Welcome to A Month of Rain and Reads, a celebration of self-published and indie SFF throughout the entire month of November. To find out how you can take part and view the whole list of content, visit our introduction post.
Today we’re interviewing Belinda Crawford, author of The Hero Rebellion series and more, as they launch their crowdfund campaign on Backerkit as part of The Book Bazaar 2025.
Belinda is raising funds for a 10th anniversary special edition of The Hero Rebellion, an action-packed YA sci-fi series, featuring psychic mutant animal companions, illegal street races and a kick-ass heroine who won’t take no for an answer.
Follow the campaign and pledge your support!
Please tell us a little about yourself and your Backerkit project.
I’m Belinda Crawford — sci-fi author, worldbuilder, and occasional cosmic dragon wrangler. I write stories about kickarse heroines, psychic mutant animal companions, and characters that refuse to play by the rules.
My BackerKit project, The Hero Rebellion: 10th Anniversary Edition, is a celebration to my debut series, the one that started it all… and the one that continues the chaos. For the 10th anniversary, I’ve reimagined the books with bonus stories, shiny new covers, an omnibus, and a few glitches that might just lead you deeper into the Defiant Multiverse. Buckle up, it’s going to get weird (in the best way).
Why did you join The Book Bazaar 2025?
I joined The Book Bazaar 2025 because I had such a great time at Booktopia last year with Gamer — the energy, the readers, the chaos (the good kind). I love connecting with new readers and being part of a group of creators who are just as passionate about stories as I am. Plus, it’s the perfect way to kick off the 10th anniversary celebrations for The Hero Rebellion.
Have you crowdfunded before? What do you hope to achieve with your project?
Yes – I’ve crowdfunded before, most recently for I Am Maggie, and I love the way it lets me bring readers into the chaos behind the creativity.
With The Hero Rebellion: 10th Anniversary Edition, I want to introduce Hero’s story to new readers and celebrate the series that started it all. What began as one girl’s rebellion has grown into a sprawling, interconnected universe – the Defiant Multiverse.
This campaign is the launch pad for that next phase. Through special “dispatches” from the Hub (a pocket universe linking all my stories), backers will uncover corrupted scenes, missing dragons, and rogue plot bunnies – clues in a much larger, series-spanning mystery. It’s more than an anniversary; it’s an invitation to play.
Tease us with your Backerkit campaign! What rewards can we expect?
Backers can expect shiny new editions of the Hero Rebellion trilogy, bonus stories, and exclusive digital extras that bridge the gap to the next phase of the Defiant Multiverse.
There’ll be game-style dispatches, a Heroverse Starter Guide, and for superfans premium rewards like an exclusive invitation to The Defiant Five – a story-driven, game-like experience that lets you step inside the Defiant Multiverse and put your name on it.
Why did you decide to self-publish/publish with a small press and what has been your biggest success so far?
I self-publish because I like creative freedom – and because I don’t play well with boxes. I genre-hop, trope-mash, and generally make life difficult for anyone trying to stick a neat label on my stories. Self-publishing lets me do the weird and wonderful things I love: introduce smack-talking, fourth-wall-breaking dragons, build an interconnected multiverse, and literally invite readers inside to play games.
As for my biggest success? Honestly, making it to ten years still doing what I love—and still finding new ways to break the rules—feels like a pretty epic win.
What is your favourite thing about being an indie author?
My favourite thing about being an indie author is the freedom to experiment – to follow the weird ideas, mash genres and generally just to “follow the awesome”.
What tips can you share on self-publishing or crowdfunding with your fellow indies?
Research, research, research. It’s taken me a decade to figure out what kind of author I am and how I want to show up in the world. There’ve been experiments, false starts, and a few spectacular disasters — but none of them were failures. Each one was data, a lesson, part of the process.
Crowdfunding and self-publishing are both long games. Be curious, pay attention, and don’t be afraid to try weird things – the chaos is where you find your voice.
What are you working on after your campaign?
After the campaign wraps, I’ll be diving back into writing – finishing Demons & Battleskirts 2 (a dark urban fantasy/science-fantasy about power, demons and reincarnation) and getting Short Bits Volume 6, my latest short story collection, off to the editor. It’s going to be a mix of chaos, tea, and deadlines whizzing past… basically business as usual.
Do you have any last words?
Defy expectations. Tell the story anyway.
About the Author
Belinda Crawford is a science fiction and fantasy author for readers who like their stories action-packed, with diverse characters, butt-kicking heroines and complex worlds. As a certified crazy horse person, when she’s not wrangling six-legged dynamos on the page, she’s wrangling four-legged powder-kegs in the paddock.
- Website: BelindaCrawford.com
- Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/belindacrawford.bsky.social
