This Week: Unearthed Home Stretch, Future Charity Anthologies, and Swapping Gallifrey for Chronosmiths

Happy Monday, readers!

First off, just a heads up on Unearthed progress. We're collecting final bits and bobs and preparing to send out a proof to our contributors. Once that's done, we'll be getting the full cover together and getting everything sorted out for sales. You'll see a few tweaks on the site in the next few days in preparation.

Speaking of which, time is almost up for Seasons of War: Gallifrey! We appreciate everyone's support on the project, and are happy to have been able to donate so much to charity on behalf of readers and Doctor Who fans. This will help us make way for the upcoming Chronosmith Chronicles, so keep an eye out!

If you want to get your copy of Gallifrey, you have until this Friday, 3 May, to do so. Head over to the Shop page for one last go.

Finally, we're getting close to be able to announce what comes after Unearthed. Paul has been working away on an anthology of his own, and we've got a few more tricks up our sleeve. Stay tuned!

(And if you liked last week's cover reveal, don't forget: today is the last day to order Ginger Hoesly's charity zine Moon Man! Head over to rathzem.com to pick up zines, merch, and shirts to benefit the Glasgow School of Art!)

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UNEARTHED: Cover Reveal!

We're in the home stretch, friends... Unearthed is almost ready to unleash on the world, with 12 new stories raising funds for the American Research Center in Egypt.

But every book needs a cover — and Ginger Hoesly (who also did the Seasons of War: Gallifrey cover) has delivered once again:

Ginger's cover art gives us a glimpse of all the spooky, silly, and unbelievable stories awaiting us inside the anthology!

A proof is being sent to our contributors soon, and you can expect order information to open up before too much longer. Thank you all again for your continued patience. We'll be offering previews from Unearthed in the coming days, and more news on our projects to follow!

If you like Ginger's work, be sure to check out her Etsy store. And if you want more art and stories for a good cause, pick up a copy of her current charity zine, Moon Man. Orders are only open for a few more days!

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THE CHRONOSMITH CHRONICLES: Who Is Savalia?

As we continue to approach the first series of The Chronosmith Chronicles, we'll be popping in between book news and other business-y stuff to talk about the characters. Of course, the easiest way to meet them is by picking up one of the last few copies of Seasons of War: Gallifrey — but the book won't be required reading, as the new series will take the four leads off into a new universe.

Recently we talked about Mordicai, the engineer of the group. Today, we take a moment to talk about Savalia, the "soldier-poet."

Savalia is very much a mixed bag of characteristics. She values giving of what you have, thanks to her life in a poor village that focused heavily on hospitality. She's a lover of art, as well as a trained soldier. We knew when we created our team for Gallifrey that we wanted our soldier to be an artist of some sort, rather than having our muscle be an out-and-out brute.

As a character, Savalia was influenced somewhat by Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles, a manga and anime series about the French Revolution. While Savalia never undergoes any confusion regarding her gender, we wanted her to have that same noble aesthetic, as well as a duty that is at odds with her love for Mordicai.

So what does life in The Chronosmith Chronicles hold for Savalia? As before, she values love, hospitality, and protecting those she cares about above all else. Her relationship with Mordicai is a core aspect of the team, despite (perhaps slightly because of) their different philosophies when it comes to people and conflict.

She, and the rest of the Chronosmiths, will also be meeting new people who challenge their group structure. But you'll have to wait and see who they are. In the meantime, look forward to more about our heroes!

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UNEARTHED Artists: Meet Ginger Hoesly

If you've read Seasons of War: Gallifrey, you're already familiar with the art and design work of Ginger Hoesly. She created the art for the front cover — plus she designed the Altrix logo! So we're excited to have her back again, this time contributing to Unearthed.

Fans of Doctor Who may have seen Ginger's work on Doctor's Notes, at the World Tour in 2014, or at San Diego Comic Con. Some of her art has also appeared on The Doctor Who Fan Show's YouTube channel, as part of Frances Barber's reading of the Eleventh Doctor story "The Gift."

She's also one half of the team behind Owl's Flower, the light novel series she co-created with our own Kara Dennison. The pair create every story line together, with Kara on words and Ginger on art.

Additionally, Ginger is in the process of heading her second charity fanzine, Moon Man, while also co-moderating the Digimon 20th anniversary fanzine Gokigen na Chou. Her first zine, The Hybrid, raised more than $2,000 for One to One Children's Fund.

