days to go they’re still a little under half funded, so they need all the help they can get. Check out their Kickstarter and their wonderful queer flag cactus stickers here!

Love,

Minerva

Skulls & Spells

Skulls & Spells launched!

Cover of Skulls and Spells: an anthology of horrors by creators from the LGBTQI2SA+ community

Hello everyone!

The awesome cover above this text is that of the queer horror anthology Skulls & Spells, which will be published by Artemisia’s Axe and the Corpse’s Tongue later this year and which will contain the short story “The Bound Heart” written by L.S. Reinholt and me!

Today, the Kickstarter has launched to make this wonderful project happen. So if you’re into bright and thrilling horror stories with LGBTQI2SA+ representation, I definitely recommend checking out this link. There are ‘early bird’ rewards at a lower price, including patches, stickers, art prints and even an exclusive plushie! And of course you can pre-order the book itself, 150+ pages and in full colour – physical copies as well as pdf files. You can also use the Kickstarter to order your copy of Artemisia’s Axe’s previous anthology, Neon Horror, which ALSO includes a story by L.S. Reinholt and me! More details are, of course, found on the Kickstarter page itself.

To promote the anthology, L.S. Reinholt made the illustration below as a teaser for “The Bound Heart”, with colouring done by me. (CW: snake, human heart.)

The Bound Heart Promo Illustration


And on the topic of Kickstarters, I’d also like to direct your attention to the fact that there are only 52 hours to go in the Alia Terra Kickstarter! (To spare you the maths if you’re reading this message later, it will end on June 25 at 2:00 AM CEST.) This beautifully illustrated queer book of fairy tales WITH DRAGONS hasn’t quite reached the funding goal yet that is necessary to become a fully illustrated book, so every coin that’s added to their campaign helps!


I’m also having a lot of fun seeing all the wonderful comments to the blog tour for The Dragon of Ynys! Remember you can check this post to see where we are today; the posts marked with “guest post” contain little interviews with me, if you like that sort of thing!

Sending lots of love, good vibes, and magic!

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

Time for the Tour!

And we’re off!

The Dragon of Ynys - Book Tour and Giveaway 6/14-7/14 - Silver Dagger Book Tours

The Silver Dagger Book Tour for The Dragon of Ynys has kicked off today with an excerpt from the book and an interview with me (including a baking recipe!) on the Silver Dagger website, and will keep moving to one or two new blogs every day until July 14. I’m very excited to see what will happen!

This is the full book tour schedule below! (Mind that Silver Dagger selected these blogs – I am not aware whether all of them only post content suitable for all ages all the time, so please tread carefully if necessary.)

Jun 14
kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
A Pinch of Bookdust

Jun 15
Sadie’s Spotlight
4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼

Jun 16
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog
❧Defining Ways❧

Jun 17
Lady Hawkeye
ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ

Jun 18
Writing Dreams
Books a Plenty Book Reviews

Jun 20
Don’t Judge, Read – GUEST POST

Jun 21
Girl with Pen
Inside the Insanity – GUEST POST

Jun 22
Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’

Jun 23
Sylv.net

Jun 24
Craving Lovely Books

Jun 25
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews

Jun 28
Midnight Book Reader

Jun 29
Cover Love Book Blog

Jun 30
Scrupulous Dreams

Jul 1
eBook Addicts

Jul 2
The Bookshelf Fairy

Jul 3
A Wonderful World of Words – GUEST POST

Jul 4
Westveil Publishing – REVIEW

Jul 5
The Book Dragon

Jul 6
Insane Books

Jul 7
Bayou Book Junkie
The Sexy Nerd ‘Revue’

Jul 8
Liliyana Shadowlyn – REVIEW
Musings From An Addicted Reader

Jul 9
Bedazzled By Books
Book Corner News and Reviews

Jul 10
Chapters through life

Jul 12
Books all things paranormal and romance
Twisted Book Ramblings

Jul 13
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author
The Faerie Review

Jul 14
Never Hollowed By The Stare
Teatime and Books

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Have fun!

Teaser image of "The Dragon of Ynys" ebook

the dragon of ynys

An Invitation to Join the Book Tour

Hello!

Last month, IQARUS Book Con had a very fun Scavenger Hunt where I managed to win the first prize: a book tour with Silver Dagger Book Tours! That means my book will be touring from blog to blog, whether it be in the shape of reviews, spotlights, guest posts, or author interviews. This will take place from June 14 until July 14, 2021. During that time, there will also be a giveaway of an Amazon gift card via Silver Dagger.

Would you like your blog to be one of the stops of this book tour? You’d be most welcome! You can sign up to become part of the tour via this link. Thank you for supporting the dragon on his long flight!

The Dragon of Ynys - Book Tour and Giveaway 6/14-7/14 - Silver Dagger Book Tours

When going on an adventure like this, I am always ready to follow baker Juniper’s advice and bring my rolling pin. Especially now that there is an actual Dragon of Ynys rolling pin! This was an item in the Rainbow Crate Book Box for April. I still can’t believe my book has a fandom item! And even better: I got my own rolling pin in the mail, so now I can make The Dragon of Ynys biscuits!

Photo of Minerva holding up the rolling pin

To see the rolling pin among the other items from the April box, check out this post from Rainbow Crate on Instagram.

I’ll be back with more exciting news soon! For now, it’s time to go prepare the tour.

Love, dragons, cupcakes, and swords,

Minerva

Projects by Friends

More awesome dragons from Atthis Arts!

Hello!

Another cute dragon project from The Dragon of Ynys publisher Atthis Arts is approaching with an impressive beating of wings! Check out a sample of the beautiful art that will be found inside the illustrated book Alia Terra – Stories from the Dragon Realm on this Kickstarter page! The stories (in English and Romanian) are written by my good friend Ava Kelly, illustrated by the incredibly talented Matthew Spencer, and edited by the wonderful E.D.E. Bell. More info about all of them can be found under the “Our Team” banner on the Kickstarter page.

What else you’ll find there? A clip where you can hear Ava talking with subtitles in 13 languages (yes, there’s also Dutch – you may want to put it on full screen to see all the languages in the subtitle menu), info on the book and on the rewards that you can add to your own dragon hoard, and of course a chance to actually make this magical project happen by pre-ordering your own copy. Please check it out and consider supporting them! And if you can’t, it would be appreciated very much if you spread the word.

Love,

Minerva

the dragon of ynys

Tomorrow’s Reading

Hi!

Just dropping a quick note about the Reading in Ferndale Library, which I talked about in my previous blog post. It’s tomorrow, at 12:00 EDT/18:00 CEST (click here to see what time this is for you).

The Zoom link is now available, so I can tell you the reading will take place on this address! And for more info, I will once again refer to the Facebook event.

See you tomorrow, if you can make it!

Edit: This event is now over, so I have removed the links.