Saturday, January 11, 2014

Ghost Sniffers, Inc. -- Sniff On!

This blog can now be found at http://ghostsniffers.blogspot.com/

It's game on here at Ghost Sniffers, Inc., as our cast of epic young heroes reclaim the "Ghost Sniffers" name and head into their second incredible season!

Launching the season with Episode 0, "The Spirit of Christmas," is our first-ever Christmas special. Watch it for free, share the link, and pass on the warm-heart of the holidays any time of the year: http://youtu.be/V4tkCq-ML6M

We also have an all new website at http://ghostsniffers.blueforgeproductions.com and a powerful new public service announcement focused on Autism awareness at http://youtu.be/JAAvpXbPGPc

There's more to come just around the corner -- so many incredible surprises! -- so join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/epiclilheroes/ or visit the new blog at http://ghostsniffers.blogspot.com/

Wow! That's the most links ever :D

Friday, October 18, 2013

Rumors of Our Death Were Greatly Exaggerated :)

Dear friends, family and all-around fans of "Epic Heroes"...

WE'RE BACK!!

After wrapping an entire season of "Epic Heroes," we had some great community sponsors in place to help us become a federal nonprofit company and continue our mission to show that *all* kids can have grand adventures.

Unfortunately, times are hard for everyone -- individuals and business sponsors alike -- and one after another, each sponsor had to back out. While we formed a provisional board of directors to manage the tasks of moving a nonprofit organization forward and tried to raise funds through grants and targeted advertising, obtaining federal nonprofit status simply was not an obtainable goal.

It was right about then that little Faith Forge (aka my daughter, Faith DiMarco) sat me down for a talk. It went something like this:

Faith: Good try, Mama Jenn.
Jennifer: Thanks, Faith.
Faith: You did lots of things you've never done before.
Jennifer: That's really true.
Faith: But I think you should do what you know.
Jennifer: What's that, Faith?
Faith: I think you should run a *business.*

And with that, Faith -- who started me out on this adventure in the first place -- launched me in a new direction. I can't start and run a nonprofit company by myself but I sure know how to run a *business;* I've been doing that since I was about as young as Forge :)

Before the end of the year -- right about in time for Christmas -- "Epic Heroes" will relaunch as a company with a new website, a new comic, new dolls in stock, a role-playing game and...

A CHOOSE YOUR OWN PATH ADVENTURE BOOK!

That last announcement is all in caps because it is truly an EPIC event. Five authors -- Brianne DiMarco, Kristie Gronberg, Launa Sorensen, Maxwell DiMarco and me -- are writing ghost hunting adventures starring Forge, Maxo, Maximilian, Kraken, Bianca, Zombie Crow, Spark, Gogo and Boo. Readers will get to make choices along with their favorite characters and every volume of five stories will have dozens of potential endings and discoveries.

This amazing new book -- featuring more than fifty illustrations and visual puzzles -- will be set between Episodes 9 and 10 of Season 1, during the winter at the Point No Point Zoo & Aquarium. The book will be published as an app through the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads, through Google Play for Android devices, and for Kindle.

And perhaps the best news of all? These new titles and new projects are just the beginning! As a matter of fact, if you'd like to join the writing team for the *second* collection of choose-your-own-path adventures, or if you'd like to write or illustrate an "Epic Heroes" comic, text or email me today! I'd love to welcome you to the new and improved "Epic Heroes" team. Kiddos, teens and grown ups, are all welcome -- and all will be paid for their work... because, after all, this is a *business* :)

Full steam ahead!

Jennifer DiMarco
360-550-2071 ph.txt
ourepicheroes@gmail.com

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Love Your Local Heroes

Please. Everyone. Click on over to https://www.loveourlocalbusiness.com/base/showcase23?region_id=us&content_id=1718&tab_id=7 and just click VOTE HERE. You don't even have to sign in. 

Intuit is granting 15 small businesses $5000 from Dec 3 to Dec 17. Our "up to 500-word essay" got cut off at 100 words but I've posted it below. Intuit says the more votes, the better our chance to win. Please vote today.  https://www.loveourlocalbusiness.com/base/showcase23?region_id=us&content_id=1718&tab_id=7


"Epic Heroes" is a Washington State charity and nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering children and teens with special needs by creating new super heroes and role models for them.

