CYOA Style Novel, YCH opportunities, and Patreon News!

Hello all my wonderful Patrons! I have some news that I wanted to share regarding some special future projects along with Patreon updates as well. So without any more intro, let’s get to it!

To start, and I always say this but it never feels like enough, I really appreciate all your amazing support and often kind words. They mean the world to me and motivate me to keep producing content for you. It’s with that in mind that I want to present to you a rather unique storytelling experience: Escape From Dr. Daring’s Laborynth!

Now what exactly is this? Well, as some Patreon members know, there was a recent poll for narrowing down future novel ideas and one of the winners was the ‘Escape’ idea. Rather than take it the route of a typical novel, I’ve devised something a bit more fun and interactive. After being presented the initial chapter, which will lay out the situation, seven unlucky (or lucky, depends on your point of view) victims will then have to make their way through the mad doctor’s Laborynth: a sinister mixture of science, magic, horror, and choices.

Then, once the stage is set, the story will continue in monthly chapter installments which will always end with a decision to make. Sometimes it will be as simple as guessing between two doors, or other times you’ll have harder, more moral decisions to make where outcomes can drastically change not only who escapes, but if anyone will. A new intermediate Patreon tier will be created that, among other perks, will be able to vote in polls to decide which direction the story goes in next. They’ll also have access to a special Discord channel- Kate’s Adventure Den- where they can discuss the story and possible outcomes with the author (that’s me ^^ ). When the story concludes, I’ll put it all together and self publish the book with all Patreons of that tier or higher receiving their copies for free.

And the fun won’t stop there. This will be just the first book produced in this vein and if it proves popular enough, I have more than enough ideas to keep us going for a while!

Now one thing you might have noticed in the story is the mention of the seven victims who will have to somehow try and survive their way through everything. Who are these seven strangers? That will be up to you! The seven spots will be up for bid in a Your Character Here (YCH)-style. This is for people who want themselves, or a character of theirs, to try and survive this novel and be immortalized in.

For those interested in bidding on one or more of those slots, the bidding will go a slot at a time across several websites so bids will be sent in messages to me including the bid amount along with the character they’re looking to have used.

Below I’ll list the basic criteria for those characters:

- Be human, between the ages of 18 – 50, and exist in our world.

- Include as detailed a description of the character as you can provide (your clothing will be provided to you so no need to worry about that).

- General personality traits this character would possess.

- Basic backstory

- Useful Skills

- Transformations you DO NOT want (anything completely off limits).

- Transformations you’d prefer (The more options you list, the better).

Some further notes to keep in mind when bidding for one of these spots:

-If you’re coming in hoping for a particular transformation to occur to you (horse or pig transformation, for example) this is not the story for you. While I will try to honor some requests, and will definitely honor DO NOT lists, your fate is in the hands of both me and the voters. So be open minded as to the possibilities. If you provide only one or two options for your accepted transformations, this may not be the story for you.

-I can guarantee your character will survive their initial appearance and the first chapter but beyond that, it’s up in the air. How much you bid for your character slot will not determine your survival chance, sadly, but I will do my best to make sure everyone gets some spotlight.

-Providing multiple options for your character’s personality can be helpful as well. As my readers know, I like all sorts of characters in my stories so I’m looking for a good variety. Not saying every character needs to be a rebel, but I’m not looking to have seven carbon copy characters either.

- If your backstory was you were a superninja computer hacker from the future with magic power, I’m not interested. Realistic characters please. They’re more fun when given unrealistic situations.

-When I say skills, don’t say, “I can hack every computer” or something silly since I’m not as interested in silly characters. “Was a computer engineer” is far more useful a trait when it comes to building a character. Interpersonal skills, ability to start a fire with just rocks, some survival skills, or whatever can help you think but I’m not interested in perfect characters that can do everything. This is a situation where you’re constantly on the backfoot and just trying to survive. I’m not looking for superheroes. I’m looking for characters.

-Regardless of your character’s fate, any winning bidders will also receive a free copy of the completed novel!

Some characters certainly won’t make it out and, depending on the choices made, maybe no one will. The only way to find out is to help unravel the mystery and world of Dr. Daring’s Laborynth!

As for the progress on things, here where they currently stand:

- The first chapter is mostly already set in terms of edits.

- For that added look and feel, I’ve also commissioned a book cover piece for the future novel that will debut along with the first chapter! Perhaps a month or so on that.

- Once the chapter and cover art are up, bidding will begin for the first of the seven slots. Currently I’m looking at 3 days for each round of bidding but that may adjust up or down as things go.

- I’m planning to allow one person to bid for up to two slots total. That way we do get some variety in who is involved in things. This may change.

- It’s difficult to say for exactly how long the story will go on for. I have several endings in mind, some vastly different from the other, along with more than enough possible bumps and hitches along the way to keep people guessing.

- I’m aiming to make choices really matter, not only when it comes to the fates of characters, but as it pertains to the actual outcome of the story. I’m very interested to see what sort of path you all decide to take as I can imagine a lot of outcomes but the ones I can’t see yet are even more intriguing.

- As it pertains to the new Patreon tier, details are still being worked out there but it won’t debut until all the characters slots are taken and their debit chapter written. Once it is set and published, that new intermediate tier will be unveiled.

- If you’re someone who likes ETAs for things, September is the estimated start date for the actual story.

- Obviously it’s hard to guess a final length for the story, but I’m seeing 40K+ easily so into actual novel length.

- For how the stories will be available once complete and published, there are a few options I’ll look into but everyone will get their copy. ^^

- Some of this subject to change in this crazy, current world.

There will likely be questions and now would be the time to ask them! Or if you have thoughts, comments, or something else to add, I’m always open to hear it! As far as I’ve been able to find, within the fandom anyway, no one has done something like this so I’m treading into unknown water. But I think it’s an interesting enough idea to try and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather do it with than all of you!

-KM