Defiance of the Fall Vol. 1 - Illustrated Deluxe Hardcover
Created by Wraithmarked Creative
Volume 1 of JF Brink's hit series gets a deluxe edition!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Books Have Been Received in the US! And an important notice for non-US Backers.
22 days ago
– Fri, May 15, 2026 at 11:37:11 AM
Hi there everyone!
Following up on our last update, we wanted to let you all know that the books have officially been received by our warehouse in the States! We had some scheduling conflicts with drop-off, so it delayed their getting to us by a few days. Either way, we have them in-hand now and will be prepping US orders for fulfillment soon!
Since we're currently working on fulfilling a campaign prior to this one, we still have a little bit of time before these go out the door. That being said, we'll post our final address lock update for both US and Non-US orders closer to then.
To prepare for that (and just in case folks miss the next update/email from Backerkit), we wanted to take a moment and remind you how to check your submitted address! Using the following link, enter the email address that's attached to your Kickstarter account and you should be able to pull your pledge right up!
Handing the update off to Bryce for an important announcement for Non-US backers!
Hey all. Bryce here. Going to do my best to keep this as brief as possible. This is relevant to the 20-30% of you who are not in the US. If you are a US Backer, this portion of the Update does not effect you. For our Non-US Backers:
TLDR: Our current fulfillment partner has consistently been failing us, and therefore, you. So we're moving everything to a different partner.
The longer version:
I could make this an extensive list because it's a pretty long one. But I'm going to keep it to the general two points that affect you guys the most, so you understand why we are doing this.
First, we have been getting near-non-stop complaints about the subpar quality of packing and shipping of our non-US books. This has also come with a significantly higher (like... significantly higher) reports of damaged books requiring replacement. More than once the packing has been so poor that those replacement books then had to be replaced... again.
Second, repeated delays in fulfillment related to large gaps in communication and lost product.
Regarding the subpar quality of packing:
It's easier if we show you. Below is what a typical Wraithmarked book (with some exceptions) is SUPPOSED to look like when properly packed. A branded box designed for the task, book protected by tissue paper (sometimes honeycomb), layers of cardboard to keep it tightly in place and protect it from most impact issues.
This package bounced back to us after sending it out, so it's been through the ringer twice.
While our non-US books used to all come similarly packed, that has not consistently been the case recently. A combination of the partner failing to communicate when they were running out of our materials and not properly training their staff has often resulted in things more like this:
So... yeah. Not happy with that. Reason 1 we're moving.
Regarding the delays in fulfillment:
No images for this, sadly, but it's pretty straightforward. We will sometimes go weeks between emails with this partner, with them failing to even touch base when we follow up with questions about "Did you receive a product?" or "When are those orders being fulfilled?"
If you were a Non-US Shades of Magic Backer, you suffered the consequence of this. We were told that Shades would be out the door within a certain time period. Our Head of Fulfillment followed up several times to ask when shipping would start, with no response for too long a period. In fact, we didn't hear anything back until I followed up with my big bad CEO title, and they finally got moving.
Reason 2 we're moving.
What does this mean for this campaign?
If you're reading this, then the campaign involved will suffer a delay in fulfillment not only because of this transition but because they have an earlier campaign to fulfill prior to fulfilling this one. We understand that's frustrating. We actually COULD have allowed fulfillment to happen for most of these, but our confidence in this partner is so low that we would rather tell you (in some place yet again) that there is a delay than risk having them deliver more damaged product. Even if the book isn't damaged, I'm no longer willing to let this former partner impact Wraithmarked's reputation in the eyes of the people who receive terrible packaging, thinking that's Wraithmarked's baseline. Because it isn't.
Depending on how soon we can get product moved from this former partner to the new partner, the delay could add as little as two weeks (on top of the time it will take our new fulfillment partner to process the two mentioned campaigns above). However, that former partner is (shockingly, I know) not being communicative about facilitating the transfer of our products to the new partner, resulting in us yet again being delayed in something as basic as scheduling a truck pickup.
We will do everything we can to keep you in the loop in our upcoming Updates. For the time being, I'm sorry for the delay. I'm just not willing to risk sending you guys more damaged and mishandled product, especially given the increased number of complaints we've been getting over the last few months.
If you have any questions, please comment below and someone on the team will answer or pull me in to answer.
Cheers,
Bryce, CEO
The Books Have Been Freighted!
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 11:46:56 AM
Hey folks!
This update is a little delayed - we're so sorry! It's been a bit hectic at the office with sickness and convention travel going on. Our apologies; thank you for hanging in there!
As of last week, we received word that our Non-US fulfillment partner has received the books! Hooray! While those books are getting checked into their system, we'll be packing up the merchandise and sending it their way. Because they have a few other projects that must be fulfilled before this one, they'll be holding onto these for the time being. Once Non-US fulfillment is close to beginning, we'll be posting the address lock update for folks to make those final address changes. Just in case, we'll post the link here in this update as well; see below!
