Stories That Bleed is dedicated to my son for a very particular reason.

The dedication reads as follows (I've omitted his name here, but it will be printed in the book itself):

To BABY H, who entered the world twelve weeks early and four days after I started writing this story. There is no sweeter labor than being your father.

I had a plan for drafting, editing, Kickstartering—the whole nine-and-a-half yards. But my son was born three months before his due date and changed all of that.

We even had T-shirts and a blanket embroidered with "2024" that became inaccurate when he was born in 2023!

Being a parent shifted dates and priorities in a MAJOR way, as any parent could tell you. Drafting took longer than planned. I pushed this Kickstarter campaign back eight months.

And this story is better for it.

Parenthood is a strong theme in this story. There's a pivotal father-and-son relationship and a familial legacy element that spans centuries. But I didn't understand how to write it until I actually became a dad.

Now I know a bit. Someday I'll know more.

And I'm excited to write about that, too.

Thanks for being here, for reading, for walking along this journey with me. Especially as we’ve just celebrated Baby H's incredible mother.

Would you share this campaign with a friend who'd want to read it?

P.S.—if you’re interested in no-spice fantasy, check out this promo with LOTS of Kickstarter campaigns 👀