Let’s Try This Again! New Novel Release from Dead Star Press

Hello again,

We have some disappointing news to be quickly followed by some better news. Our GoFundMe was shut down. Yeah, that was our reaction too. Apparently, even though we’ve done exactly this before, you cannot give gifts as a donation incentive. So, we’re saying screw ’em. We moved the entire Support Walnut Ridge by Dan Scamell Campaign to DeadStarPress.com. Everything is exactly the same, except now we won’t have to pay GoFundMe any fees. If you choose to support with $20 or more, you’ll get a signed advance copy of the book (no taxes or shipping fees will be added to support tiers). There are additional thank-you gifts with higher tiers of support. Or, you can simply preorder the book at the cover price plus shipping and taxes. Either way is incredibly helpful. Just keep in mind that if you choose the regular preorder, you won’t receive it in advance of the release date and you may not receive a signed copy. If you choose to support the book via one of the support tiers, you can also add additional books to your order at the cover price. You will not be charged tax or shipping for any number of copies in addition to the support tiers. Just modify the number of additional copies you’d like at checkout. You can also donate any dollar amount you’d like to help promote Walnut Ridge. It works the same as the additional copies. There is a $1 donation button. Just add it to the cart and modify the quantity to match the number of dollars you’d like to donate.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Here is the link to the page where you can check out all of the options.

Thank you for all of your support and for helping us make the world a little weirder.

HERE’S THE ORIGINAL POST MODIFIED WITH THE NEW INFO

HAPPY NATIONAL FRENCH TOAST DAY! I know it’s been a long time since I posted a blog. I’ve been spending my free time working on all of this, and I promise you it’s been well worth it. Please read and share the following with everyone you know. Help us bring indie authors to the forefront where voices like Dan Scamell’s belong.

French Toast Day is the perfect day to announce the scheduled release date for Walnut Ridge by Dan Scamell on March 20, 2024, through Dead Star Press. As the potential and importance of the novel are far greater than our small press’s means to promote it, I am writing to ask for additional incentivized support to provide the promotional capital needed to market Dan Scamell’s brilliant debut indie novel. In return for choosing the $20 Support Tier, you will receive a free signed advance copy of the book before it becomes available anywhere, with higher Support Tiers receiving even more gifts. Also, just for your information, the scheduled release date is National Alien Abduction Day, which will make more sense when you read about the book later in this post. And thank you in advance for your incredible support of my writing, my small business Dead Star Press, and independent artists, writers, and publishers.

Our goal is to give Walnut Ridge the push a larger publishing house would be able to provide. We believe in Dan and his incredible novel. They deserve the attention a major publisher’s marketing campaign would give them. Unfortunately, we are a very small indie publisher and cannot afford the promotional costs mainstream publishers can. Your additional incentivized support will go directly to marketing Walnut Ridge. We will focus the additional advertising dollars on creating social media and Amazon ad campaigns to push the book to the highest Amazon ranking possible on its release date. Alternatively, you can purchase Walnut Ridge via our Preorder which is also live on DeadStarPress.com, but your copy will only be signed while supplies last after the gifts are sent out from the Support Tiers, and you will not receive your copy in advance of the release date.

Why are we doing this? The answer is simple. We believe Dan’s novel is an essential contribution to the literary world and society in general. The more hands this novel reaches, the greater the effect it will have on all of us. At face value, Walnut Ridge is a fantastic science fiction story of a post-alien invasion, post-apocalyptic reality. It’s an extraordinary account of our inability to transcend the mental trappings of our mortal frailty through the lens of an epic science fiction tale. However, beneath the distinctively unconventional story and its stunning imagery and absurd humor, you will find a unique allegory for the harrowing trials of mental illness, addiction, and recovery. We believe greatly in bringing these issues to the forefront and allowing Dan’s deeply relatable characters to offer solace and validation to those whose lives have been touched by these difficult and often avoided topics. We’re hoping that it connects with some of you how important a book like this could be to so many and that you’ll feel empowered to help us get this book out into the world in a way that more closely matches what it deserves.

Dan’s story abducted our minds, but its underlying themes give it a purpose and beauty well beyond its pages, and we want to share it with the world beyond our monetary constraints. Help us get this important piece of literature to as many people as possible by supporting the release today. As mentioned above, We have some incredible thank-you gifts for your generous support. Please find those gifts below, along with a detailed description of Walnut Ridge, the full cover, and the Ghost Vessel Tee Shirt design. 

Support with $20 and receive a free signed advance copy of Walnut Ridge before it becomes available to purchase anywhere else.

Support with $38 and receive the above and a Walnut Ridge “Robot Ghost Vessel” Tee Shirt printed on the high-quality, lightweight Bella and Canvas Tee Shirt material you’ve come to expect from Dead Star Press.

Support with $50 and receive all of the above and a copy of From the Dead, featuring four brilliantly bizarre stories from Dan Scamell.

Support with $75 and receive all of the above and a Dead Star Press Logo Tee Shirt—style based on availability.

Support with $100 and receive all of the above and a signed hardcover copy of Joseph D. Newcomer’s Darkest Day and a Dead Star Press Be a Fucking Weirdo Sticker.

If you would like additional copies of Walnut Ridge, once you’ve added one of the Support Tiers to your cart, you will see the Additional Walnut Ridge Books suggestion. Add that to your cart, then modify the quantity to the number of additional copies you’d like. There will be no taxes or shipping fees on additional copies.

There is also a button to donate to promotional costs. The button will add a $1 donation to your cart. Once it’s in your cart, you can change the quantity to match the total dollar amount you’d like to contribute.

Thank you for your continued support.

Walnut Ridge by Dan Scamell: Back Cover Text

Aliens in garish angelic form chose humankind as one of the races worthy of sharing an otherworldly paradise with them. Most people have already been “decanted.” Leo Salmon has not, but he watched as billions around him were transformed into blue gelatinous fluid in preparation for the long trip to Caldo. Leo and the remaining few un-decanted who have been unable to truly receive the “Angel’s Promise,” a requirement to initiate the transformation, are housed in Walnut Ridge, a pre-decantation facility, awaiting their fates.

The alien ships are leaving in a matter of days. If Leo and the other stragglers are unable to genuinely accept the alien offering in that time, while most of liquified humanity is transported to paradise, Leo and the rest of the abandoned will be left to build a new life on Earth-at least, that’s the plan right after they get some Taco Bell.

At face value, Walnut Ridge is an extraordinary account of our inability to transcend the mental trappings of our mortal frailty. However, beneath the distinctively unconventional story and its stunning imagery and absurd humor, you will find a unique allegory for the harrowing trials of mental illness, addiction, and recovery.