Posted by Josh Radke on February 23, 2010 at 2:30pm
Grail Quest Books is now taking submissions of quality creator-owned projects interested in publication either by, or in Alliance with, the GQB brand. We will consider:
teams working on comic book projects
artists & illustrators looking for art/sketch book campaigns
photography enterprises
audio drama productions
writers for graphic novella publications
Please be aware that while we will consider all submissions that meet our criteria, consideration does not mean acceptance.
Please be sure to read the submission guidelines carefully before submitting. Not doing so could mean your submission being bumped down the line.
Posted by Josh Radke on January 8, 2010 at 11:38am
Grail Quest Books first full year, from our perspective, was very productive, exciting, and insightful.Throughout 2009 we had no less than six parties considering to fund our publisher/animation company, and four that can be labeled as "serious considerations". Due to various reasons (mostly the volatile global economy) all parties ultimately put us on their "maybe down the road" list. Traditional and grant funding for a company such as ours was heavily researched but eventually passed on as a viable option--largely due to the oversight requirements by committees or individuals who do not (necessarily) share our larger vision of second-to-none, no compromise storytelling within the digital age that is the 21st century.As much as we fully respect their decision--and will be happy to have the financial support of investors in the future (if they choose)--the issue is that we cannot wait for them to come around. Every week our projects are getting closer to completion and/or a new project opportunity is ready to enter production. In November and December alone we added close to twenty various talents in relation to our novella and audio projects. There is also courting from time to time of film and TV studios concerning our various properties, and we expect this to continue, if not increase, once the products become available.Like opening round college draft picks, all of our contracted creative talents are 100% proven at the amateur level--if they don't already have professional credits--and are fully committed to all the creative projects they take part in; in other words, art, writing, voice acting, music scoring, sound design, etc. are these creators' passions and career(s) of choice, not just a "cool hobby" or "pastime". We take our role in their lives very seriously and we want the work they do for us to pay off for them financially as well as professionally. This scenario is also why we cannot wait any longer for outside funding.All of GQB's projects are well into active production (as can be evidenced by our Facebook and Twitter feeds) and all creators are fully committed to our stories, which have been carefully developed over several years (and in the case of the Shadow of the Stars series, well over a decade). The only element missing at this point is the necessary funding to complete these creative projects so they can be made available to the marketplace in a timely manner and the revenue put right back into the creation of more stories.We also have the publishing licence for Decipher's WARS property; Decipher is a game publisher responsible for the internationally best-selling card games for Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek. We are thrilled to be developing WARS into an impactful franchise and the reactions we have received from fans and the entertainment industry alike concerning it are exciting! (I would also add that you will have the chance to speak with some of the creators behind GQB's WARS novellas at a special panel that will take place at ConCarolinas 2010 this June.)With all this in mind, GQB has decided to appeal to fans of quality, intelligent genre fiction and comics. Therefore we are opening up a pre-ordering drive for our products. There will be several levels of pre-order options. We are also looking to set-up an exclusive newsletter for those who pre-order with additional behind-the-scenes insight on our projects directly from the creators themselves.Our first goal is to reach 5,000 total pre-orders by February 1st. Starting as low as $15, each product in the pre-order will have alternate cover art (or some other special defining factor in the case of our non-book products) exclusive to those who take part in this promotion. All pre-order levels are detailed on the official promotion page along with a list of the various drawing-prizes (a list that will expand as other creators feel the calling to donate).We do recognise and appreciate that it is a risk to conduct this promotion before the products are in their final stages of completion. Although we cannot guarantee a full refund on pre-orders if the promotion falls short, we hope that the talent roster, a glance around this website, its blog, the various visual previews of the comics, the social networking feeds, and those providing drawing-prize donations will help allay any concern as to the committed goals and integrity of our company.Be assured that 100% of all pre-order money goes directly to the production and shipping of art, writing, and audio work as announced on our website. Our printed products will be printed via Ka-Blam Digital Press, allowing us to save thousands on printing costs without compromising an ounce of quality.There are other amazing opportunities on the table at Grail Quest Books that we cannot discuss in this space. These opportunities are time sensitive and usually mean competition with other companies. We are looking to fund the biggest of these opportunities via this promotion, which will be revealed to those who participate in this promotion and should it reach or exceed its "maximum success " goal of at least 33,000 total pre-orders.Please spread the word, and thank you for your support of Grail Quest Books!Sincerely,Josh & Kasandra RadkeCo-owners of Grail Quest BooksRead more…
