Open Discussion: Merchandise

For a while now, I've had a thought scratching at the back of my head. How do I bridge the gap between fiction and reality when it comes to sharing my stories with the world? How do I bring the action on the pages of my books to the real world in a way that speaks to the people that have enjoyed The MemCor Archives? As I've pondered these questions and other related ideas again and again, one notion has bubbled up to the surface...

Merchandise.

However, there are a lot of things I'm not sure about when it comes to the idea of merchandise. That's why I want to solicit input from you, the reader. I'm excited and enthusiastic to know, if you've ready any or all of The MemCor Archives' books, or if you've just looked at the covers and thought 'huh, that looks cool', what would you like to see? What would be an exciting piece of Skye's world to call your own?

I've wondered a lot about clothing. What would appeal to you? Would you like to see some sort of shirt? One of my favorite shirts I own right now is an artistic mashup of the Final Fantasy IX protagonists drawn in the DBZ style. It's amazing. What about pajama pants? Does anyone want to see Viktor's face on a pair of socks? Is anyone on the hunt for a bag fancy enough even for Krates to wear with his over-the-top stylings?

For a recent Christmas, my family kindly gifted me a very impressive button maker. This thing is heavy duty like I never thought I'd own myself. To date, however, it's gone unused. Is this something you'd like to see changed? I still have a lanyard I use at PAX West every year covered in the coolest pins I can get my hands on (I'm stingy, though, so they're usually the coolest I can get for free or just find lying around). What elements of my books would you want to see clipped onto a backpack or vest or...wherever people stick pins?

Do people still use stickers? Do people still scrapbook or decorate their binders or walls with the images that remind them of the things they like the most? Do we want to see Skye sprinting across a water bottle?

When I was younger, a friend of mine had a 1:1 replica of Sting from Lord of the Rings. It was the coolest thing ever to hold and study and bask in. It made you wonder if it'd ever glow. Maybe it would, but we'd never know it if we never found orcs in real life. In my mind, some of the weaponry Skye, her friends and her adversaries wield are the coolest. Now I don't know any replica manufacturers, but I'm seriously open to any and all ideas anyone might have that they'd like to see made real. The wildest ideas might not come to fruition today or tomorrow or even a year from now, but you never really know, do you?

What else is there? What else would people love to see? Lunchboxes? Posters/Scrolls (I stare at my giant limited print Star Wars poster every day and it's the coolest)? Cards? Drinking/shot glasses? Bookmarks? Hats? Phone cases?

It may take me some time to get everything in place to make and/or sell anything, but first thing's first, I want to hear from you. I don't yet have a store ready to go. I don't have a line on a shirt manufacturer with designs ready to print and roll out, but I'm beyond excited to have another way to connect with readers, to have something tangible I can share beyond the boundaries of the printed page. If you've got ideas of what you'd like to see come out of The MemCor Archives, I can't wait to hear it.