For US backers, we received word that the books will be received by the NY port the last week of April! Right around the corner! Once they're received, they'll make the journey to our HQ, and, just like Non-US folks, we'll be finishing up a couple prior campaigns before sending that final address lock update. Just in case some of you have changes/want to check now, we'll post the link here in this update as well; see below!
And, in case some of you missed our update a couple months ago showing off the books, let us refresh your memory with the approved proof copies! These are STUNNING.
We'll see you in the next one! Thanks for stopping by!
An Update to Fulfillment! And... An Upcoming Campaign!
2 months ago
– Mon, Mar 23, 2026 at 02:18:14 PM
Hey there folks!
We hope you're weekend was wonderful! We wanted to take a second to update y'all on the status of printing. Our previous estimated printing completion date from the printer was end of March. Currently, that date is holding!
We also have... advanced copies! These just came in on Friday - they arrived so we could have an early look before the bulk of the books ships out to us. These are to help us catch any last-minute things that may have occurred during printing; a sneak peek at the final print run! We've just approved them as of this afternoon!
From here, we'll wait to receive word that all books have officially finished printing, then from there, they'll be packed on the boat ready to ship! This process can take a few weeks, so we're currently aiming for a late April/early May fulfillment if everything goes to plan and the weather cooperates for shipping (crossing the ocean will add 2-3 weeks or so)!
The next update will likely be a check in, just so folks can be prepared to double check addresses and such! :)
THE ULTIMATE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY OMNIBUS
This one seemed like something a lot of you guys might like to be aware of!
On May 5th, Wraithmarked will be releasing what we believe could be considered the most ambitious omnibus edition of Douglas Adam's THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series ever produced.
As in not only is it a full-color book, but it's going to include 42 full-color illustrations. And that's JUST the interior art. So add in the Smyth-sewn binding. And acid-free paper. And custom covers. And end sheets. And cloth wrapping. And... Well... You get the picture.
There's more detail and a LOT more art revealed on the pre-launch page, so take a look if it interests any of you guys! As always, this will be a single-print run with campaign exclusive discounts, so Kickstarter is the only place you can guarantee your copy and get it at a discount!
Addressing the new (potential) tariffs, and shouting out a cool RPG/progression fantasy campaign!
3 months ago
– Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 06:44:18 AM
IN REGARDS TO THE POTENTIAL TARIFFS
Hey all, Bryce here. This is a quick one.
As with the last time we went through this situation in 2025, I wanted to let our buyers and Kickstarter Backers who are still awaiting their products know that Wraithmarked Creative will not be instituting any additional fees to cover potential tariff costs.
At this time, it's unclear if there will be new global tariffs, much less what they'll be if they come into being. Regardless, in the event that they happen, please rest assured there will be no surprise fees put in place to cover those costs if you have already purchased a book from Wraithmarked Creative or are awaiting a product from one of our campaigns. We'll manage the additional cost one way or the other.
Here's to hoping these tariffs don't come to fruition, period.
All the best, and thank you, everyone, for your patience while we've navigated the complexities of publishing in 2025/26.
Bryce O'Connor, CEO
AN RPG CAMPAIGN WORTH CHECKING OUT!
Ascended is a mobile, fantasy-themed, RPG fitness app where exercise drives progression! Players interact with a case of characters as they complete story-driven missions, and progress is measured by earning XP, leveling up, earning gear for their avatar, as well as teaming with with other users to defend Arcadia!
Lots more details on their actual campaign page! Created by author Clay Harmon and his wife Meghan, it's very clearly had a lot of thought and love put into it, and is worth taking a peek at!
(And no, they didn't ask for the shoutout! We just think it's a really cool idea worth checking out, especially by progression fantasy and LitRPG/progression fantasy lovers!
An Update to fulfillment! And... a Wraithmarked Update!
4 months ago
– Thu, Feb 12, 2026 at 12:45:46 PM
Hey there folks!
Hope your week is treating you right! We wanted to take a moment and let you all know the latest in terms of production, shipping, and fulfillment. As per this week, our printer has let us know that Defiance of the Fall will be finishing printing by end of March. With this in mind, packing and shipping to us and our international fulfillment partner will likely be in the following week or two (fingers crossed, as always)! Once that happens, we'll be sure to let y'all know!
Typically, we like to show you guys behind the scenes goings on when it comes to book production such as quote requests, a look at the interior art and merch goodies offered during the campaign, maybe even an author signing - that kind of stuff! However, when we can, we also like to let you folks know that we are still a small, independent company with a handful of dedicated employees wanting to make waves in the publishing world. We've come a long way from when we ran our very first campaign, which brings us to today...
We are officially moving into our first warehouse! No more garages or storage units! WOOHOO!
This may not be the most exciting news for some, but for us, it was a looong time coming. We are so excited to begin this new journey in a new location, and we've already started moving our things over! We now have a loading dock! (Like I said, very exciting for us)
That being said, during this process, our support and responses will be a little longer than normal as it's all-hands-on-deck for the move. We're anticipating things to return to normal later next week, but keep in mind, we may have a slight backlog to get through. If you have questions at any point in this process, check out the campaign FAQs and if you need additional help, please send an email to [email protected].
