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Mercedes Lackey's Deluxe "Heralds of Valdemar"

Created by Mercedes Lackey & Zombie Orpheus Entertainment

The complete Arrows trilogy in one deluxe leatherbound omnibus, including silver and blue foil, six ribs, full-color interior art plates, painted edges, a ribbon marker, and a new Valdemar album by S. J. Tucker.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Live Hangout with Minutes to Go
about 2 months ago – Fri, Jun 26, 2026 at 03:14:56 PM

Well, this is it! We're closing in on the final minutes of the campaign. If you meant to pledge, now is the time. BUT THAT'S NOT WHY WE'RE HERE.

Ben, our campaign manager, is going live with BackerKit in a few minutes to talk about this campaign, upcoming projects, and chill with other creators in preparation for Booktopia: a big September event where we'll be funding Misty's Deluxe Halfblood Chronicles.

Come join the fun at https://www.crowdcast.io/c/printopia-2026 as we cross the finish line.

And remember to get that pledge in if you haven't yet, because as of this writing there are 108 minutes left and when this is over we're going to have an AMAZING nap.

Thanks!
Misty's Crowdfunding Team

(P.S. We're so, so close to unlocking the final physical stretch goal!)

Final Hours: New Unlocks, Add-ons, Scholarships
about 2 months ago – Fri, Jun 26, 2026 at 07:54:33 AM



Well, everyone, this is it! We're in the final few hours, but thanks to you we have a lot to share.

Also, our support team will do their best to help everyone who has questions today, but due to volume we can't guarantee answers before 5pm, so we've tried to cover the big questions below. There's also tons of information in our FAQ and in our Post-Campaign Guide. If that doesn't help you, [email protected] is open for campaign questions and [email protected] can assist with technical issues.

Onward to the updates!


NEW STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKS

With $450,000 raised overnight, the large foiled postcard is officially unlocked! This makes 16 unlocked stretch goals, blowing far past our original projections, and bringing the retail value of the Deluxe Heralds bundle well over $200. We love it when a campaign takes off and economies of scale make it possible to add so many cool extras... and there are just a few more goals that we're hoping to reach!

  • $475,000 – Turn a filler box in the special packaging into a full-color Herald's Chest. It's still just a box, but it will be pretty (and you can put things in it. Or maybe WE can put things in it...)
  • $500,000 – We raise enough to cover the cost of every single scholarship request. Currently 707 scholarship add-ons have been purchased, but we need 1500 to meet the number of applicants. At $500,000 raised, we'll be able to cover the difference and make sure that everyone who applied for the book receives one!


NEW ADD-ONS

You asked for them, we added them! Stickers and bookmarks are now available as add-ons. Remember that each Deluxe Heralds pledge already includes this, so these are just if you want extras.


Note: since Art of Heralds comes with perforated pages (for easy framing/coloring/etc) we may include the stretch-goal sticker sheets inside the book for extra protection.


SCHOLARSHIPS: DON'T PANIC!

We've had several people worrying that they might receive a scholarship and not have time to redeem it, so we're making it extra easy for you: scholarship recipients who don't pledge in time will be manually added to the pledge manager when the campaign ends. We're serious when we say that nobody gets left behind. And yes, we will be bringing back our shipping scholarship program as well.

If you applied, please log into BackerKit and check this page to see if yours is unlocked!


WILL THERE BE POST-CAMPAIGN PRE-SALES?

People are also asking if pre-sales will be available after the campaign. Yes, with a caveat: we have a hard cap on how many books we can sell. Right now only 737 out of 5000 are left, with up to 250 more in reserve. Once every copy is claimed, that's it. If today's pledges go wild, we may sell out in within the next eight hours (not likely, but not impossible.)


NEW COLORING SUBMISSION

Thanks to Jennifer for giving us one more piece of fan art to share with you as part of our Community Coloring Gallery!



Oh, and the poll and commenting on this post open to everyone, not just backers! We'd love to hear from you.

More Stickers Unlocked + Stories from Fans
about 2 months ago – Thu, Jun 25, 2026 at 12:26:05 PM

Wow, thanks to everyone to pledged recently to unlock the second full-size sticker sheet! Deluxe Heralds will now ship with double the stickers (and we'll see if we can actually add those sheets to the center of Art of Heralds.)

For those who have joined our community to make this book possible, thank you!

For those who are considering pledging, please get your pledge in by tomorrow, because the campaign is closing in a day.


STORIES FROM FANS

For many of us, physical books are memories -- the covers remind us of how they made us feel when we read them the first time, the emotions are encoded into the page, and the wear tells us that we're revisiting an old friend.