With a team of volunteers, we wrote, filmed and produced an entire season (twelve thirty-minute episodes) of our action/adventure show, "Epic Heroes." Episodes are completely free to watch online. The actors are teens and preteens who live with the real conditions that their characters do -- Type 1 Diabetes, Autism, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Down Syndrome, and other challenges. Even now that the first season is complete, the cast and parents of the actors continue to stay in touch because all of these strangers have become friends. And all of us continue to volunteer hours every week, even as our lives get hectic with the holiday season. The children, teens and adults involved with "Epic Heroes" are so passionate, so dedicated to this show... because we aren't just changing the lives of our viewers -- we're changing the lives of our own children, brothers and sisters.

Our wish is to continue. To create a second season of all new episodes. We're not a viral video of a cat in pjs but fourteen thousand people have watched our episodes and encouraged us to continue. To create Season 2 of the show, we need props, equipment, permit fees, a transportation budget, and food for the cast and crew during shooting days. We also need funds to release the episodes on DVD, to get our central preteen and teen cast into schools to speak, and to spread the word about the show. With careful budgeting and our team of volunteers, $5000 could produce six entire episodes of "Epic Heroes."

This is our holiday wish. To continue to help these kids. Kids like my kids -- Maxwell and Faith -- who live with autism and Type 1. I have been so blessed to be the writer for this show. It has been an honor to be able to reach my kids in a way no one has been able to before. This show proved to them, they are heroes. All of the children on the cast are heroes! Whether they are wheelchair-bound or deaf or face another condition, they deserve to see themselves in a show that lifts them up, that never patronizes them, that gives them hope and adventure and dreams.

Please help "Epic Heroes" continue.

Jennifer DiMarco

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Save the Show with Words


What?! How can words keep Epic Heroes going? Don't we need cold, hard cash to buy props, pay for transportation and food and all those other things?!

Nope :)

What we need more than anything else right now is talk. Buzz. Exposure. Attention. Words.

At this stage in the show, we need people to comment on the episodes on YouTube. To share links to the website. To invite friends to Like the Facebook page.

How does this help? It gets people talking and sharing about the show. And as the network of people talking about the shows grows, our community grows. Ad us out community grows, we show up more frequently in search engine result. We qualify for partnerships. We look better during grant application review.

Have you ever come upon a user on YouTube or Vimeo or a forum who you think would love Epic Heroes? Turn that thought into action. You don't have to email us and ask us to do it. Be personal. Be passionate. Share a link to an episode! 

What else can you share? Lots!

If you find a company, user on YouTube or Vimeo, Facebook page, local business, grant program, or any other organization, that you feel might be willing to help get the word out about the show, here is the vital information you need to discuss the show:

We are a registered Washington State nonprofit charity.

We are filing for our federal nonprofit status as soon as we raise the $400 filing fee.

We have already completed the entire first season of the show with everyone volunteering.

We have planned the entire second season, written the first script and are ready to shoot.

Our website, where all the episodes can be watched for free, is http://epicheroes.blueforgeproductions.com

Our goal tracker toward being able to shoot the first episode of Season 2 is found at http://epicheroes.blueforgeproductions.com/donate.htm and people can also make general donations there.

If folks have questions, they can email ourepicheroes@gmail.com (or you!) or call 360-550-2071 (or you!).

Our goal is to empower disenfranchised and special needs children and teens by creating new super heroes that embark on epic adventures. Want to know more about our mission and read testimonials from viewers? Go here: http://epicheroes.blueforgeproductions.com/mission.htm

Our central actors live with the conditions (autism, OI, Type 1) that their characters do.

Want to read press and blogs about the show? Watch interviews with the crew? Visit http://epicheroes.blueforgeproductions.com/press.htm

If you need to register at a forum or site in order to send a message or leave a post, don't choose an Epic Heroes user name. Just use something casual and natural, such as a derivative of your own name or a nick name.

