The Third Hilda and Richie Book

On Wednesday morning May 3, 2023, I will be launching the Kickstarter for the THIRD Hilda & Richie book, Hilda & Richie's Sandwich! The goal has not yet been set but will be lower than past projects (US$1000-1500). After wrapping up the final rewards (for the Poison Ivy Gulch Kickstarter) this weekend, I'll be getting to work on that as I'll be contacting the local printers for a quote and continuing work on the script plus thumbnails.

The plan for the book will be the same. It will be an 8 inch by 8 inch book, a standard size for children's books. The print run will be 1000 copies and in color.

Stay tuned to the Hilda & Richie blog as well as my Twitter feed. There'll be more news on the book and its Kickstarter as it develops.

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Reviewed in Midwest Book Review August 2022

 Hilda & Richie's Wizard got a great review in the August 2022 edition of the Midwest Book Review!

"Hilda and Richie's Wizard is a fun picture book story of two foxes who find themselves in a tailspin when the gift of a family relic is lost in the river. Hilda trusted little Richie to take care of the pendant, but his brand of "fun is too much for the pendant" and its chain breaks in the midst of his active young life. Hilda will certainly be angry with him. That's when Mister Abra steps forth to offer a bit of magic to resolve his dilemma. The savvy, quick wizard can solve Richie's problem...but not without a cost.

Max West incorporates a valuable lesson about honesty and owning up to mistakes as Richie assesses his relationship with Hilda and whether it can withstand the truth. Simple yet inviting color illustrations add interest to the tale, which poses the dilemma of how difficult it can be to be honest. Does Richie dare to risk a wizard's wrath by forgetting his obligation? A fine story evolves, holding a message that read-aloud parents will find important and realistic."

More proof you should go buy the book!

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 12

 

This is a reference to future Hilda & Richie books, one of which is already out!

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 11

 Next page of Meet Hilda & Richie!

The next few pages are meant to refer to their stories.  

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 10

 

Yes, Hilda does have an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool.  I am debating having that as the focus of a story.

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 9

 It's time to get back to posting the free Hilda & Richie book "Meet Hilda & Richie".  

This was drawn by hand and digitally colored. 

What's next for Hilda and Richie in 2023

 Okay, it's time for some news on Hilda and Richie.  I've been busy recently with a move and I had to finish up the Kickstarter for Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up.  (That book went to press finally.)

First, I will post the rest of "Meet Hilda and Richie" over the next days.  That will also be posted to my DeviantArt as well as some other places such as Internet Archive.

Second, another free digital book starring Hilda & Richie will come out sometime next year.  These two free e-books are meant to be promotional tools to get readers interested in my books.

Third, there will be more e-books of Hilda & Richie next year that will be available.  These will be available for purchase.  I should be putting them on Amazon for Kindle as well as other places like my Payhip page and DriveThru Fiction.

Fourth, the third print book HILDA & RICHIE'S SANDWICH will still come to Kickstarter next year.  Due to time and resources needing to be used wisely, that will probably not be launched until the spring.  You won't see it on Kickstarter until April or May; there's a chance I may even hold off until June.  There will be more news on that later.

Thanks for your support and stay tuned!

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 8

 For some reason, I forgot to post page 8 of Meet Hilda & Richie.

And so...

Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up!

 First, I apologize for not putting up any more pages of Meet Hilda & Richie.  Now that my next Kickstarter is live, I will take care of that in the next weeks.

Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up, my webcomic Kickstarter, has just launched!

Go back it now!

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 7

 Continuing on with the next page...

Yes, Foxland is a monarchy!  The first king and queen were from England; that is why Foxland's official language is English.

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 6

Picking up from where we left off, here's more of "Meet Hilda & Richie"! 

Hilda and Richie's Wizard in libraries

 I have news!  Just like the first book, Hilda & Richie's Wizard is now in the collection of the North Dakota State Library!

I aim to get that number higher.  If you represent any libraries, feel free to contact me about acquiring copies for your collection.

Hilda and Richie Excerpt on YouTube

 

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 5

 Here, we learn where Hilda & Richie live - it is the microstate of Foxland, located in Europe.  Yes, this country is Liechtenstein with the serial numbers filed off!  

The country of Foxland was colored in with yellow marker; the grey of bordering countries Austria & Switzerland were colored digitally.

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 4

 

Another page from "Meet Hilda & Richie" - despite the fact that he lives in a mansion with a rich woman and can have anything he wants, Richie is just a normal little boy.  Yes, he does go to school!

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 3

 

On this page, I made a change in the text.  I officially added the fact Richie is NOT related to Hilda in any way but she is his legal guardian.

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 2

 Moving onto the next page of "Meet Hilda & Richie"...

Hilda is a very rich woman.  Most of that came from her saving and investing wisely.  In case you didn't figure it out from those money bags, her country uses Swiss francs as their currency.  

Meet Hilda and Richie Page 1 Plus Cover

 A day late but here it is: the free book Meet Hilda & Richie!

That's right - Hilda's last name is revealed here as it is not mentioned in either Hilda & Richie or Hilda & Richie's Wizard.