My publishing company, Grail Quest Books, is looking for two pencillers for our licenced comic book series, WARS. This is a science-fiction property taking place in our Solar System during the 24th Century. You can find out more about WARS at our website. (The property is licenced from the award-winning game company, Decipher Inc., who published the best-selling Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek collectible card games.)Unfortunately, we cannot offer any compensation up front for these assignments. I know that this is not optimal for many artists. For our part this is not our preference either, but we had two lucrative capital investments get scrubbed because of the current economic climate. We are actively soliciting for advertisement accounts to raise money that way. To say that we are frustrated would be an understatement, but my wife and I look at this company as our ministry and we must keep moving. If you know of a potential advertiser, or a penciller whose situation could allow them to work and receive payments from sales (at the least), then please do pass along their names to me and I will be happy to send them an inquiry.There is a signed contract which will establish the complete nature of the professional relationship. The comic series is slated to debut in the early part of 2010.This offer is for pencillers who are looking for a project that they can build their list of professional credits on. NO previous credits are necessary.This comic series will be printed and distributed by Ka-Blam Digital; our company does have contacts for the major bookseller chains, so we do expect to have the trade paperback collections placed in places like Borders and Barnes & Noble.This project will be in production for 12-14 months. Our company has to make regular reports to the licencer, therefore all artists must be able to complete their assignments within the contracted production schedule. Each of the two assignments will comprise 3-4 issues.Please send me a note if you are interested in being considered for this project or have a question. We look forward to hearing from all interested persons.Thank you.. and God's Blessings on all the projects that creators here are working on!
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Posted by Josh Radke on October 27, 2008 at 11:30am
The first five pages of our next series in the Grail Quest Books lineup, Stitched Crosses are now online!This four-issue limited series follows the travels of a former Templar knight as he returns to the Holy Land to face the consequences of a decision made in battle years before. There is action, romance, intrigue, and drama as the personal journey of this knight unfolds against the backdrop of a 12th century world caught up in the Crusades.The interior art is the product of a team consisting of Paul Cox (pencils), Jake Nealis (inks), and Amanda Nix (colours)--with the cover art for Issue #1 by Verónica Rosado.Like our other series, Stitched Crosses will be released online--for FREE--in stages each week ahead of its in-print release (coming later this Winter).
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Posted by Josh Radke on September 3, 2008 at 4:00pm
Republished from grailquestbooks.com“The English landscape and knights on horseback dressed in their heraldric colours were one of the first things I remember loving as a child,” recounts Josh. “And when I realised I could write stories of my own, a ‘knight story’ was at the top of the list.”Markus is an English knight hiding from God and his past. The noble Hospitaller, Sir Charle, and the woman of Markus’s heart, Lady Máirín, try to slow Markus’s downward spiral to despair. A letter left by a slain mentor acts as the calling that Markus must return to the Land of Christ, and his failures. There he will determine whether God means to set his conscience free from the weight of his burdens and restore him, or if he must sacrifice himself to attain his absolution.Music was another major force behind figuring out the central plot of Stitched Crosses. “I was channel surfing one evening and I happened upon a performance by a group called Celtic Woman. It was just in time to hear one of the women sing a song called ‘The Soft Goodbye’–it is probably one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, and it struck me immediately as the perfect foundation for the story. My creativity is often triggered by music. Casting Crowns, Bebo Norman, Jim Byrnes, selections from Creed’s Weathered, and other songs also helped me to naturally figure out the main character’s why’s and wheretofor’s.”As with most of Grail Quest Books’ comic projects, Josh assembled the art team of Paul Cox (pencils), Jake Nealis (inks), and Amanda Nix (colours) for Stitched Crosses by selectively mining for talent in various online art communities. “There are so many great artists out there like Paul, Jake and Amanda, and the team working on my wife’s Shadow of the Stars comic series–they all deserve to be seen. Even if we could contract [any artist in the industry]–and there are a handful we hope to work with–we are thrilled to help aspiring artists working to get a foothold. Afterall, it is these artists who are helping us to achieve our initial publishing goals, and words cannot describe our gratitude. We are all together in this.”Despite being set in the waning days of the 12th Century, the challenges faced by the characters of faith in doubt, and a world in turmoil, are as relevant today as any other. As Christendom makes a push to retake Outremer from Saladin’s Muslim forces, historical events and exciting period action serve as the canvas to this story of one knight wrestling with his spirit. Stitched Crosses is a four-part story scheduled to debut in October.Pages from this upcoming title can be viewed at our Facebook page.Read more…
A nine-page preview of Issue #1 of Shadow of the Stars: Advent can now be viewed (in .pdf) or downloaded at Grail Quest Books newssite. The issue will be available to download online in its entirety at the end of August.Let us know what you think!UPDATE: The preview has been removed since we are getting ready for a wide release in a week or so. We would like to thank the 203 people who took the time to read the preview. A special “Thank You” to all who provided comments and links to the news story at deviantArt, Christian Comic Art Society, and HalfPixel…as well here at the weblog!The first nine pages are now available as a flash file.