When we design a book like Deluxe Heralds of Valdemar, it's an act of love: for the story, for the memories, and the author. 

These stories and photos from fans speak for themselves:


This is the first set of Valdemar books that my mother gave me and she passed away a year ago. This book would hold years worth of memories for me.




My best friend gushed, I read, and we were both hooked. I’ve owned at least three versions of each of these early books over the years. I am currently proud of my complete ebook collection, which I read every year or so. (The friend and I are still good too!)




I read this for the first time when I was about 10? The Queen's Own omnibus was given to me as a gift by a close family friend and I adored it. I read it literally to pieces. (The binding glue started crumbling... lol) My dad bought me a new copy of the hardback, I bought myself the paperbacks of the separate books years later, and I loaded up on all the Valdemar I could get.



I started reading Misty when I was 12-13 years old, I spent my babysitting money to buy books and asked for them for every birthday/holdiday presents. Misty has been my all time favorite author since then and I still have the original paperbacks I bought when they first came out and I would love to have an omnibus that I don't have to worry will fall apart while I'm reading it. 



My mom was a huge fantasy lover, and passed that love onto me. She died when I was nine, and I inherited her book collection when I moved out on my own. Mercedes Lackey is the only author she kept up-to-date on until her death in 2003, and I would dearly love to be able to put this compendium next to her well-loved copy of the Arrows Trilogy.


"Arrows of the Queen" was how my aunt first introduced me to Valdemar when I was in middle school. I was a shy kid and related a lot to Talia's struggle to make friends at the Collegium. It has been one of the most-read books on my shelf since. 


Talia has always been one of my favorite fantasy characters and Heralds. I can relate to some of her struggles and have often wished I could do more to help the people around me. She has such a deep well of strength and compassion and integrity. I see my own search for understanding and connections in hers. She offers hope that with a little help, there might still be a way through even when it seems impossible.

Happy Birthday Misty + Bonus Stretch Goal
about 2 months ago – Wed, Jun 24, 2026 at 04:36:42 PM



How many stretch goals did we blow past? As of this post, fourteen. FOURTEEN. You monsters. (You are not really monsters, this is an inversion of expectations through wordplay, where something called monstrous is actually wondrous and celebratory. It is almost as amusing as over-explaining a minor joke for comedic effect.)

Anyway... let's all wish Misty a very happy birthday in the comments or on her Facebook post! She's dedicated the last forty years of her life to writing novels, stories, songs, and more, as well as support for numerous charities, bird rescue work, and social justice initiatives. And because her work means so much to us, over 3500 people have gathered together to make this book possible.

As a birthday thank you to this community, we're announcing a stretch goal upgrade AND a bonus stretch goal. 

  • The sticker sheet is now upgraded from 6"x9" to 9"x12", which will fit perfectly with the Art of Heralds book! AND.... 
  • At $437,500 we'll produce two 9"x12" sticker sheets instead of one!



Finally (until you reach another stretch goal and we get to type more words), we're thrilled to share another Community Art Gallery submission from Bobby Joe C. Thanks Bobby!

End-of-Campaign Guide to Timelines, Shipping, and Surveys
about 2 months ago – Wed, Jun 24, 2026 at 08:35:00 AM

Can you believe that our campaign is almost over? As always, it's been a wild ride, and we're all immensely thankful for your support! We get to make these gorgeous books because you make it possible.

NOTES FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICANTS

Please log into BackerKit and visit this page to see if your scholarship is unlocked. Sometimes emails get lost and we've heard from a few recipients who didn't realize that they could pledge until they happened upon the page.

If you are gifted a scholarship and miss the opportunity to pledge before the campaign ends, we will manually add you to the pledge manager afterwards, so that you still receive surveys and your rewards. Nobody gets left behind.

The Ultimate Guide to Timelines, Shipping, and Surveys

If this is your first time crowdfunding, you're probably wondering what comes next!

With the campaign wrapping up at 5pm Pacific Time on Friday, we wanted to take a moment to post a comprehensive guide to help you all through the surveys, manufacturing, and shipping journey that we're about to embark on together. The most important advice we can offer? Don't panic and don't hesitate to ask for help! 

Our team is here to make sure every issue gets resolved. You can always send an email to [email protected] for any support requests, which we'll happily get to during regular business hours.

If you don't want to read the entire update, please do look through this update for [Backer Action Items], where we share the steps you'll need to take to help us get your rewards shipped.

Here's what to expect when...

