Ruthless Diastema Podcast
The Ruthless Diastema Podcast had some nice thing to say about The Stork. Check it out here: http://ruthlessdee.com/index.php/?p=2065
The Stork has been nominated for an ENnie Award!
The Stork has been nominated in the “Product of the Year” category for this year’s ENnie awards. The winners are announced at GenCon.
I am truly honored to have The Stork included in the same category as the other nominees, all really strong products. Congratulations, all of you.
Here is a link to the complete list of nominees: http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/?page_id=2156
Strangers on a Bus
I bring you the first documented account of someone delivering a package to a stranger! I must commend the bravery and generosity of this person. Really great stuff! Read their tale below.
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Firstly, I received the package and was excited to open it up. After reading through the well illustrated pages I began to feel nervous. I’m generally a pretty easy going guy but the thought of trying to give a stranger a nondescript package and walk away was interesting. I wanted it to be a stranger – I feel as though that passes the message on better, has more impact and it truly is about just paying it forward and knowing nothing is coming back your way (maybe a thank you and some good karma).
As opposed from going about my normal day and driving to uni I thought I’d jump on the bus.. better chance to interact with someone. I picked a woman, about 35 years old and talking on the phone. After she got off her mobile I asked her if I could borrow her phone to make a quick call as my phone had just died (that was a lie). I suppose I was attempting to qualify her and know the stork would be passed on, even if only once more. I wouldn’t have walked away if she said no, I wanted to gauge though how she would react. Without hesitating she offered me her phone. I said “thank you”, and after a moment said “actually can you hold that for a second while I grab something”. It all became just a little more weird from here.
People around us started to look as I did my best to explain to this woman why I was trying to give her a mysterious object, in a box, with something rigid inside wrapped in an envelope. Very apprehensively she says “is this a bomb?”. Deviating for a moment I think some design aspects could be modified. Was a little confusing and can give away a surprise if you write what you gave them in the ledger – a lot to type so if ever you had a chance for to Skype would be great to talk.
After the initial awkward moments of my poor explanations and her puzzled questions (like, “is this stolen?”, “are you sure it’s not stolen”, “ok but what if it’s stolen, why would you give me this if it were yours”) she was smiling with her new (second hand but in near new condition) iPod touch as well as some foreign currency and a little note. The iPod was used rarely since I bought my phone. Was an upgrade from the tattered mp3 player she had clipped on her shirt.
My stop arrived and I just told her to have a great day and to pay it forward.
A nice lady that left me with a smile all day. I still think about who the stork is and what’s happening out there. Would love to hear the stories.
Stork Tales
Hey, everyone! I trust that everyone has received their copy of The Stork by now. I’ve heard a few accounts from friends about their experience choosing and delivering a package. It would be great to hear more stories. So please let me know what you think of the book and what your experience was like!
The Stork has landed!
Two big boxes arrived today via UPS! The book looks really great. No issues at all. The cover is a nice glossy red.
Over the next few days I will be mailing out the book to all of you as well as Indie Press Revolution. For those of you in the States, you should have your copy next week. It will be a little longer for our friends around the world.
Thank you all again. It will be in your hands soon!
Printing is Underway
I got the minor printing issue worked out with the printer and the job is now in their queue. Unfortunately, it will be about 2-3 weeks before it is ready to ship (they are a small shop that is very busy). In the meantime, I am working on a more robust web site for The Stork. I’ll share the link once I have something to show you.
Proof
I received the print proof for The Stork the other day. It looks really good. It will look even better with the UV coating on the cover. There was a minor issue on one page (a thing strip of the image was in greyscale instead of color). Once that is resolved, the printer can do the full run. Continue reading
Update 3/12
This was a short week as the first half was taken up by a wonderful trip down to Big Bend. And then I had to get caught up with everything the rest of the week. Continue reading
Taking Flight
At the time of this writing, The Stork has been funded for $1310, which is $210 above the goal. I am overjoyed and humbled and astonished by all of the support from friends and strangers alike.
But when it was only funded for $500, I felt the dread coming on. I worried that things wouldn’t work out and I’d let all these people down. I imagined all the sympathetic looks and the “ah, well at least you tried”s. I made up all kinds of things about what it might mean if the project didn’t get funded.
Then I recalled something someone said in a blog post a few weeks back. Excuse me, what I said in a blog post. About acting like it is a done deal and not giving up. A lot of things I write are directed at myself as much as they are towards other people. It is like having an emotional savings account to fall back on during rough patches.
So I decided that $500 was nearly halfway there. I decided that there was plenty of time and lots of people were just going to contribute later. I decided that someone was waiting until the right moment to make a dramatic contribution. As it turned out, all of these things were true.
I want to be less afraid. I want to trust any process I have set in motion. I want to have more faith in myself and in other people. It is happening, step by step, with the occasional explosion of wings unfurling.
The Stork Needs Your Help
I want people to be braver and kinder. I want people to know how much they matter. I want people to get beyond their obstacles. But sometimes people are afraid or self-defeating or unaware of the impact they have. Sometimes they need a nudge. Sometimes people secretly want permission to be fantastic.
That’s why I created The Stork. It is permission to step outside your comfort zone, to be daring, to be silly, to see what it is like to not keep putting something off…whatever it is you need to give yourself permission to do.
And you can’t do it alone. The Stork is a game where you must interact with at least one other person in order to succeed. These moments, these glowing points of contact, cannot be encapsulated because they are different for everyone. But for me, the times I have been The Stork, I feel like I matter and I am reminded that I am capable of more than I’m currently settling for.
The Stork is entering its last week on Kickstarter and it still needs a bit more funding in order to succeed. Please visit the page and have a look at the project. If it resonates with you, please consider contributing $10 or $25 (or any amount) to keeping it alive.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1679934955/the-stork-deliver-the-package-change-your-life
Thank you,
Drey