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You are invited to discover a Realm just beyond the threshold of the galaxy...The traitorous Lord of the Shasar, Helel, came to "the Realm in the Shadow of the Stars" with revenge on his mind against the Lord of Gods. He forged a rebellion that empowered the gods and seperated the Realm's citizens from their Great King. Then, as silently as he arrived, he disappeared...It is now some five thousand years later in The Shadow of the Stars: Advent. The son of Lord Helel has escaped captivity and enigmatically taken refuge from his Shasar pursuers on Tellron--a planet located in one of the few regions largely untouched by the greater war.Meanwhile, after a series of decisive battles, the whole of the Realm is at the brink of being overrun by the gods and their servants for the first time since before the Forever War began. But other winds are stirring as the Realm strains under the weight of its ancient betrayal, and the long-forgotten advent of its redemption is about to be known.The Shadow of the Stars is the creation of Kasandra M Radke. "I always had a fascination with angels and mythology, especially Nordic and Egyptian. I spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like if those two groups interacted and fought over some unknown part of the universe." As the granddaughter of a respected former Protestant church leader in Germany, and a lover of the Pini's Elfquest, the Hohlbeins' fantasy works and such popular German shows as Winnetou and The Rose of Versailles, there was much to fuel a young girl's obvious natural talent for creativity. By the time she was fourteen, she was tirelessly developing, through writings and drawings, this new world revealed to her."The idea actually started with a fan fiction I was writing based on a Japanese anime show about soccer that was popular in Germany," she remembers. "All of a sudden the characters from that fan fiction meshed with my deep interest in angels and mythology...and everything else I was watching on TV and reading."The Shadow of the Stars is set in an epic landscape with elements that will be aesthetically familiar to readers--such as mythical gods, historically-themed cultures, warrior orders and mast-and-sail ships--with architecture, characters, and other aspects very much original to the fantasy universe. And all of these are coming to readers as a visually-told story for the first time by the comic series' exceptionally talented art team of Kat Laurange (pencils), Dan Prado (inks), and Steve Townsley (colours); their work based on the adaptation and script of Joshua J Radke, who is best known for his contributions to Lucasfilm's fan magazines, Star Wars Insider ("Who's Who of Echo Base") and Star Wars Gamer ("Wraith Squadron: The Dirty Dozen of Star Wars")."At the heart of the story is redemption and the price that comes with it," Kasandra says. "That and the power of friendship and self-sacrifice. I know that these themes are not new in storytelling, and I don't think that they should ever stop being told. The only thing that changes is the presentation of communicating these age-old virtues, and the ways that authours balance the adventure with the deeper meanings of the story to keep things fresh for the community of readers."SOTS: Advent is a three-issue comic book series that will debut in late July 2008. It is the first part of the SOTS: The Prince of the Universe trilogy. The series will be available for download online in a manner to be officially announced in the coming weeks; a printed trade paperback collecting the first series is planned for 2009.Please visit our website to learn more about the artists involved with this series, preview pages (in the news section), and other titles that we have in development.
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