Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan on Kickstarter

Hollow World art by Marc Simonetti

The books The Crown Conspiracy, Avempartha and Nyphron Rising are books I've had on my Kindle for a while, but it wasn't until this January when my family and I went on road trip that I finally got around to discovering the awesomeness that is Michael J. Sullivan's the Riyria Revelations series. I wanted an audiobook to listen to for the 16-hour drive to our destination and back, so I went ahead and bought the audiobook version of Theft of Swords. It was a choice I don't regret. The story made the time just fly by and me a new fan of Mr. Sullivan.

The interesting thing is, the series was originally made up of six books that were self-published and are out-of-print now, ever since Orbit picked up Riyria and released it again in three omnibus editions. In fact, Goodreads states that Michael is one of few authors who have successfully published books by himself, through small press, and through the big six, making him an example of an indie author who has found success. So I suppose it is quite fitting that he is currently funding another one of his projects by himself through Kickstarter.

The project is Hollow World, a "cross-genre piece mixing elements of science fiction, fantasy, adventure, mystery, and thrillers." I was so excited when I first heard about it, not only because I was eager to get my hands on anything else Michael writes, but also because it sounded really interesting, so I was more than happy to throw in my support. The fact that pledges of $10 or more means being able to read the book six months before it's officially available for sale didn't hurt either. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who felt the same way, because the project met its funding goals in just 17 hours.

There are still stretch goals to be met though, so I urge anyone to check it out if this sounds like something that will interest you! In general, I think anything that offers new publishing models and more options for both writers and readers alike is a good thing, and it's a wonderful thing to see more and more traditional authors turning to alternative avenues like Kickstarter to get their projects off the ground.