I haven’t shown you much of the Dragon Diaries Special Edition HardCover Omnibus, as I was hoping the sample book would arrive. I was late finalizing the interior files – I had some technical issues since the file ends up being so huge – so the book is making its way to me from the UK.

We can look at some digital mock-ups of its features though.

First of all, this book has gold foil. (I’m so excited about this!) While the cover and dust jacket have the same imagery as the retail omnibus, there will be foil on the dust jacket of the special edition.

All of the imagery on the case laminate will be in gold foil on the Special Edition:

The Special Edition also has printed endpapers, in a dragon scale design, and a blue ribbon bookmark bound into the spine. It will have blue and white head and tail bands, too.

The Special Edition also has a dedication page for me to sign and number your copy. It’s the first page in the book. The designer gave me two versions – a blue background and a white background – and backers will vote on June 17 to choose which version will be in the book.

The Special Edition is available only through the Kickstarter campaign. As well as being signed and numbered for each backer, each backer’s name will be included in the acknowledgements of the Special Edition.

Inside, there are dragon drawings and a colour chapter header, as well as each character illustration on a double-page spread, in full colour. Here, for example, is the title page.

There are more dragons inside, on the opening spread for each book as well as the front and end matter.

And here’s a sample double-page spread, showing the colour chapter header, and the dragons in the footer flanking the page number.

Those copies bought during the campaign will also ship with some extra goodies.

First, there’s the Luxe Bookmark.

The Luxe Bookmark is large (about 3.5 x 8.5″) with gold foil accents on both sides. It also has a gold tassel.

Each signed copy of the Special Edition will also ship with a set of four character cards, featuring the illustrations by Jaka Prawira. They look like this:

The reverse side has the book title, much as it appears on the dust jacket and bookmark.

So, when you order a Special Edition through the Kickstarter campaign, you’ll get all of this, with your book signed, numbered and your name in the acknowledgements:

After the campaign is completed, you’ll be able to buy the Special Edition Hardcover Omnibus only through my online store, and it won’t have the goodies included. Those will be printed in quantities to fulfill the Kickstarter campaign only. The campaign is also your only chance to be listed in the acknowledgements of the special edition.

There’s also an option to have your book drop-shipped to you, not signed or numbered. Your name will still go in the acknowledgements, but you’ll save on shipping. If you want the printed goodies, you can add them to your reward, and they’ll be shipped separately.

The third option is Better with a Friend, which means you get two of everything. Each book will be signed, one to you and one to your friend, and both of your names will go in the acknowledgements. You’ll get two of the printed goodies, as well. This also saves on shipping costs.

The campaign will launch Wednesday June 12 and run only through the 21st.

Follow the Kickstarter campaign for the Dragon Diaries omnibus here.