[From the Mailbag] Kickstarter FULFILLED! Storyteller's Anthology

Today is one of those sadly all-too rare of days: the day when a Kickstarter promise is FULFILLED.

There have been many unfulfilled Kickstarters that have made me wary and choosy about the projects to which I pledge. Several of those actually have my money. Sigh.

But this one.... This one made it to the finish line, and then some.

The Storyteller's Thesaurus is one that I've been eagerly awaiting ever since the initial announcement and KS launch. Chalk that up to my being an (1) English Major, (2) Word Geek, (3) aspiring writer, (4) recreational Dungeon Master, (5) Bibliophile/bibliophage, (6) Dictionary collector.

The tome was supposed to be released in October 2014. To be fair, the PDF was released on-time and I've used it numerous times. However, I note the time-delay issue only for the record. Not only were the publishers more than candid and forthcoming with their frequent updates, I'm more than pleased with the final result; the additional time was certainly worth the wait, considering the product they put out. Here's what I saw when I opened the box:

Imagine my surprise...when I pledged, I pledged for the leather cover AND a softcover. After all, I need one for the home and one for the office, right? Well, somewhere in the intervening months I apparently missed a vote to make the softcover a hardcover. That made me smile in and of itself. Then to see that they added a dust cover for the leather version as well (seen at the upper left, removed)? Magnificent. Of course, the leather cover is itself magnificent; the cloth-bound hardcover is nothing to complain about either. The content? 550 pages of synonyms, from medieval/fantasy weapons to modern military vehicles and firearms. Transportation of all kinds. Animals, real and imagined. Plants, symbols, and descriptive terms usable in ANY genre of storytelling. And it comes with a truly MASSIVE index, helping you find your way through the pages and words.

Truthfully, I'm not sure that I could have (reasonably) asked for anything more. After all, the gilded pages, silken page finders, and the hand-illuminated pages were kinda pipe dreams anyhow. [Tongue currently planted firmly in-cheek.]

Also included were physical copies of a novel by the great James M. Ward, entitled The King's Commission and The Storyteller's Anthology. There's nothing wrong with a little extra reading material, right?

All in all, a nice surprise on an otherwise grey, depressing day. What made it better? It came to the office, rather than my home address...so I could enjoy it earlier!