Happy Christmas – Hannukah – Kwanzaa – Omisoka – Saturnalia – you know, Happy Holidays!
I hope you’re enjoying your Tuesday, December 25, 2018 – no matter what you’re doing today. While I have a few moments of downtime while visiting my family for the holidays, I thought it would be nice to share a gift of my own with you! Today I want to give you just a small sneak peek at the content that you can find if you pledge to the first tier of the Patreon page I set up to help support me financially as I work on Project 52, now known as Dinners with Caroline.
The first tier will be the most accessible pledge zone for my readers, and perhaps the most financially attainable for many fans. I have titled this tier “Fan Babies.” Here’s the description straight from my Patreon page:
Fan Babies $1 or more per month Fan babies want to help keep the content they like on the Internet, but also want to eat dinner, so they help in a way that works for them! Benefits of this tier include: -Helping a content creator that you enjoy -Access to cut scenes, original drafts, planning notes, and more periodically on your Patreon feed
I am always changing things in my work and altering the stories that I craft. I also doodle a lot of my notes because I am a visual learner. I have to see things in my own handwriting and in some sort of chart or picture format in order to lock it away in my brain vault. I’ve already started filling up a notebook with all sorts of Dinners with Caroline notes for my blog. Sometimes, too, if I’m having a bit of writer’s block, I’ll doodle something extra about the characters and the world where they exist.
But my gift to you is a sneak peek! I’m not going to show you everything that’s already posted onto my Patrons Only dashboard over on Patreon, but I do have a bonus image I saved specifically for my blog and my Facebook page for hype purposes.
As you may have guessed, it took me some time to actually develop the finished logo that you see for the project. I toyed with writing styles and color palettes before I decided on the design that I am using now. Without giving you the whole run down, I’m sharing this image showing the progression of the logo that I settled on for the blog.
The topmost design is the sketch. It was actually the very first sketch that I threw together to test out the waters and see if I could find something that I actually liked. I spoke to friends and family members about the design, and this seemed to be a favorite of theirs. I actually didn’t **love** it initially, but it grew on me over time and now I can’t imagine what the logo would be if I had gone with any of the other options.
The bottom thumbnail was a quick paint to test the colors and design, trying to see if it would look good all together. These colors weren’t my first pick, actually, and I decided to put them together after several other trials with other palettes. Again, if you make a monthly pledge (of even just one dollar) on my Patreon, you can access all those other designs that I tried.
And, as you already know, the biggest image in the middle is what I chose as my final banner. I used a free photo editing software that came with my computer to make the background transparent so that I could use it in a few different places in a few different ways. I think, in the end, everything turned out exactly the right way. It feels worth the headaches and tears now.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful day, and that you’ll consider giving my Patreon a look. Even if you can’t pledge today, next week, or even next month – maybe someday you’ll be able to contribute to the cause. If not, there are other ways to support my work – and that’s by getting the word out there! Consider also liking my Facebook page and sharing what I do with your avid reader fans. The only way to grow is to spread the word!
Thanks for being such a loyal reader. I can write and write, and create and work hard on a story, but without readers, it’s for me only. That would be fine, I suppose, but I want to share this passion of mine with the world – which I need readers to do successfully. You are appreciated far more than I can ever express. My best wishes to you, your family, your friends, and anyone else that you care about in this world.
Until the next time…
–ab
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