More pages will be up tomorrow!

Announcing Meet Hilda and Richie!

I've got a special treat for you Hilda & Richie readers.

Starting this Friday (Good Friday) April 15th, I will be serializing a free book both here and on DeviantArt titled "Meet Hilda & Richie".

There's no real story to this book.  But it has two purposes.

First, it is meant to introduce people to Hilda & Richie and get them interested in both existing titles as well as future books.

Second, it is intended to give more information not in the books such as the characters' last names, Hilda's wealth, the country they live in, etc.

Stay tuned for pages from "Meet Hilda & Richie"!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard now on Kindle!

 Big news today!

Hilda & Richie's Wizard is now available for Amazon Kindle!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard books are here!

 I did share this in my recent Kickstarter update now but I will repeat it here.

The Hilda & Richie's Wizard books are done!  I got them from the printer and the first copies will start going out to Kickstarter backers this weekend!

If you want a copy, you do have some options.

I will be at the FM Pop Expo at the Red River Valley Fairground in West Fargo, ND this coming April 23-24.  Copies of both Hilda & Richie titles will be for sale.

Some retailers will be carrying the book too.  There was a retailer tier in my Kickstarter which two backers took; I'll have more info on those in a bit.  Plus I will be going back to Sweets N Stories in Oakes, ND.

I'm still working on getting the book into libraries.  In addition to making the rounds at libraries and alerting Brodart Company, I plan to at least donate a few copies to a few libraries in North Dakota.  On top of that, some Little Free Libraries will get copies as well.

Stay tuned for more news.  Anyone interested in buying a copy direct from me may email me at maxwestart(at)gmail(dot)com.

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Goes to Press!

 More details on Kickstarter but I'll say it here too:

HILDA & RICHIE'S WIZARD HAS GONE TO PRESS!  The book is being printed!

The book will be available soon for sale!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Files Sent to Printers

 I have a brief update today.  On Sunday evening, the final digital files for the book printing to Hilda & Richie's Wizard were sent to the book printer.

We are NOT finished yet.  The files have to be inspected to make sure they meet the printer specifications.  If they are, I will have to go to the printers to inspect the proofs and make sure everything is good.  

If the proofs are good, I will approve them, pay and the book will go to press.

I'll have more news later as it develops.

News on the second book

More news is over on Kickstarter but here's the news in a nutshell.

While we have the Payhip edition of Hilda & Richie's Wizard, an edition for the Amazon Kindle has been delayed.

The book should be put to bed in March; I'm still finalizing the digital files, sending them to the printers and awaiting proofs to review.

Work has already begun on Hilda & Richie's third book; I'll have more news on that later.  Plus there will be a FOURTH and a FIFTH book!

Stay tuned!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Digital Now For Sale!

 

ATTENTION!  Digital versions of Hilda & Richie's Wizard are now for sale!

Get it now on Payhip!

(Amazon Kindle version coming soon!)

Hilda and Richie's Wizard funded!!

 With about 2 hours to go, Hilda & Richie's Wizard has been funded!!

We did it!  The second book is a reality and will pave the way for our next Hilda & Richie book!

LAST DAY for Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 Today is the last day of Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

We have 16 hours left; the Kickstarter is ending tonight at 11:58PM Central. We are only $386 from our goal!

Let's fund my next picture book!

Go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

39 hours left for Hilda and Richie's Wizard!

 39 hours remain until the end of Hilda & Richie's Wizard on Kickstarter!

We need to make our goal so let's get funded!

Go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

Entering the final 48 hours of Hilda and Richie's Wizard!

 We are in the FINAL 48 HOURS OF HILDA & RICHIE'S WIZARD ON KICKSTARTER!

At this time, we are 83% funded and at $2,002!  We are just $398 from the goal!

If you are one of those people who likes to wait until the last minute...this is it.  We are in the last 48 hours!

Plenty of rewards are left!

Go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

2 days left for Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 We are in the home stretch!

Less than 64 hours remain and we are still $438 from the goal!

Make sure you go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

6 days left for Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 Only 6 days remain to fund Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

At the time of this writing, we are 78% funded and at around $1,875.  That is great - but we still need to make the goal!

Back Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

7 Days Left For Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 This is it!  This is the final week for Hilda & Richie's Wizard on Kickstarter!

At the time of this writing, we have done an amazing job!  We are over 75% funded and will most likely make the goal.

Still, this is not the time to rest.  All our progress will mean nothing if we don't pass 100% before 11:58PM Central Time next week on Friday February 4, 2021.

Make sure you go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

10 Days Left For Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 

There remains only 10 days left in the Kickstarter to fund Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

We are 70% funded!  But we still need to make our goal.  All the cameo rewards are taken now but plenty of original art is left as as a reward.

Go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard is almost halfway finished

 Tomorrow is the halfway point of Hilda & Richie's Wizard on Kickstarter.

We took a hit yesterday; someone cancelled their pledge and we dropped to under 40%.  We are still in a good position though as the higher are funding is, the more likely the project will fully fund.

