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 William C. Tracy, author and owner of Space Wizard Press, as they launch their crowdfund campaign on Backerkit as part of The Book Bazaar 2025.
Space Wizard Press is currently raising funds for several new books including two standalone books and some amazing sequels. They have an impressive back catalogue of books and specialise in queer SFF. Three of their authors have come along to contribute their answers to this interview below as well, and they are Kristina W. Kelly, Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren, and C.J. Hosack.
Follow the campaign and pledge your support!
Please tell us a little about yourself and your Backerkit project.
I’m running a campaign for the next seven books coming from my small press, Space Wizard Science Fantasy. While I write books of my own, since I’m publishing other people’s books, I thought I’d let some of the authors in this campaign tell you about themselves!
1) Kristina W. Kelly: I write fantasy, sci-fi, and poetry. I’m a trumpet player and love playing RPGs and cozy video games. My works include my sapphic fantasy romance Tavern Tale, and my sci-fi and fantasy poetry collection, Imaginari. Tea Tale, part of this Backerkit project, is the second book of the Tales of Trelvania series. It follows the events from Tavern Tale. Where Tavern Tale was set in cozy autumn, Tea Tale is set in cozy winter. It occurs during the in-world holiday, Midwinter Nights Faire which of course has yummy foods and drinks. After the events of Tavern Tale, Divine is trying to understand her magic and how it is… changing after she remade her talisman. And while she’s trying to understand what her magic means, she’s also navigating what her relationship is—or isn’t—with Saph. Just like Tavern Tale, it has cozy elements and higher stakes, RPG/DND influences, and there’s a super cute cactus side character that’s introduced. AND TEA! Also, metaphorically and figuratively, the tea will be spilled.
2) Hi! I am Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren. I’m 33 years old and live in Spijkenisse, the Netherlands, together with my husband and our dog. My book, Corruption, takes place in a world where everyone has five crystals embedded in their body and with most people, one of those crystals lights up, deciding their role in society. Most people – my protagonist Revan has two lit up, and that makes him an Othercrystalled, hated and loathed, so he has kept this a secret at the College where he resides, only going home in the weekends through a magic portal. But then, the magic suddenly stops and Revan is forced to stay at school, which means he’s forced to lie about who he is until the magic comes back—and then he suddenly finds out a clue about who made the magic disappear… It’s a Young Adult queer fantasy and I’m very excited to get people to read it!
3) C.J. Hosack: Presently I write young adult fantasy. My book is the third book in the Beads of Bone trilogy about an adopted girl and her gay brother who live in a world where magic is hereditary, and their only option for power is to learn to navigate a magical Library.
Why did you join The Book Bazaar 2025?
I had a project in last year’s Booktopia, run by BackerKit, and was actually partnered with Aimee Cozza, who is the one spearheading The Book Bazaar. She wanted to create a lasting, continuing collection of indie crowdfunding projects that would run every year about this time. I was on board from the start and I’m looking forward to the first Book Bazaar! Aimee has done a ton of work, and I think you like the great projects coming to you!
Have you crowdfunded before? What do you hope to achieve with your project?
I’m been crowdfunding since 2017, and this is my 10th campaign. I started out crowdfunding my self-published books, and then when I opened Space Wizard Science Fantasy to publishing other authors in queer sci-fi and fantasy, I started running a yearly campaign to get eyes on the new books coming out. This is the second half of our fourth year, and we have seven new queer books for you!
Tease us with your Backerkit campaign! What rewards can we expect?
We have a lot of books! This campaign is all about series, as 5 of our new books are part of existing series. We even have a pledge level where you can get all the existing books in those series. If you’re a returning backer, you can also get a subscription where each new book is sent out to you as it’s released! Overall, we have 60+ queer science fiction and fantasy titles, and you can get a copy of any of them in the campaign! Just browse through our website and you’ll find them filtered by author, series, genre, and queer rep!
Why did you decide to self-publish/publish with a small press and what has been your biggest success so far?
I’ll let my authors answer this one too!
1) Kristina W. Kelly: I really liked the idea of a focused publisher. With one of the focuses of Space Wizard Science Fantasy being queer stories, Tavern Tale would benefit from an existing audience already reading those types of stories. I knew that with a small press, I’d also likely be able to have more input on decisions from title to cover art than I likely would going a larger route. Plus, going it alone on your own platform seemed daunting. I’m glad to have the skills and experts from SWSF. Also, Space Wizard Science Fantasy has a kick-nebula name. My biggest success so far is just all of the great reviews from readers who connected with my story—seeing them comment about loving certain parts and quotes and characters, just like I love them.
2) Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren: I write fantasy that is very queer, in both meanings of the word, and that is in general not always something the traditional publishing industry is looking for. However, it is a perfect match for a small publishing house focused specifically on queer stories, so it just seemed like a perfect fit. I write and have stories published in both English and Dutch. In English I’d say this book is my biggest success so far, but hopefully with more successes to come! In Dutch my biggest success so far is getting published in EdgeZero, a Dutch SFF short story collection where you can only get published provided you’ve had that short story being published before. I would say the EdgeZero-collection is the closest we have to the Hugo Awards for short stories in our very very tiny Dutch SFF-community, so that’s something I’m very proud of.
3) C.J. Hosack: I felt the opportunity to finish my story was more important than seeing my book on a bookstore shelf. I’ve had the best success handselling my book at festivals and fairs.
What is your favourite thing about being an indie author?
Personally, I love the freedom it gives to publish stories away from the mainstream press. A lot of those stories are picked because they match what’s popular now, and I think indie publishing has really been driving innovation the last few years. But I’ll let the authors give you their answers!
1) Kristina W. Kelly: The flexibility. I have the support of my publisher, but I also get to partner with them. I self-published Imaginari through an imprint I have with a friend and coauthor, and that was entirely on my own timeline that I could adjust as needed. I’m able to work on several projects and still balance my work and family life. Getting to enjoy each part of me is important.
2) Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren: I loved getting to design the cover together with the publisher, and it’s a cover I’m genuinely very happy with, and one that feels very true to the story. My understanding is that this doesn’t happen in traditional publishing. However, I don’t yet have a lot of experience being an indie author. This is my first published novel and my first foray into the American SFF world, so I’m still figuring it all out – and in particular which aspects I like the most. So, come back in a few months and I’ll probably have a far more detailed answer for you!
3) C.J. Hosack: Having creative input into all aspects of my books!
What tips can you share on self-publishing or crowdfunding with your fellow indies?
It’s a very rewarding path, but it’s not for the faint of heart! You’re taking on all the responsibilities of a publisher, which is usually a large group of people. I’ve been doing this for almost ten years now, so I have a few tips and tricks. I actually wrote a couple articles for SWFA on selling indie books, which you can read here and here.
Can you recommend a few of your favourite SFF books from indie/self-published authors?
I’m going to let my authors take this one!
1) Kristina W. Kelly: World Running Down and Key Lime Sky by Al Hess (think cozy scifi and lgbtq+ characters) Paramour by Robin Alvaraz (paranormal YA with banshees) Superficial by Diane Billas (Marvel x National Treasure with lgbtq+ cast) Space Station X by A.Z. Rozkillis (A lesbian horror comedy in space)
2) Alexander Verbeek-van den Toren: I loved Sixteen Souls and the sequel Twelve Bones by Rosie Talbot. I also had a great time with the queer anthology I Want That Twink Obliterated. Both of those I would thoroughly recommend!
3) C.J. Hosack: Unrelenting and Undeniable by Jes Honard and Marie Parks, The Sword of Kaigen, by ML Wang
What are you working on after your campaign?
The next one! I’ll be running Space Wizard Year 5 Part 1 in June 2026, and I may even have another crowdfund before that. Space Wizard’s releasing schedule is full out to 2028, so I have a lot of great queer SFF coming your way!
Do you have any last words?
Thanks for having me, and check out The Book Bazaar! It’s going to be a month-long party with interviews, streaming, polls, and of course, some amazing books. If you like reading, this a great event to participate in!
About the Author
William C. Tracy writes and publishes queer science fiction and fantasy through his indie press Space Wizard Science Fantasy. His works include The Dissolutionverse and accompanying RPG Spells of the Symphony, Fruits of the Gods, The Biomass Conflux, and The Shifting Lands. William is an NC native, has a master’s in mechanical engineering, teaches Wado-Ryu karate, and keeps bees.
- Website: SpaceWizardScienceFantasy.com
- Bluesky: @wctracy.bsky.social
- Facebook: SpaceWizardPress
- Instagram: @spacewizardpress