Ginger will be handling the cover for Unearthed, as well as contributing art to Kara's story, "Kill the Cat" (which takes place in the Owl's Flower universe). You can look forward to seeing more from her via Altrix in future.

If you like her art, be sure to check out her Etsy shop for prints, accessories, and more. She can also be found on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

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UNEARTHED Artists: Meet Sophie Iles

As we've mentioned before, Unearthed will feature new art by guest illustrators for each of our stories. We previously featured Monica Marier, and will have one more artist (handling our cover and a piece of interior art) to show off in the near future. Today, we're spotlighting Sophie Iles, who joins Monica Marier in creating multiple interior art pieces for the book.

Doctor Who fans may recognized Sophie's art as it coincides with the classic series's runs on Twitch. She's also been creating artwork for all eras of the show and featuring it at conventions in the UK.

Recently, Sophie headed up publication of Mild Curiosities, a charity anthology centered on Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. Her work can currently be seen on the cover of the anthology Defending Earth, now available for pre-order.

You can find out more about Sophie Iles on her website. Look forward to seeing her work, along with art from Monica Marier and the soon-to-be-featured Ginger Hoesly, in Unearthed this spring!

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UNEARTHED: Story Announcement!

We're very pleased to announce the title and author listing for the upcoming Unearthed anthology!

The book will feature 12 new stories of mystery and curiosity, from underground tombs to interstellar relics, from a feast fit for a king to a tomb fit for a prince. Appearing in the anthology will be:

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Disinfection Protocol by Michael O'Brien

The Sarcophagus: Or, Look Upon My Works, Ye Mighty, and Tremble by Graham Tedesco-Blair

Hearing Things by Meredith Peruzzi

Rán for Your Life: A Tale of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet by Keith R.A. DeCandido

The Jar of the Alabaster Assassin by Paul Driscoll

Long Time Dead by John Peel

Quadrireme by James K. Maddox

In the Heart of the King by Richard Gurl

Whose Cuisine Reigns Supreme? by Sharyna Tran

Raffles the Amateur Cracksman: An Egyptian Cameo by James Bojaciuk

Was I a Viking Old? by I.E. Kneverday

Kill the Cat: A Story from the Owl's Flower Pantheon by Kara Dennison

Featuring illustrations by Ginger Hoesly, Sophie Iles, and Monica Marier

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More information will be coming soon, including sneak previews of the art and stories!

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THE CHRONOSMITH CHRONICLES: Who is Mordicai?

While the upcoming series The Chronosmith Chronicles jumps off from Seasons of War: Gallifrey, we make sure to note that Gallifrey is not required reading for the new books. And that's completely true! While readers of the charity novel might catch some things that new readers won't, the new books will be completely stand-alone and enjoyable on their own.

That said, according to Kara's calendar of weird holidays, it's National Inventors Day in the United States. And no one fits the bill there better than our own Mordicai.

So who is Mordicai?

When Kara and Paul first teamed up to write Gallifrey, they had to create four characters. Funnily (and luckily!) enough, each of them quickly took to two of the four plotted-out personalities. Kara "adopted" Savalia and Kendo, with Paul in charge of Mordicai and Tor Fasa. Once their personalities and histories were worked out individually, the notes were brought together of a series of Skype calls, and their stories intersected into what became the charity novel.

Each of the characters had (and has) a short title, with Mordicai's being "The Engineer." This was a very on-the-nose term in Gallifrey, being the name he actually ended up calling himself by. But Mordicai will just be himself as a Chronosmith: an engineer who keeps things working.

Mordicai and Savalia—our Soldier-Poet—make up the romantic leads of the team, and we have very firm rules in place for them. They've had a lot of their relationship trial-by-fire already, after all. At first glance, the two have very little in common: Mordicai is very logic-bound and rule-driven, while Savalia learns rules for the purposes of bending them (from a creative standpoint, at least). They're both past attempting to change each other's ways, though; both ways of thinking have their uses, after all, and aren't necessarily at odds with each other.

Going forward, Mordicai is absolutely the brains, and the designated driver, of the Chronosmiths. Where Savalia leans on emotion, Kendo on diplomacy, and Fasa on influence, Mordicai will always be the most down-to-earth (so to speak).

Saying much more would give away what we have planned... and we have a lot planned! In the meantime, there are still copies of Seasons of War: Gallifrey, both digital and physical, should you be curious about the origins of the series. Pick up your copies now, as we won't be doing a second printing of this particular book!

And stay tuned for more news about The Chronosmith Chronicles and our other upcoming projects.

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