A Gathering of Shadows - Illustrated Deluxe Edition

A Quick Introduction!
3 days ago – Tue, Sep 15, 2026 at 01:51:56 PM

Hi there everyone!

We wanted to take a moment to do a quick intro! While interacting with us here on Kickstarter or via our support email, the majority of the time, you'll be chatting with a few people! If you backed our first shades campaign, you'll notice we have two new folks with us this time around!

Hi! I'm Eira!

I am in charge of coordinating the campaigns and fulfillment for nearly everything Wraithmarked does. I came to Wraithmarked a little over 4 years ago after spending more than a decade as your friendly neighborhood IT gal. Most days, I can scarcely believe it's real. But here I am, with all you fine people, eagerly waiting to get my hands on this and every book we make. :)

A couple of quick things about me. I've written a cyberpunk novel, published tabletop RPG, and occasionally play the bass guitar for local charity events. When I'm not being a total dork, I collect bumps and bruises skating with a local roller derby team under the name 'Tryst Issues'. 

Hey there! I'm Heather!

I wear many, many hats! You'll likely talk to me if you check out these updates, send us a support message here on Kickstarter, or a ticket via email. I also help with coordinating our Kickstarter campaigns and fulfillment, and in between all of that, I also design our enamel pins! Being able to work creatively has been such a blessing - I love what I do. <3

Within Wraithmarked, I'm a bit of a nerd. Outside of Wraithmarked... also a nerd. I work part-time for funsies at my local anime store and have my own illustration business that allows me to travel to different conventions and meet some truly fantastic con-goers and fellow artists alike! I build Zoids model kits, play too many video games, collect trinkets, and dote on my cats, Soren, Taro, and Edgar.

Hi Hi! I'm Shep!

I'm the new Customer Service Specialist (or, just a guy, yknow?), and I'm helping Eira and Heather with replying to messages on Kickstarter and emails! I'm here to help not just the team at Wraithmarked, but also y'all, our supporters and backers! I used to be a bookseller and editor, so this is the perfect combo of working with books and people, and I'm already enjoying it!

Outside of work books, I have to say, my life is just more books! I am a fantasy and horror author, and I love to scour used bookstores with my partner to complete my various collections (me and my 100-year old Jane Eyre are very happy together). We have two cats, Pumpkin and Obi-Wan, and I do translation work on the side for fun (specifically French and ancient Greek!) :3

Hi! I'm Frankie!

I’m in charge of some of our social posting across various channels, but I’m also here to help Heather with updates here on Kickstarter, and you might catch me lurking with the support team (Shepard) when we need some extra hands! You may see me replying at a ridiculous hour to your tickets, I can assure you I’m not awake at 3AM UTC, I’m just part of the growing team in Europe. :3

At Wraithmarked I might be one of the bigger nerds… IT'S NOT A COMPETITION I PROMISE! I play a lot of trading card games and sometimes even travel to regional events to compete. If I’m not on my computer at home (playing video games), I love going to conventions to meet incredible artists and writers, especially seeing the crossover between book artists and my hobby of trading cards.

Okay, back to Wraithmarked…

We bring all this up to let you all know that when you interact with us, you're talking to real people who have been involved with the creative process from start to finish. It's super important that your experience with us is a good one. While we can't promise completely smooth sailing— manufacturing and distribution are tricky businesses— we will do our best to keep y'all informed as the process progresses.

That's all for today! Just wanted to stop by, give y'all a peek behind the curtain, and say hello! Thanks again for supporting what we do here at Wraithmarked!

Be well! 

Eira, Heather, Frankie, & Shepard

And just in case you want to check out more of our work!

We've had SO many people requesting Frankenstein after we began doing the Classics. Well, the wait is nearly over! Check out the pre-launch page for the campaign HERE! 

This project truly is a labor of love and one very close to our hearts (get it?). We hope to do this beloved tale justice!

Some Exciting News! Pt. 2
24 days ago – Tue, Aug 25, 2026 at 07:53:29 AM

Hey all! It's Bryce, back with Part 2 of the August Update as promised!

Two weeks ago, I did a flyby to let you know something cool would be coming later in the month, and we wanted to delay the August Update slightly so that we got what we needed in hand to show off.

Well... We got them ;) Check out the video below, or scroll down if you don't want to skip the surprise and get straight to the good stuff!

(ignore the bookmark comment. we realized after filming that we'd confused a color issue, and the black IS correct!)

For those who scrolled... We have proofs of 'A Gathering of Shadows' in hand!

And they LOOK SO GOOD!

Anytime you switch printers in the middle of a series, there is the fear that something is not going to be able to be carried over. We've all seen it on the shelves of a bookstore.

Fortunately... This new printer does not seem to have that issue, maybe cause they're just up the road from our old one. xD

They've managed to match the size and details pretty much to a T! We had one minor concern that it was confirmed was only because these are proofs, so some of the elements (the end sheets in this case) are hand cut rather than machine cut. So said concern won't be an issue in the print run!

