Great News!
3 months ago – Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 10:11:35 AM

Hey Folks!

After a couple of Lyme Disease flare ups over the last 8 weeks, I FINALLY managed to wrap up my involvement with Adventurer's Agency. I've just sent it off to Becky to polish the language one last time with line edits. Becky has a number of editing projects she's currently working on but I'm hopeful I will get her edits back in 4-6 weeks. At that point, I will go through the edits, approve them, and then the PDF will be delivered to all backers who are due one! Then, the book will go to my freelance print-formatter who will create a brand new version of the manuscript that is needed by our print partners to start printing the book. The print-formatter is both skilled and efficient - the last book I sent him was formatted in less than a week.

I want to again extend my sincere gratitude to all of you for your patience. Lyme Disease has been awful and while the flare ups are becoming more sporadic and less debilitating, it's still been a major challenge to deal with in day-to-day life.

I am really happy with how the book is looking, including some brand new art we were able to add last minute. I'm still waiting on a few pieces but will share them in my next update next month. 

Thank you again, folks, and I hope you're all staying warm and safe this winter.

Shane

Small Update
5 months ago – Fri, Dec 15, 2023 at 10:00:25 AM

Hey Folks,

Thanks for your patience. I know this update is about a month overdue. I've made a small amount of progress on continuing to edit Adventurer's Agency, about another 30 pages so far, but unfortunately my health has continued to be my main focus. I've only been able to work a few hours per week, mostly responding to emails and shipping out orders. I have a few medical appointments coming up and I'm confident I will begin to improve soon and will resume full time work soon. Thank you again to everyone for understanding. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I will do my best to post the next update in January.

Shane

Editing Update
7 months ago – Wed, Oct 11, 2023 at 09:01:14 AM

Hey Folks,

Last update, I mentioned I'd been struggling with a health issue. I don't usually like to go too far into my personal life but since it's affected my ability to fulfill orders, I owe it to you all to let you know what's going on. I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease at the end of August. It has been a miserable illness that has tremendously affected my ability to work. Three weeks ago, I had a week where (between my two jobs) I was scheduled to work 64 hours. After pushing myself as hard as I could, I managed to eke out 45 minutes. The two biggest symptoms have been exhaustion and brain fog (essentially feeling like I just got a concussion) but fortunately, after a month of medication, I'm finally feeling about 40% better.

There was a 2-3 day stretch last month when I felt momentarily lucid and was able to meet with Alex and review a lot of the editing requests by Ash. We're now at about 90% done with this editing stage. I have work on my end that I should be able to do this evening. Then, after one last meeting with Alex, hopefully by the end of the week, Adventurer's Agency should finally be ready to move on to the final stage of copy editing.

I know this has been a grueling post-campaign fulfillment process and believe me, I wish this year had gone more smoothly. Between three different significant health events in 2023, I've spent about three and a half months bed-bound. 

I just want to say that I am extremely grateful to all of you for your patience, kindness, and understanding. I've received many nice messages from you all and I so very much appreciate you all.

Our newest Kickstarter just launched - something I desperately wanted to NOT to until at least the digital rewards for this project had been completely fulfilled. However, If I didn't launch today, I would have had to wait until late January. If you're interested in modern horror survival games, check out ALIVE INSIDE. Even if you're not interested in backing while this project is so far behind schedule (I totally get that) you can at least download the free QuickStart guide to see what you think.

Thank you all so much and I will keep you posted on editing progress.

Shane

Content Editing to Wrap up Soon
8 months ago – Mon, Sep 18, 2023 at 04:14:07 PM

Hey Folks,

Thank you all for bearing with me. The good news is that Alex and I have begun going through the edits and are well on our way to wrapping up the content editing stage. We have gone through about 20% of the edits so far and I am hoping to wrap this up by the end of the week - or possibly next week. I've gone through all of Ash's feedback and the good news is most of the changes are relatively superficial. We're not looking at any massive rewrite requests. Most of the changes are around clarity and consistency.

The bad news is that this editing stage should have finished last week. Unfortunately, I had to cancel multiple meeting with Alex as I have been dealing with an illness for which, after speaking to my doctor earlier today, has finally been identified. I have been completely exhausted the last month - on top of numerous other symptoms. Luckily my doctor suspected the illness and began treating me last week even before the bloodwork came back. I am well on my way to recovering and am feeling significantly better. Unfortunately, this has set us back another week or two and, for those counting, marks my third significant health event of the year. I am hoping this is a three-and-done situation.

I've spoken to Alex and we are going to meet again Thursday evening. As soon as we finish this stage, the book will go to Becky for the final round of polish editing.

Thank you so much to everyone for bearing with us as this projhect has faced countless delays. I cannot tell you how much your patience throughout this process has meant to me.

Shane

Editing and Writing Update
9 months ago – Thu, Aug 10, 2023 at 07:54:02 AM

Hey Folks!

I normally post these updates once per months on Monday's but this weekend is my 10 year wedding anniversary so my wife and I will be taking a long weekend away.

Editing

Adventurer's Agency is still in the content editing stage with Ash. I spoke to Ash and he should have all of his notes finished by next week, at which point Alex and I will review all of the changes and wrap up the content portion of the editing phase. Frank Ard, our typical copy editor, is currently in the middle of upending his life as he moves to Gerogia, USA after accepting a new position there. Congrats, Frank! He will still continue to provide editing for us, but he will need the next month or so to settle in and begin his new job. In the meantime, I have brought on a second Copy Editor, Becky McKenna, whom I have known for nearly a decade. She has already worked with HHP as a playtester and she is excited for a more permanent role. It is likely that she will take over providing the final layer of copy editing to Adventurer's Agency beginning in late August. She is extremely detail oriented but works quickly. We expect her to complete the final round of edits by late September. From there, we will need about two weeks to finalize the layour for hardcover printing before sending the book off to the printer.

Agency Contracts

The companion adventure booklet is progressing smoothly. I talked to Alex last week and we compared notes as we are writing this book jointly. At this point, four of the six adventures are nearly complete. And significant playtesting has already occurred for them. One of the adventures, Prison Break, will have the party break into the Franzhold, a coastal prison north of Blumont, to rescue a wealthy merchant who was (allegedly) smuggling magic items into the city. Here's a sneak peek of the adventurer's map. If the party can successful rescue Urgan One-Eye, they'll be rewarded with some of the merchant's wares - assuming they don't end up in prison themselves.

That's all for now! I will have another update in September to let you know how things are looking!

Shane