  • The Campaign Ends
Upon conclusion of the campaign, BackerKit will immediately charge the card that you used to place the order. This mostly goes smoothly, but sometimes it doesn't. If your card fails to process, BackerKit will try again several times. If it still doesn't work, don't panic! Your backer information will still be in your account and you'll be able to try an alternative payment method when surveys are sent.

  • Funds are Delivered
BackerKit takes two weeks to process payments and build a final report. Fourteen days after the campaign ends they will deposit funds to our bank account, minus their platform and processing fees. Meanwhile, we'll solidify manufacturing quotes with our fulfillment partners, based on the estimated numbers of each item ordered.

  • Surveys Go Out
Once we have accurate backer and payment data from BackerKit we'll be able to email your backer surveys. It's essential that everyone fills our your surveys quickly. We'll let you know in advance when the surveys will be sent.

[Backer Action Item] – Whitelist messages from @backerkit.com in your email client. This is how we'll deliver your surveys and digital rewards.

The surveys will ask you to confirm your pledge and add-ons. If you're receiving physical rewards we'll also ask you for your shipping address.

Every backer will be asked if you're a resident of Washington State. This is for tax purposes, so we can make an accurate payment to the state of taxes due.

Surveys WILL calculate shipping charges — we've done this enough times to have a pretty good sense of what will cover shipping, handling, and packaging. Every backer receiving physical goods will need to authorize payment details in the survey to cover shipping and handling. We operate these costs as a "pass-through" – we only charge actual costs (shipping, handling, card processing, VAT/GST) with no markup. Handling charges will be much lower on this campaign because rewards are packaged together in advance at the factory: it counts as one item instead of twelve items!

We'll charge shipping later — Every backer will receive a 48-hour notice email and a BackerKit update telling you when we're charging cards for shipping, as well as instructions for how to postpone the card processing if the timing is bad for you.

[Backer Action Item] – Complete your survey!

  • Survey Reminders Go Out
We'll email survey reminders periodically, as well as posting BackerKit updates. The best way to stop receiving those reminder emails is to complete your backer survey!

  • Manufacturing Orders Are Placed
Once at least 90% of backers have completed your reward surveys (the sooner the better, please!) we'll finalize our manufacturing orders and start production of all rewards.

  • Product is Delivered to the Warehouses
We plan to manufacture every reward with a single manufacturer. This helps us avoid extra freight and complications. Once everything is finished at the factory, it will travel by freight to our fulfillment center in Los Angeles, and from there the packages will ship worldwide. Freight can take a minimum of 4-6 weeks, and possibly longer. This is the stage where we have the least control over delays

  • Addresses are Confirmed
We'll email a 48-hour notice when we plan to lock addresses. YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS AT ANY TIME between surveys going out and the address lock. Just access your BackerKit account and change it. There's no need to email us asking for a manual address change, just log into BackerKit!

[Backer Action Item] – Double-check your address and make sure it's correct.

After addresses are locked, we can't promise that you'll be able to change it again, as that's when we submit shipping information to our fulfillment partners.

  •  Digital Fulfillment Begins 
Digital rewards will be fulfilled via your BackerKit account. You'll receive an email that will log you into that account, where all of your digital downloads will be available.

[Backer Action Item] – Log into BackerKit and download your digital rewards.

  • Shipping Begins
Our warehouses often ship in waves based on order complexity. With thousands of orders going out, some backers will receive rewards before others. We'll communicate through the process so you can follow along... and know when we're done!

  •  Troubleshooting, Returns, & Support 
Mail delivery is a rough and violent process that can cause all kinds of damage to innocent packages (typically between 1% and 4% of orders). If anything happens to any of your rewards in transit, we'll have a form you can fill out to get replacement items. We're totally committed to making sure that any merch damaged in transit is replaced at no additional cost to you. We're hopeful that our fancy shipping boxes will reduce the chances of damage by a significant margin.

Similarly, you can always reach out to us via our customer support email, with any other support requests or questions.

  •  What About If Things Go Wrong? 
As we've learned in fulfilling prior campaigns post-COVID, best-laid plans are now more vulnerable to third-party delays and general weirdness in stressed supply chains (like the great cardboard shortage of 2021 and the tariff wars of 2025). While we always hope for the best, if we encounter problems in the delivery pipeline, we'll communicate them clearly with you, including explanations about what happened, what we're doing to mitigate it, and its affect on our timeline. 

Because we're all vulnerable to sudden scarcity, environmental disasters, market crashes, and other disasters, the best way we can respond is with mutual support in the face of adversity. Thank you in advance for your help and patience if we have to face any of these problems together!