An Apology

Okay, folks, we're not gonna make our Christmas release. While I feel bad about that, about letting you down, I feel good about how hard we're trying to make it happen. Lots of people are working hard behind the scenes to being the first Great Jammy Adventure to fruition in print--and we're learning a lot in the process.

I apologize to those of you who were looking forward to giving Jammy Adventures to loved ones for Christmas. We need, however, to make sure that the product is right when it becomes available. We're working hard on getting the color balance right, and that's proving to be a more time-consuming exercise than I had known. That's the funny thing about ignorance--it's bliss--until it becomes stress!

For now, please accept my apology for not meeting the deadline, and know that, when the book is released soon, it'll be as good as we all have hoped.

Merry Christmas,
Chris

Book Signings in December

Okay Jammy Adventurists, we're getting down to the wire here...

My father-in-law, Ross, who is a genius of graphic design, is helping us get the final layout done so that we can go to print--which will happen very soon--but not fast enough to keep our originally scheduled book signing dates this Friday and Saturday.

But fear not: we are rescheduling the dates for Christmas Week (that's next week, for those of you in Kokomo, Indiana). Stay tuned to this space for the latest info as we get it.

Thanks for your flexibility! We've got fans already, and we won't disappoint!

Going to Print!

We're just finishing up the digital layout of the book this week. Once that's done, the files will be sent to the printer, and we'll have an opportunity to peruse a test copy in print. If that looks good, the first run will be printed.

The first run will only be 250 books, so if you want a copy, be sure to visit Amazon and pre-order yours today. The book will be available in stores too, but it takes time to catalog it in the Ingram's database, so the first Jammy Adventure won't be riding the bookshelf at Barnes & Noble until January, probably.

We're planning some book signings at Hastings in December, with more to come next year at Costco and other retailers. You can pick up signed copies at one of these events. Stay tuned for more updates as we get 'em!

Coloring Contest and Book Signings Coming soon!

Check the sidebar for our book signing schedule; subject to change based on print availability. As of now, Chris will be at two Hastings locations in the Boise area in December:

Hastings @ Cole and Fairview:
Dec 17, from 6-8 PM


Hastings @ Meridian:
Dec 18, 3-5 PM

Joey Zavaleta, our illustrator, may make an appearance at these events! Stay tuned.

We're currently having a trial run for our coloring contest, which will be broken down by age groups:

2-5, 6-9, 10-13, 14-18, GROWNUPS (you know who you are).

We'll post up some downloadable pdfs for you to print out in order to enter the contest, or you can stop by a book signing to pick one up.

It's simple: color in your sheet, scan it, and email it back to us. Whoever produces the best Jammy Adventure in their age bracket wins that month, and their artwork will be featured on the Web site, plus you'll enter a drawing to win a free book. There will be plenty of chances to win, because we're having a new contest each month.

Check back here for details, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest, and as always, remember that bad guys never win!

Flying Cowboy Available for Pre-order!

Attention Jammy Adventurists!

The Great Jammy Adventure of the Flying Cowboy is now ready for pre-order on Amazon for $14.99. Get yours by clicking here.

The book should be shipping in time for the Christmas season, so if you have anyone special in mind, snap your copies up today. Free shipping on orders over $25. Remember, this is a very unique hybrid coloring book; one with a great story where the bad guys never win, and one that the readers get to render pretty much however they want, because they get to color in most of the details. We're pretty dang proud-o-la.

The Flying Cowboy

So who is the Flying Cowboy, exactly? Wouldn't you like to know.

He is the quintessence of rad, the peak of pugnacious effervescence. He's freakin' cool.

All you really need to know is that he plays one mean game of b-ball and that he takes off his boots when he flies. Sweet.

Get Out of a Jam Kit

There are few things more awesome than awesomeness. Having started off with such profundity, what else can be said? Not much. But if you must know, one of the awesomest things about the Great Jammy Adventures series of kids' books is the Get-Out-of-a-Jam Kit. This is one piece of equipment that no kid should be without, because literally anything that a kid might need is guaranteed to be found inside. Anything. So we've decided to post up WIP on one of the interior pages, just to give you another peek into, well, awesomeness.

Kickstarter Project Up and Running

You've gotta go check this out: Our Kickstarter project home page is ready for action! All we need now are your financial efforts. Cool rewards are available at certain denominations; some of them are in very limited supply so don't delay. Feel free to share the link with your friends, family, associates, pets, favorite villains, and cowboys:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/725994761/the-great-jammy-adventure-of-the-flying-cowboy

Final Cover for the Flying Cowboy

We have a final cover for the project! And I am extremely happy with our artist, Joey Zavaleta. While I highly recommend him, at the same time I wish I could call dibs--but that's not a nice thing to do, so I won't.

The rest of the book is being storyboarded, and hopefully we'll finalize all that soon. We're shooting for a late summer release. When it becomes available for pre-order, I'll post that link here for your convenience.

Quite a ride! You're gonna love this book.

A Strategy and The CBA Convention

Well, it's official: The Great Jammy series is getting started with an appropriate strategy involving me, the author; Joey, the illustrator; and Aaron, the publisher. We met just yesterday to discuss our future, which is bright. We formulated a unique approach that will allow us market differentiation with this series of books. What does that mean, you may ask. You'll find out soon enough, but don't worry--it's gonna be a fun twist on the idea of a children's book that, as it happens, makes an awful lot of sense, come to think of it.

I'll be joining Aaron Patterson, my publisher, in St. Louis for the International Christian Retail Show next week. I'll be on the convention floor on Monday morning to talk the project up and try to generate some pre-release sales. While we're not marketing to the Christian segment exclusively, it's still a great and timely opportunity to help pay the bills that are coming relentlessly. I'll post some updates in the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of the next couple of weeks, somewhere in that time frame we ought to have some cover art to show you--and I'm very excited about that. Once you see it, I'm sure you'll love it! The book will eventually be available in every digital format you can imagine, as well as print, so be sure to tell all your friends about the coolest kids' book you've ever seen--once it's available.

More to come soon!

The Flying Cowboy is Getting Ready for Launch

I'm getting started with the Flying Cowboy book! Here's a few developmental sketches from one of the artists. We may have a completed cover proposal by the end of June--and if so, we can begin to generate pre-order sales, and we're on our way...(artwork (c) copyright 2010 by Joey Zavaleta, all rights reserved worldwide)