Will you bring her to life?
It’s finally happening! The Kickstarter for the Robin of Larkspur series is now live, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this dream project with you.
This is Melinda again, Ran is mad because the printing costs went up for everything again, but I didn’t up the prices on the Kickstarter. Thankfully, cost stayed the same.
Why am I not passing the increased costs onto you?
I don’t feel comfortable charging more even though Ran says I should. They are beautiful books, but are they pretty enough to justify the increase?
Ran says yes, and he pointed out several campaigns with comparable books priced even higher but I just don’t know. They are already priced higher than I wanted so I left the prices as I calculated them back in December.
I’ll still get a bit more than I’d get from Amazon unless I messed up the math as badly as I did for the printed books in the Rogue Gods Kickstarter or the prices rise again by the time I order the books which also happened last time compounding the issue. (That’s what’s driving Ran’s concern.)
Don’t worry. All the wonderful people who backed ebook only tiers from that campaign offset that, so I was okay financially.
Unfortunately, I would be able to offer the books available in the Robin of Larkspur Kickstarter campaign at these prices going forward since the printing costs will likely increase even more with everything that’s going on in the world right now.
I hope I’m wrong about that. If not, then maybe future books could be plainer?
Ran wants to talk about that after this Kickstarter and find out if that’s an option, so keep an eye out for that.
In other news, I finally got copies of Rogue Rescue, Rogue Gift and the books 4-5 omnibus! I was starting to wonder if they’d ever arrive, but they finally did!
I just need to lighten the covers for Rogue Rescue and Rogue Gift since they printed a lot darker than I thought they would. Otherwise, they are perfect!
And they arrived just in time too because I was going to push this campaign off for a few weeks if they didn’t show up before today. Thank God I don’t have to!
Ran will return soon. I’m writing some new scenes for him, and he’s happy about that. You know how much he loves getting page time. But that’s not why I’m writing to you today.
🌟 About the Campaign
This campaign celebrates the strength and determination of tough women fighting impossible odds. Robin, the fierce mother of this series, battles winter landscapes, ex-gods, and monsters to save her daughter! If you love epic quests, family bonds, and completed fantasy series, these exclusive illustrated editions are for you!
✨ What’s in It for You?
Brand-new special editions with stunning artwork (300+ unique illustrations across the 5-book series), gold foiling, and breathtaking wintry illustrations licensed from artists.
Exclusive formats like hardcover omnibuses (2) and special-sprayed-edge paperbacks (5), not available anywhere else.
Books for collectors, digital readers, and everyone who loves heartfelt fantasy adventures.
⏰ Act Fast: The campaign is only live for 17 days because that was all Ran would allow since Kickstarters take up a lot of time that he would prefer I spent writing about him and his family. So the campaign ends on Feb. 19. Grab your exclusive editions before they’re gone forever!
👉 Explore the Kickstarter & Back the Campaign!
✨ P.S. Curious about the story? Read an excerpt below.
Thank you for your support!
– Melinda
***
Excerpt from book 1 of the Robin of Larkspur series:
Hunter’s Night
By Melinda Kucsera
Chapter 1
Warrior. Mother. She was both now, but could she continue to be? Robin pondered that as she ignored the snores of her tentmate. Outside, night fell, and snow too, but she was warm enough under three blankets.
Robin turned the broken arrow over and listened to the wind whistling through the nearby mountain pass as she ran her finger along the crack in the arrow’s shaft. Three months ago, she’d given birth to the healthy baby girl asleep in the wicker bassinet to her left. But she still felt like this arrow—broken inside.
End over end, the arrow spun in her hands. Maybe ‘broken’ was the wrong word. ‘Changed’ might be more apt. Giving birth had changed her body, making it curvier and fuller in places than before. It had also forced her to face the grim reality of her future as a new mother with no prospects. Sure, Robin had a bow and could outshoot most Rangers, but that wouldn’t put a roof over her daughter’s head, not when a stupid law controlled the number of Rangers a settlement could hire.
The last rejection she’d received echoed in her mind as Robin twirled the arrow around her index finger. “Sorry, lass, we’ve got no room for anyone else on the roster,” the hatchet-faced lieutenant had told her four days ago.
