Hello Monster Truckers,

It hasn't been that long since the last update, and I don't want to overwhelm you, but I have a couple of important things I want to share/show off and a request:

We're doing pretty good at survey completion with 91% complete. We're past the original deadline to get that info in, but the good news is I'm extending the deadline to 7/31. I'd like to make sure everyone who has a credit gets in the book and I have all the right sized shirts and what not.

If you had the create a character add-on, I emailed the address you used with Backerkit asking for information. Please respond if you got it or check your spam folder if you didn't. If we miss that deadline I cannot guarantee that your character will appear in the printed book (at least the first printing). 

Final Hat
I got in v2 of the hat and it looks amazing. This is the final version of the hat that you're going to get if you ordered one. It features an embroidered logo and a mesh snap back and is a two tone grey/black.  I have a very limited amount of these hats, so if you missed out you can still add one as an add-on or pre-order one.




Keychain(s)

As I reported last update, I had made a mistake when ordering the keychains, getting them with the wrong logo. The good news was that costs were low enough to give you both keychains for the original price. And here you are, the two Monster Truckers bottle opener keychains that you'll get if you ordered one (or pre-order one). 

This is all great, but what about the book?! Things have been going a little bit slower than I hoped, but I'm done with the first draft of the writing and it's in layout. Now I'm circling back and  adding the commissioned art and other graphic designed items. I'm also potentially commissioning a few more art pieces here and there if I can. 

My original page count goal for the book was 80 pages, at this point we're over that count at 92 and that will either go up or down a bit, but likely not down much. We're at almost the exact right amount, not too skimpy and not full of bloat. It feels really good so far and I can't wait to get it out to you all.

Thanks again for supporting Monster Truckers.

Remember that you can find me yapping about Monster Truckers more frequently in the follow places: Bluesky, Threads, Table Cat Games Discord, or even the Table Cat Newsletter (sign up on the home page). 

Hey Monster Truckers, we've got some news and info for you coming over the air:

We're doing pretty good at survey completion with 88% complete. We're coming up on the 7/18 deadline to get them in, so don't wait! 

If you had the create a character add-on, I emailed the address you used with Backerkit asking for information. Please respond if you got it or check your spam folder if you didn't. If we miss that deadline I cannot guarantee that your character will appear in the printed book (at least the first printing). 

Hat
I got a hat prototype back. I buy a *lot* of baseball hats and this is a higher quality than a lot of them.  There's a few tweaks I want to make to make it better, but overall I'm pleased with the results. If you're wondering what the planned tweaks are, the logo is going to be flatter, not raised, and I'm going to change the colors a bit so there's a better contrast so they pop more. I'm also going to reduce the size of the logo a bit because it feels too big right now.




Shirt

I got a sample of the shirt and it looks and feels great. I'd share a pic of me wearing it, but I spilled something on it already... anyway it's got a nice soft fabric that I've switched to when ordering all my shirts now. Before they were a little rough. This is like a soft kitten cuddling you.

Keychain



The keychains are really cool and look great in person. You may have noticed a big error though... the logo is the Monster Truckers logo and not the in universe blood brew one! Well, I made a mistake when ordering these. The great news is that the cost was lower than anticipated, so I ordered another batch with the in universe logo and that means... everyone that got a keychain is getting TWO different keychains at no extra cost! And if you haven't added a keychain to your add-ons yet, you'll get two keychains for the price of one too!

Stickers


The stickers are cool. I got some neat holographic ones. Not much to say other than it's a sticker! Oh and a reminder that if you followed the Monster Truckers campaign pre-launch and then backed, you get a sticker for free.

We're trucking along! Wow are you not sick of that phrase already? Anyway, I've got about 80% of the writing into layout with the first pass. Also some more art came in. Once the layout first pass is done, then I can go back through and add a bunch of the art to the book and create a bunch of graphic assets to really make it look good. 

Thanks again for supporting Monster Truckers.

Remember that you can find me yapping about Monster Truckers more frequently in the follow places: Bluesky, Threads, Table Cat Games Discord, or even the Table Cat Newsletter (sign up on the home page). 

*pulls air horn* This is not a drill!  Please fill out your survey as soon as possible. I'm looking at ordering all the cool stuff we need, so the surveys are critical for that!

The due date for surveys is 7/18/25. After that there may be some difficulties getting certain rewards in time for the print run and getting your rewards on time.

Remember the surveys are for:

Shipping: Remember that shipping will be charged later, closer to fulfillment.

Also, those of you who have create a character add-on will get a message from me soon. Please fill out your survey though to make sure I can reach you.

