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Writer's pictureByron O'Neal

EXCLUSIVE! The Dark Side of Purity COVER REVEAL

What is The Dark Side of Purity?

Well, I'll leave it to the Bards to explain it.


Band of Bards is proud to announce that we have teamed up with resident horror master

Bard Elyse Russell to bring to life a massive 2-book anthology titled THE DARK SIDE OF

PURITY.


Elyse has curated an incredible team of 34 writers, poets, and illustrators to give a

woman’s take on the traditional notions of purity, chastity, and virginity. Commonly known as Purity Culture, this tool of a patriarchal power structure is not often talked about in very direct terms. We see it as a sub-plot or as an ancillary theme in many works, but seldom is this the sole focus of a work.


The collection is composed of one book of prose & poetry that will be approximately 200 pages and include some black & white illustrations, and a graphic novel containing comics and graphic poetry of approximately 60 pages. This is a heavy topic and it deserves the best presentation possible. The cover art (below) by Heather Vaughan will span both books for a single unified image and a foreword by Sadie Hartmann will accompany the book of prose.


Elyse has been working on this project for nearly a year now. We’ve talked off and on

about it these past months and had thought this would be a good release in 2023. Given current events in America, we discussed accelerating that timeline and the creators agreed. Now is a time of action. While we may feel the pressure of a condensed pre-launch period, sometimes you do not get the luxury of acting only when ready, but having to answer a call to action.


This is Elyse’s work, this is the deafening scream of a group of creators demanding the

world pay attention. Band of Bards is grateful to have been asked to collaborate on THE DARK SIDE OF PURITY. For our part, we are helping to coordinate the funding, marketing, & fulfillment. This title may have our logo on it, but we are taking the backseat. This work is centered on the creators and their talented curator. They are at the forefront, BoB is here supporting this team bring a work they are passionate about to life.


We have a dedicated team, a devastatingly important work to bring into the public space,

and we have a cause. All profits from this work are being donated to NARAL Pro-Choice America. This was a decision we all made as a single team. With the attacks on reproductive rights in America at an all-time high, we felt it was critical to get this work made now, rather than later, and that it should bring a material impact to the fight in addition to the emotional and artistic impacts. To be clear, Kickstarter does not allow funds raised on their platform to be donated, so the campaign will be for production costs and any excess funds will go straight to the creators. The follow-on sales made by Band of Bards will be directly donated to NARAL.


We are bringing this project to Kickstarter on June 6 and running till July 8th, with the campaign concluding during a live BardCast. We chose Kickstarter because of the ability to showcase this anthology collection in both the prose publishing and comics categories. Also because many of the creators involved have their own followings on the platform.


 

The Dark Side of Purity: Creator List


Prose Writers:

Ai Jiang

Amanda Cecelia Lang

Abriana Tuller

Antonia Rachel Ward

J. S. Larmore

Kristin Cleaveland

Lyndsie Manusos

Cynthia McDonald

Zebib Abraham

Eli Hayden Loft

Robyn Singer

Sage Tyrtle

Miel MacRae


Poets:

Antonia Rachel Ward

K. R. Wieland

Jordan Alyssa Duncan

J. S. Larmore

Damon Barret Roe

Zebib Abraham


Comic Writers:

Lindz McLeod

Elyse Russell

Damon Barret Roe

Amy Chase


Artists:

Fell Hound

Heather Vaughan

Rio Burton

Miranda Leyson

Dany Rivera

Giulia Lalli

Amanda Stockton

Jenny Fleming

Mariateresa Susca


 

Now...who wants to see some Heather Vaughan covers?!


 

Band of Bards' The Dark Side of Purity Vol. 1 & 2 Covers by Heather Vaughan


Cover by Heather Vaughan

Cover by Heather Vaughan

What do you think, folks? Creepy? Amazing? Leave a comment below and tell us!

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