The Retired Assassin's Guide - Collectors Edition
An illustrated collector's edition. A special print run, for a beautiful reading experience.
Why a Collector's Edition?
When I was a child, our bookshelf contained novels my father had inherited from his father. They were gorgeous clothbound editions, with full colour illustrations and ribbon bookmarks.
I've always wanted to make my own version of this, and now, that time has come.
This October, you can join in a campaign to create a hardcover collector's edition of 'The Retired Assassin's Guide to Country Gardening.
It'll be a beautiful book to put in your shelf — a classy memento of your favourite New Zealand cosy mystery series :)
If you want to be part of bringing this special book into the world, click the button below 
The Hardcover Edition
- Foil-stamped hardcover — with a beautiful moonlit scene from the book
- Foiled Dustjacket - because more foil = more prettier books :)
- Sprayed edges — to make the book extra-special
- Original interior illustrations of Dante, Charlie, Eleanor and the town of Te Kohe
- Custom Chapter Headings: by a New Zealand artist who really knows her NZ flora and fauna
- Full-colour illustrated endpapers
- A glorious map of Te Kohe (Because who doesn't like a good map...)
- Ribbon Bookmark & Custom Head & Tailbands - for that classic look and feel...
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106,000+readers so far
The Artists
I hired three artists to create the art for this book. They are:
- Claymore Covers for the foil cover
- Tung Nam for colour illustrations & endpapers
- Holly Dunn for interior illustrations & maps
They've done an amazing job in bringing the world of Te Kohe to life, and I'm stoked to feature their work.
Opens 14th October. Runs for two weeks.
Early backers are what makes a Kickstarter campaign a success.
Kickstarter launches in
Followers get notified the moment it opens.
What is Kickstarter?
Most of my readers have never backed anything on Kickstarter, so I'd like to explain it properly here. Here's how it works:
- Kickstarter is like a shop that opens for two weeks. When the campaign goes live, you can look at what's on offer, and purchase your special edition book if you wish to.
- Nothing is charged until the campaign ends. You pledge now; your card is only charged on the final day, once enough people have joined to make printing possible.
- If not enough people join before the campaign ends, nobody pays anything. That's the whole point of the system — it protects the purchaser.
- When the campaign closes, I print the books and post them to you. And they'll arrive on your doorstep, looking beautiful.
When you go through to the next page, click the 'Notify me on launch' button.
That's it. You're good to go.
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Why not just sell it in your shop?
Because a foiled, illustrated hardcover has to be printed in a big batch, and I have to know how many before I can order any. Kickstarter is how you find out how many people want one before you spend the money — which is why editions like this exist at all.
What does joining the 'Prelaunch' mean?
It sends you one email the moment the campaign opens, and nothing else. It doesn't commit you to anything and it doesn't cost anything.
It does help me though: Kickstarter shows projects with lots of early interest to more people, so following genuinely changes how well this goes.
Do I have to make a Kickstarter account?
For the prelaunch, yes — an email address and a password, that's it.
Is my card safe?
Payment is handled by Stripe, the same company that processes payments for a large chunk of the internet. I've backed several Kickstarter campaigns, and have been happy with my purchases.
Can you post to me? I'm not in the US.
Yes. I'm in New Zealand and I'll be shipping worldwide. Postage is calculated at checkout so you can see the cost before you commit.
When would I get the book?
Printing starts once the campaign closes, and books are posted in the first quarter of 2027. I'll email you at every step, so you know where your book is at.