Make sure you go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

Also, check out this video on my YouTube channel!

https://youtu.be/fCCloMqPMhw

Hilda and Richie's Wizard is one-third funded

 

Hilda & Richie's Wizard has been running for a full week on Kickstarter and is one-third funded!

While that is good, we still have to get fully funded.  There's still plenty of rewards including original art from the book and 2 cameo slots in Hilda & Richie's next book.

Make sure you go back Hilda & Richie's Wizard now!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard is now live on Kickstarter!

 It has begun!  We are now live!!

Remember that we only have until 11:58PM Central time on Friday Feb. 4, 2022 to fully fund!

I know we can do this so be sure to pledge today and share this campaign.  Let's make the second Hilda & Richie book a reality!

Back the campaign now!

1 Day Until Hilda and Richie's Wizard!

 TODAY IS THE DAY BEFORE LAUNCH!

HILDA AND RICHIE'S WIZARD WILL BE LAUNCHING TOMORROW MORNING!!

There are plenty of rewards available starting at US$5 and they are neat ones.  I've talked about some of them before.

One of the rewards will be available about 3 days into the campaign.  Do you have a classroom or a school full of young readers aged 3-8 years old?  Or do you own a shop that sells books and want a unique title to offer customers?  Or maybe you know a lot of young children that love reading?

If you pledge US$65, we will send you 12 copies of Hilda & Richie's Wizard!  This is only available to US backers with a limit of 10 slots only.

There are plenty of other rewards too including extras!  If we hit at least 10% funding by Friday night 1/7/2022 at 10PM Central Time, ALL BACKERS get an extra reward.

When we hit various funding milestones such as 25% funded, 40% funded, 50% funded, etc, I will give all backers an extra reward!  That will be sneak peek at a featurette I'm working starring Hilda & Richie.  You'll learn about that tomorrow!

We launch around 7-8AM Central Time tomorrow morning on Wednesday January 5, 2022 AD.

Please follow our pre-launch page to be notified of when we go live!!

Hilda and Richie's Wizard Press Release

FUNNY FOX DUO ARE BACK FOR SECOND BOOK!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hilda and Richie's Wizard, the sequel to Hilda and Richie (2021), comes to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter this Wednesday January 5, 2022.  Created by Max West and being published by Different Mousetrap Press, this incredible book continues the charming adventures of the two foxes.

In their second adventure together, the wealthy Hilda gives her young ward Richie a priceless heirloom: an exquisite silver pendant.  Unfortunately, Richie loses the pendant while playing outside.  The enigmatic Mr. Abra, a wizard, helps Richie by returning the pendant with magic...but only on the condition that Richie tells Hilda what happened.  When Richie hesitates, the wizard teaches Richie and young readers a lesson about doing what is right.

"The first book, while it didn't set the world on fire, sold fairly well and won praise from readers," author Max West says, "This next adventure won't be their last.  We'll be seeing a lot more Hilda & Richie books in the future!"

The Kickstarter is slated to run from Jan. 5, 2022 to Feb. 4, 2022 with a funding goal of US$2,400.  The funds will print and ship the book, currently planned for a 1,000-copy print run.

The publisher, Different Mousetrap Press LLC, is a small press based in North Dakota in the United States.

####

2 Days Until Hilda and Richie's Wizard!

 WE NOW HAVE ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT UNTIL HILDA & RICHIE'S WIZARD LAUNCHES ON KICKSTARTER!!

Here's another one of the rewards we offer and is only available to US backers.  For the price of US$99, you will get all of the rewards I mentioned yesterday in the US$37 reward tier: a print copy, a digital copy, a behind-the-scenes look AND the artist's edition.

BUT WAIT - THERE'S STILL MORE!!

For that pledge, you will also get one of 39 original pieces of art from Hilda & Richie's Wizard!  This will be done on a first come, first served basis and ships only to US backers.  As a reminder, there is a limit of 39 slots open (as there are 39 pieces of art) and when they are gone, THEY ARE GONE!

Want a chance at owning original art of Hilda & Richie?  We launch in two days on Wednesday morning January 5, 2022!

So follow our pre-launch page to be notified!

3 Days Until Hilda and Richie's Wizard!

 WE NOW HAVE ONLY 3 DAYS TO GO UNTIL HILDA & RICHIE'S WIZARD LAUNCHES ON KICKSTARTER!!

I'd like to touch on one of the reward tiers available and that is the artist's edition copy of Hilda & Richie's Wizard!

If you pledge US$37, you will get a print copy of the book, a digital copy and a behind-the-scenes look at how the book came to be.

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!!  At that pledge, you will also get a special artist edition of Hilda & Richie's Wizard.  That is an extra copy of the book (in addition to the one you're getting) and on the inside cover, I will do a personalized message and/or drawing for you!  And this ships only to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Well, what are you waiting for?  Go follow our pre-launch page now!

4 days until Hilda and Richie's Wizard

 Happy New Year!

Let's hope that 2022 is a very good and productive year!

As a reminder, WE LAUNCH IN 4 DAYS FROM NOW ON JANUARY 5, 2022!

We will be launching in the morning by no later than 8AM Central Time; I'm shooting for no later than 7AM Central.

Follow our pre-launch page now!