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Vellum Updates and a Bribe Giveaway

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We will start with a brief vellum update and then switch to the giveaway. I am bribing you.

Some people saw me testing things on Facebook this morning, and I wanted to explain it before any misunderstandings occured.

It’s our first time printing vellum so we made some decisions that slightly complicated our life.

Our original vellum, the one that is advertised in image below is printed on 40lb vellum. It’s thicker, the colors are brighter, and it is exactly 6×9 so it fits into US hardcover.

It fits in the book, but it is thicker and it is a bit of struggle to make it stay. It should have been printed slightly smaller.

We have now tried 5 different printers. At some point, I invited Grace Draven to the house to get unbiased opinions.

First, we dropped the white border and settled on the size that would fit both UK and US hardcovers.

Next we found a thinner vellum at 28 lbs that still shows the beautiful colors but is much thinner and lays better in the book.

We have one more batch coming to us before finalizing the no-border vellum. After that, the no-border vellum will be available as a separate product. We don’t want to throw it out there before we have pictures to show you.

We would like to give you options at the fulfillment.

  • You can choose to stay with the original vellum with white border. We printed a ton of it and we have it in stock.
  • You can switch to the no-white-border version at no additional charge. It is a one for one swap.
  • And those of you who would like to get both, border and no-border, will be able to grab a set of no-border vellum at a discount. We will just stuff it into the same envelope, saving you on shipping. The add-on pack will be available only with a regular order.

Once we have finalized this second variant, we will send you an email through the store explaining how to choose your options. If you run into trouble, please email us and we will sort it.

A little warning about the fulfillment: we expect it to take several weeks. We have in excess of 2,000 orders. Kid 2 is stuffing maps into the envelopes as we speak. We even put Rito to work.

We appreciate your patience.

We will start shipping after 07/08, and if you get worried, email me through the store and I will be able to tell you your place in line.

Also I now know way too much about vellum.

Giveaway Bribe

We have received beautiful collected editions of Innkeeper Chronicles Volume 1 from Subterranean Press. It is a gorgeous book, and we are very grateful to Subterranean for reissuing it.

(And also an unexpected gift of the wonderful Sencha Tea! A giant bag of it. Dear Geralyn, thank you so much! It is appreciated beyond all reason.)

This collector edition contains Clean Sweep, Sweep in Peace, and One Fell Sweep. Clean Sweep is currently available free in our store.

This is your chance to grab one of these copies. The giveaway will run until 07/09 and the winner will be chosen on 07/10.

  • US only – unfortunately, it is a massive book, and shipping it internationally will be a nightmare. House Andrews will host other international giveaways soon.
  • To enter, please let us know in the blog comments who is your favorite character from the Innkeeper Chronicles.

PS Mod R:

Ilona wrote this post, but I am changing author to myself so she doesn’t get the thousands of comments alerts – House Andrews are on the last scenes of Maggie 2 and they need full focus!

Please read the instructions before making your comment, I have had to void so many entries in the previous giveaway.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Favorite character is Orro, the dramatic and brilliant chef who loves mangoes.

  5. Ooo I’m in the US- and favorite character. Man I love Dina obviously, and she of the tiny ripper-cushions. But Maud has a secret spot in my heart. I relate too hard as a mom 🙂

  9. Dina is my favorite character in the Innkeeper Chronicles. She makes the series feel so cozy and I love all of her funny jokes she makes. Her love for coffee calls to my soul.

  11. I love them ALL! I will say Sean, he holds everything steady and his love for Dina rivals that of the BDH.

  12. My favorite is Her Grace, Caldenia ka ret Magren Letere Olivione, Dystim Adrolo-She Who Controls Fate, the Light of the Midnight Sun.

    She like several of your characters shows that power and love can show up in the most surprising and indomitable ways. Also being an older woman can mean expanding not just shrinking and becoming invisible.

    The book and vellum are gorgeous! Thanks so much!

  13. Hi,
    My favorite Inn Keeper character is the house, Gertrude. How clever and cool to have the house be a sentient partner that protects and supports Dina!

  14. I’ve only read the first one so far, but Dina is definitely a fave, along with Beast too.

    Can’t wait to keep reading!

  15. this was hard, of course. but I think I’m going to go with Arland. Or Maude. Or Dagorkun. Or Gertrude Hunt herself. hmmm. Im not very good at this.

  19. My favorite character is the chief debater of the Koo-ko with an honorary mention to the Gertrude Hunt. Love that house!

  20. my favorite Inkeeper character is Maud. She’s grace under fire and puts up with no BS.

    Innkeeper is my favorite series!

  22. Tough choice, love all the characters. Going with Maude today because she kicks arse. I think my favorite character changes daily because they are all amazing!

  26. My fave character has to be Dina! I mean she’s the main character for a reason right? I love that she’s a bad-ass but also empathetic and sincere. She’s genuinely a kind person but firm with boundaries too, rather than letting people walk all over her. She has a very good balance between the two traits, which I love.

  27. Nuan Cee is my favorite character, any time he is on the page or speaking during the audio book I know something interesting is about to happen! Fuzzy and dangerously clever.

  28. oooohhhh the only thing that has gone into my brain as I focused on the UK relevant bits rather then USA was last scenes of Maggie 2 yay yippee and all the challant feelings

  29. Innkeeper has so many good characters! I think its got to be Dina though, anyone else I picked would be getting weighted extra for having less page time, but I’m always happy to have Dina’s POV as the primary.