If you followed the campaign before it launched and then pledged to it, you're getting a free Monster Truckers sticker. I just ordered them and this is what the proof looks like. If you missed the free one or want an extra Monster Truckers sticker, they are now in the add-ons.

I've ordered a hat proof to test the vendor and the quality of the hat. The above image is what I got in their system when ordering. Instead of a cheaper screen print logo version, I'm looking at getting a custom embroidered one, so this is a huge upgrade if it works out. *fingers crossed!* 

If it looks great and is awesome, this will be the one I'm going with or something very similar. If not, back to the drawing board! But rest assured if you are getting a hat, it's going to be a cool hat.

I've also put in a prototype order of a shirt. You can see it mocked up on our friendly models in the image. 

Sorry no prototype keychain picture for now, but I did put in an order for some and hope to get them soon. More news on this one later!

If you missed out on Monster Truckers or know someone who has, remember that the pre-order store is now open! Don't miss the chance to join the trucking crew!

I'm still working on the layout and editing/writing! And I've commissioned some more art including a piece by a new artist I'm bringing on board, Zak the Drak. Zak has some very dynamic and visually stunning pieces and will make a great addition to the crew.

And that's not all!
Adventure writer Emma sent in the first draft and it's gold! I can't wait to run it. And I can't wait for you to see it.

Thanks for reading. Now please fill out your survey! 

We got a quick update today:

The first few surveys have gone out in the "smoke test". If you got a survey through that, please fill it out and reach out to support if you have any problems! 

After the smoke test is done, then everyone else should get their survey, so please keep an eye out for it.

We're still hard at work on the book. Lots and lots of layout and editing right now. I'm working towards getting all the text done before going back and adding in visual elements (like art and such).

As far as art goes: Artists Sam Van Egteren and Izzy Peters are working on illustrations and I've commissioned a new piece from Nataly Zhuk. 

Thanks again for supporting Monster Truckers.

Remember that you can find me yapping about Monster Truckers more frequently in the follow places: Bluesky, Threads, Table Cat Games Discord, or even the Table Cat Newsletter (sign up on the home page). 

It's been a couple of weeks since the campaign successfully funded and I haven't been taking it easy! Nope, I've been hard at work on Monster Truckers! Here's all the huge Monster Trucker news we have (for now):

I've finished set up of the surveys and they're being looked over by the Backerkit crew. When they get back to me and after any necessary tweaks, I'll be sending out a "smoke test" to randomly selected backers to test them out. So keep an eye on those mailboxes for your survey!

I'm excited to get the surveys back. I'll be able to order stuff like shirts once I know what sizes I need! And give you all credit! And other things!

In case you missed it, I joined up a beta program with Backerkit, so shipping can be charged later on. That allows me to send the surveys now to get the data I need to continue making the book/set up fulfillment and then later you'll pay for shipping. Not only does that mean you're not paying for shipping way early, but also as I get closer to ship date I'm better positioned for any fluctuations in shipping prices. It's a win win, really. 

While I'm sure everyone is disappointed that we didn't get all the stretch goals, here's some big news! Since we were only a couple hundred away from unlocking stretch goal #2, I took out the bolt cutters and unlocked the goal myself! Yes, that means there will be an extra adventure from Emma Grier who is excited to bring her adventure to life.

I wish I could have done the same for the other stretch goals, especially for the other writers, but unfortunately my bolt cutters aren't powerful enough. 

Work is underway on the book! It's pedal to the metal time as I get everything that's been written into layout and writing more and adding to it as I go. I've adopted a sort of hybrid style when it comes to this sort of thing and it's really singing right now. I can't wait for you all to see it when it's more shareable.

I've also commissioned some art from Sam Van Egteren and got a new artist on board, Izzy Peters. I'm excited to have both artists working, and I'm looking at lining up more art with our artists as schedules free up in the next few days/weeks.

Do you know someone who would like Monster Truckers, but missed it? The pre-order store is open through Backerkit. Please let anyone you know who might want a copy to get it now! The store closes when we get closer to fulfillment, so it won't be around forever. 

Thanks again for supporting Monster Truckers. Hopefully soon I'll have some visual stuff to show off as things become more solidified. Also remember, I don't want to bother you too much, so no news is good news. I'm aiming for at least once a month updates, maybe a couple more if something big is happening. The next update that is likely to happen is when surveys are out.

Otherwise, you can find me yapping about Monster Truckers more frequently in the follow places: Bluesky, Threads, Table Cat Games Discord, or even the Table Cat Newsletter (sign up on the home page).