Over the weekend, the Shotguns & Sorcery drive on Kickstarter cracked $4,000! We took off like a rocket over the first few days and busted through the first goal in less than two days. Now, though, we’re in the middle stretch, during which most Kickstarters settle into a long, slow burn.

Usually that all changes in the last week or so of the campaign, when people realize they’re running out of time to join in and the pledge graph hockey-sticks up. I went with a slightly shorter campaign this time around, so that’s less than two weeks off now, and I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m stumping around the internet, looking for ways to get out the word about this project.

If you have idea or a venue you’d like to share, let me know. I’m open for interviews, guest blogs, shameless plugging, etc.

My next traditionally published novel, Carpathia, ships at the end of the month – either February 28 or March 1, depending on where you are and what format you prefer – and the next issue of the Magic: The Gathering comic I’m writing for IDW should be out around then too. Those should both give me lots of chances to plug Shotguns & Sorcery, and I plan on taking as much advantage of that as I can.

Meanwhile, if you can help spread the word, please do. Hand out copies of “Goblintown Justice” to anyone who can read. And if you like it, don’t be shy about posting a review of it, either on your own site or at Amazon or any of the other retailers who carry it. It all helps.

So far, I’m thrilled to see how well this grand experiment is going, and I have all my backers to blame for that.

The Shotguns & Sorcery Kickstarter drive already smashed through its first goal of $3,000! Many thanks to all of the backers who chipped in to make that happen. We managed it in just under 32 hours, less than half as long as it took for the first 12 for ’12 Kickstarter drive.

So! This means I have another novel to write come April, the first in the Shotguns & Sorcery trilogy. WOOOOT!

Now, of course, just because we smashed through this first goal doesn’t mean we’re done. The drive still has another 25 days to go. If we hit a total of $8,000, that unlocks Book 2, and racking up $12,000 unlocks Book 3 as well.

That’s a long way past $3,000, of course, but I’m confident we can make that happen if we just stick to it. If you already joined the drive, don’t be shy about letting other people know about it. And if you haven’t, consider joining the rest of us for something truly fun.

My deepest gratitude once again to everyone who pitched in, either with a pledge or by helping get the word out – or both. I’m humbled to see so many great and generous people have my back and get behind this crazy project of mine. Thanks!

This morning, I pushed the “Launch” button on my Kickstarter drive for my next 12 for ’12 trilogy. It’s based in a new fantasy setting I call Shotguns & Sorcery, and well, I’ll let the video here tell you more about it.

If that tweaks your interest, head on over to the Kickstarter page to learn more and to back it with a pledge. Remember, because this is a Kickstarter, no one gets charged anything until the end of the drive on March 11, and only then if we hit our funding goal first, so it’s risk-free.

Also, if you’d be so kind as to tell people about the project, I’d appreciate it. Getting the word out is always the hardest part of any such project, and I’ll happily accept all the help I can get. Thanks!

I’m in the final stages of getting the second 12 for ’12 Kickstarter project ready. All I’m waiting on at the moment is the video, which my pal Darren Orange of Reactor 88 Studios is polishing up for me. You can go check out a preview of it now.

There’s still time to make changes, right up until the moment I launch – which should be tomorrow, with any luck. If you catch any mistakes or have any comments, please let me know. Thanks!

My pal Jim Pinto, who also designed the 12 for ’12 logo, just came up with a fantastic logo for Shotguns & Sorcery as well. It’s reminiscent of both a tavern sign and a shotgun case, which makes it perfect for the books. Look for this to appear on novels – and a Kickstarter video – near you soon.

Jim was a pleasure to work with, by the way, and I recommend him wholeheartedly for any of your graphic design needs.

This morning, I published my first short story ebook, “Goblintown Justice.” This is also the first story for my Shotguns & Sorcery setting, and it first appeared in Carnage & Consequences, the Gen Con Writers Symposium anthology edited by Marc Tassin. (It’s actually the second story I wrote for it. The first will appear in Robin D. Laws’s anthology The New Hero 2, due out later this year.)

You can now get “Goblintown Justice” for free through DriveThruFiction (ePub and Kindle/Mobi) and Smashwords (just about every known format). (The DTF version is the prettier of the two, so grab that first if you want the ePub or Kindle versions. To get ebooks into so many formats – which is wonderful – Smashwords requires me to strip out the nicer formatting for its versions.)

The story also available for the Kindle for 99¢ through Amazon. (I’d have it there for free too, but Amazon doesn’t allow me to list it for less than 99¢.) It should be available for the Nook soon too, once Barnes & Noble approves it is out for the Nook for 99¢ now too, and Smashwords should hopefully have it for iBooks and other online stores within a few days.

Shotguns & Sorcery is, of course, the setting for my second trilogy of 12 for ’12 novels. I’m hoping to launch the Kickstarter for that set next week, so read, enjoy, and stay tuned!