  31. My favorite-is the INN itself-Getrude Hunt! I love the idea of a sentient house who is a partner to the innkeepers!

  32. My fav Innkeeper character is definitely Helen, the Queen of Ripper Cushions❤️💜

  34. Beast. Beast is my favorite Innkeeper character. Beast has her priorities straight: protect those you love, eat yummy things, enjoy a good nap.

    Ilemina is a close second. She rose above tough beginnings to make something great with her life, found love, wants her family to be happy, and spoils her soon-to-be grand kiddo as a grandma should.

  35. Asking for my favorite character in this series is like asking me to pick a favorite hair on my head there are too many to choose from! From the Hiru to the Koo-ko there’s just so much to love. But if I have to choose it’s Sophie. Getting to see the culmination of her and George’s story *chef’s kiss*

  38. My favorite character is Maud, but Hellen is a close second just for her “ripper cushions” quote.

  41. Hmm, favorite character??? So so many. Dina herself, Beast, Osalard (the cat version), Officer Marais (and his wife, Donna), Lady Wexin, Soren, … so so many

    But if I have to choose, it will be between Maud and Helen …

    So Lady Helen … I own the ripper cushions!

  44. Dina is my favorite! Sean and Orro are very close seconds, but Dina is still the best!

  45. The Lee Merchants. Reading how Cookie progresses in the family was great and Nuan Cee, with the complexity of character I didn’t expect but absolutely love!!❤️

  47. My favorite character is Caldenia. I want to be her when I grow up (minus the tragic backstory, please). Perfection!

  48. Dina has to be my favorite, because I identify with her so much. If Inns were real, I would absolutely try to be an Innkeeper!

  51. It has to be Dina for me. But… There are so many other wonderful characters.

  55. Hard to narrow it down to just one but I would go with Orro. He seems like he would be interesting to share a conversation and meal with.

  59. oMG!!! There are so many favorite characters from the series I LOVE! Orro, Helen, Nuan Coukie, Beast, Her Grace, Gaston and his Skullduggery, but Dina is my absolute favorite ❤️ Thank you so much for the giveaway!

  63. My favorite character from Innkeeper Chronicles is Dina. She is just immensely relatable, a force to be reckoned with, kind & wicked smart, talented while putting in the work, passionate and also fun. I feel like if I ever stayed at any B&B in Texas ever, I would look for and almost find her. She is tangible to me.

  65. Sean is my favorite character in the Innkeeper Chronicles. I want a Sean in my life!

  66. Ooooh, vellum options galore!

    A for the giveaway, my absolute favorite Innkeeper character is Dina, because who doesn’t want a magical Inn and magical puppy/creature?! Sign me up!

  71. My favorite character is hard it is between Cookie, Orro and Dina…. In no order…. They are just so much fun

  72. It is hard to choose just one character-I love them all! Since you only want one, I would say Dina.

  74. caldenia has always been a favorite. I love the development we see with her through the books. Her confidence and wisdom are always something I have admired.

  75. First of all, thank you for all the care and work going into these products.

    Second, Dina ia an easy pick for favorite, though I do adore Orro.

  78. I unfortunately have not read the Innkeeper Chronicles yet, but they are on my TBR! I did take a look at some art for the characters and right off the bat, my favorite character is Caldenia. She’s a beautiful woman in her 60s and dresses elegantly, with a cool as heck earring. I want to be her when I grow up! 🙂

  80. I always had a soft spot for Caldenia, and her backstory made me like her even more but Dina is my favorite.

  82. My favorite is Caldenia. Can switch effortlessly between meddling in intergalactic affairs and meddling in neighborhood drama, has an exquisite palate yet munches on Funyuns. She’s just delightful, any scene where she participates is just a delight!

  84. Oh- it so depends on the day. I adore them all! But today is definitely a Maud day.

  86. So many wonderful characters to choose from, but I definitely think my favorite is Orro. So much drama, so much exquisite cooking, so many donuts, he fantastic!

  88. For me, it’s a tie between Beast and Caldenia with the First Guest edging ahead.

  89. It would be amazing to get this! Who is my favorite character? That’s really a tough question. I love so many of the characters! But I guess I’ll stick with Dina, since her character and story is what pulled me in to start.

    The vellums look amazing, can’t wait to see them in person. Thanks for everything!!

  90. My fav character is 100% little Helen!

    …”Ripper-cushions”…classic!

  91. My favorite character is Donna Marais, Officer Marais wife. She is a regular earth human, with no inkling of the strange galactic goings-on in her neighborhood, but she still kicked butt at Costco and did not take any BS from her husband OR from Dina. I hope she’ll have a role to play in later installments! Could the Marais kids play with Helen perhaps?

  92. One of my favorites, because really, it is so hard to choose just one is Caldenia. She is feisty and knows exactly who she is, and unapologetic about it!

  94. Maud – she has fought for everything she’s gotten and taken too much shit from Arland’s mom.

    Big question, will Orro do the whole wedding feast or just the cake??? Vampire bakers are easily as competitive as Pack bakers.

    USA

  95. As so many of us have said, I love all the Innkeeper characters, but the one I think about most often is Gertrude Hunt. So loyal and nurturing, and yet so very mysterious still to this day. Still very much hoping that game comes about someday!

  96. innkeeper is my favorite series and Caldenia is likely my favorite. her backstory and motivation was wonderful to explore.

  97. These stories have been like comfort food for me and while I love them all, Oreo always makes me so happy

  100. it is difficult to choose just one. But Dina will be my choice, because without her, there is no Sean, Orro, the Nuan Cee, George, Maud and Arland, etc., at the inn.