But yeah... We are PLEASED! And hope you are, too!

Now... An important note about fulfillment! 

We are still a very long way from delivery! This was a quick approval, meaning that we're now in the queue for printing (months sooner than we were for A Darker Shade of Magic's timeline) but we still need to get through printing, get the run through QC, freight them to the US, possibly wait to wrap ongoing fulfilment projects if we get these books way ahead of schedule, package, and ship everything!

So for now, we're still holding ourselves to that summer 2027 goal. That said... We are very keen to get these books to you guys as far ahead of schedule as possible, because we all know that Wraithmarked needs to prove to you guys that the situation with A Darker Shade of Magic was a fluke, not the standard.

So... With some luck, look forward to these a lot sooner than anyone expected!

And now... A brief gallery for you!

PS: If you're a fan of the above art, Felix Ortiz, the interior artist for Shades, is one of many in our 101 Artists art book that's live right now!

We've just added a charitable element to this book that will be announced in detail after the campaign ends, but a portion of all sales is going to go towards combating art theft for AI usage. So thanks in advance to anyone who checks it out!

LINK: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wraithmarked/wmartbook

Some Exciting News! Pt. 1
about 1 month ago – Tue, Aug 11, 2026 at 06:45:33 AM

Hey all! 

We hope your week is going well so far! Usually we post one update no less than every 30-ish days, but because of some convenient timing this is just letting you know that we have a substantial update coming in a week or two, with something in hand we think will help you guys see how much work we put into making sure we did NOT have the same issues with Book 2 as we did with Book 1. We could have just waited the extra week or two, but we know people keep an eye on these updates and timing, so we’d rather shoot this out now and send you a second update in a couple weeks than let anyone think we aren’t aggressively staying on top of the printing for this volume!

More coming soon!

7/15 - Pledge Over Time - 3rd Payment! Remaining Surveys Being Sent!
2 months ago – Wed, Jul 15, 2026 at 10:27:08 AM

Final Pledge Over Time Payment!

We wanted to check in real quick to let all the Pledge Over Time folks that they should be expecting to see the third (and final!) charge for their pledge today or in the next few days.

As a reminder, if you have questions about the Pledge Over Time feature, you can visit this help center article for more information or reach out to Kickstarter’s support team here.

Please be aware that the times mentioned above are estimates. We try to stick to them as much as possible, but sometimes it takes an extra day or two to move on to the next phase of the process.

Remaining Surveys Being Sent!

Since the smoke test at the end of April was a success, we'll be sending out ALL remaining surveys today! It may take a little bit for Backerkit to process they surveys being sent, maybe even a few days, so we appreciate your patience!

If you do not see your invite email show up by the end of next week, please take a look at the following:

• Spam Folder: Survey emails can occasionally find their way to your spam folder. If you don't see anything come through from Backerkit check your spam folder first.
• Apple ID Email Addresses: If the email address tied to your Kickstarter account is a secure Apple ID address, the survey email may be blocked entirely. The email addresses look something like this:  "[email protected]".  If you're not seeing the email from Backerkit, check to see if your email address looks like one of these. If it does, we recommend that you first change that email in Kickstarter so you avoid any future issues.
• Once you've checked both of those things send us a message here or send an email to [email protected] to let us know what your updated email address is.

If you are a Late-Pledge backer (you didn't back the project while the campaign was live)...

You will not receive a survey as all the necessary information we need is collected upon check-out!

Going Forward

Here is what you can expect in the coming months as we work on fulfilling this project.

• First, please remember that we operate on a 12-14 month production and fulfillment schedule.
• As we get all of the products made, you can expect to see an update from us one to two times a month. So stay tuned here for all the latest!
• Once we have the products and are ready to start fulfillment, we will post an update and send an email giving everyone 48 hours to update their addresses if needed. Once that window closes, you will not be able to update your address yourself and will need to contact us directly to make those changes.
• With addresses locked, we will start packing and shipping. This final step will take some time. We appreciate your patience. ❤️

GETTING SUPPORT...

There are 1-2 of us who monitor support emails. We'll introduce ourselves in a future update, but for the moment, we want to fill y'all in on our availability.

First, we work 8am-4pm EST, Monday-Friday, excluding all US Holidays. If you contact us via email ([email protected]), you can expect us to reply in 3-5 business days, though typically much sooner than that. 

Pledge Over Time - 2nd Payment!
3 months ago – Mon, Jun 15, 2026 at 10:54:56 AM

Pledge Over Time - 2nd Payment!

We wanted to check in to let all the Pledge Over Time folks that they should be expecting to see the second of three charges for their pledge in the next few days. There will be one final payment after this on or around July 15th. Once those have been completed, we'll be sending surveys out to all Pledge Over Time backers. We expect that to happen on or around July 15th, as well.

As a reminder, if you have questions about the Pledge Over Time feature, you can visit this help center article for more information or reach out to Kickstarter’s support team here.

GETTING SUPPORT...