But he’d let her pitch a tent outside the Ranger’s barracks while she’d tried to figure out where to go next. Can’t have a woman and her baby sleep on a bunk in a house full of men. No, sir, that just wouldn’t be seemly. So, Robin had lit out of that forgotten town the next morning without a thought for the weather.
She aimed for a spot well away from her baby and her still snoring tentmate and threw the broken arrow into the darkness. Strella was out cold from the grueling hike up the mountainside, which had become a desperate scramble over icy rocks as the storm raging outside had closed in on them. Robin was just as exhausted, but her mind refused to quiet down and let her sleep, so she stared into the darkness again consumed by worry.
Would Mount Eredren be any different? It was perhaps another two days’ hike depending on the conditions of the trail, and what mother nature had in store for her tomorrow. Mount Eredren was also the next closest settlement and far larger than the two she’d already tried.
“Will they have a place for me, or will they be just as full-up as the last one?” Robin asked aloud even though only her baby was listening. As she shifted on her pallet, that question hung there in the darkness, tormenting her.
Robin rubbed her aching breasts through her red leather brigandine. Though calling the uncomfortably cold thing she lay on a ‘pallet’ was a misnomer. Handfuls of pine needles and leaves on frozen ground with a couple of blankets thrown over them hardly counted as a fit surface for sleeping. But it was the only accommodation available this deep in the hinterlands.
Rosalie whimpered in her sleep, reminding Robin she wasn’t alone in her discomfort.
“I know, girl. This was a bad idea. I should have toughed it out until spring.” Robin sighed and pushed away that regret. It couldn’t warm her or her baby.
Outside, the wind howled as it buffeted the tent again. The storm must be intensifying. But the tent’s construction was sound enough to withstand its onslaught. Thank all that was holy for that small mercy. In the silence between gusts, snow blanketed the precipice and covered the trail she’d hike tomorrow.
“I really must start thinking instead of reacting. A little forethought could have landed us in a much better position.” But her gut had told Robin to grab her daughter and go, and she hadn’t questioned it. Maybe she should have.
Rosalie grunted seemingly in agreement even though she was too young to understand. She was probably just responding to the tone of her voice. Robin wasn’t sure she’d made the right decision.
At twenty, she was a single mother with no home, no job, and nothing to her name but the baby listening to her rant and the rucksack under her head. A tear squeezed out before she could stop it. She wanted to scream, but Rosalie beat her to it.
Robin snapped out of her funk into full-mother mode. She might have screwed up their lives for the time being, but she would be the best damned mother despite that.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart, Mama’s here. I’ll fix whatever’s wrong. I promise.” Robin swiped another tear from her eyes and levered herself up but stopped halfway when a cold, hard object touched her throat. “What the—”
A knife resolved out of the shadows and above it, two startlingly bright eyes that seemed to glow a soft green. They seemed to float in the darkness above Robin. Watery light crept into the tent, revealing the rest of the intruder, and she was definitely not human.
Robin wanted to kick herself for not hearing the strange creature’s approach. That’s what she got for letting her insecurities out to play when she should have been on guard. Damn it; she was the daughter of a Ranger. This bitch should not have gotten the drop on her or her tentmate, but she had, and Strella was still dead asleep. If Rosalie’s scream hadn’t even woken her, would Robin’s?
Probably not and the idea of screaming for help like she was some waif in need of a rescue galled Robin. Her pride wouldn’t allow it as she matched stares with the intruder, who was not as solidly built as she was. If she could just get her hands on a knife… Robin hid a smile as a plan formed.
“Don’t move,” The green-eyed creature said.
***
That’s it for this week. Check out the Kickstarter & Back the Campaign to get an illustrated copy of Hunter’s Night and the rest of the series!
New Podcast Episodes & Videos
Listen to our podcast in your player of choice. Or Watch it on YouTube.
New Releases and Book Sales
Curse of the Fey Duelist book 2: Special Deluxe Edition!
Dark fae Fantasy Series! Arcanepunk adventure w/humans trapped in the feylands... color pages, white ink, foil cover, 4 books+available