In general, when speaking with people about the show, don't use business-talk. Talk from a personal stand point. Such as: These kids are my neighbors. These are my kids. This is a cause my entire family is dedicated to. That personal connection will get more attention than something that sounds like a pitch or some kind of slick request. 1% of the people you contact will result in a positive result. Follow up (where applicable) on any contacts will increase the chance for a good response.

Contacting the same places won't be a negative since we're coming from a personal position. The important thing is that we spread the word.

Of course... you don't want to share ALL of this information at once LOL! Just share a single link. Talk about your own connection to the show. Your own dedication. All of us worked so hard to make an amazing firs season... now let's tell the world about it!

Friday, October 19, 2012

An Epic Premiere

Exactly one year from the day we began shooting Episode 1, "Tom Tita, Come Home," most of the cast and crew gathered at the Dragonfly Cinema to watch Episodes 7 through 12 close out the first season of "Ghost Sniffers"... making it's final transition into Season 2 and the new title, "Epic Heroes."

The night was about being the first to witness the new episodes (which won't post online until next week), about snapping up exclusive character trading cards, eating popcorn, and learning more about the Kraken and Maxmilian than we ever thought possible.

But more than anything else, the night was about friendship. The cast of the show is spread throughout Washington State and yet many of them have become fast friends, trying to keep in touch via Facebook and texting. Shooting days and big screen premiere nights are their only chance to catch up in person, hug, laugh, murmur in-jokes and treat each other with the respect, love and team spirit that they may not find elsewhere.

So, just in these ways alone, the night was a success.

But wait. There's more.

With the help from our business sponsors -- Empire Pizza, Amy's on the Bay, and Blue Boots Farm -- and help from the cast popcorn sales, DVD, script and merchandise sales, and the raffled chocolates from Carter's, the cast and crew earned $300 profit on that one night. That's after the cost of the cinema, the cost of the posters, swag bags and merchandise. $300 pure profit.

And you know what that means?

Episode 1 of Season 2 will begin its countdown toward POSTING on Monday morning. Jennifer will start writing the script. Casting will be completed. The search for locations will begin. We need only $1200 in total to create the entire episode so that means just $800 more and we'll rock the world with Season 2!

What can you do to help? Sell fancy popcorn! Email Bridget for an order form at ourepicheroes@gmail.com. We're speeding right into Season 2, folks, and there's no stopping us now ;D

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Getting the Word Out

Often people asked me, "How can I help 'Epic Heroes'?" Of course, the first thing I say is: Please pledge! Pledges and sponsors keep our show going, after all. But what if someone has already pledged and pledged often?

This was the case with uber-fan Rebecca Fitzgerald. So when she asked what more she could do, I suggested that she contact every single newspaper in Washington State with news about the show and our amazing October 16 premiere. And guess what? She said yes!

Armed with the press release that I wrote (because, remember, that's basically my day job -- writing marketing copy), Rebecca has already contact every single Kitsap paper and she's diving into the rest of Washington tomorrow!

Rebecca's pledging over and over again has shown her dedication to the show, but now she's in the trenches with us, trying so hard to spread the word to everyone and anyone who will listen.

Because after all... what we're doing here is epic ;)

Friday, September 21, 2012

Oct 16 Premiere UPGRADE!

Did you think the big screen premiere of the second half of Season 1 would be just another three-hour movie event? No way! We're pulling out all the stops for our amazing cast and crew! What exactly do I mean? Let's make a list ;) (You all know how I love lists!)

1. A red carpet! That's right. Walk the red carpet and have your photo taken in front of the official poster. Better be prepared for anything on the carpet though... there will be live mini interviews that will be included in the Season 1 bonus DVD.

2. Ladies and gentlemen of the press have been invited to attend! With more lead time than the first premiere, this time our friends at the media outlets around Washington have been contacted and invited to watch with us... and bring their camera-touting friends ;)

3. An autograph table with photos of the cast will be available for the cast to sign and for fans to purchase to support the show -- Fun!

4. All attendees will have the choice of being filmed for a special segment in the music video trailer for Season 2 -- the same night as the premiere!

So... what are you waiting for, friends?! Get your ticket today :)

Get My Ticket!

P.S. Please remember, actors and crew, if you used your complimentary ticket to attend the first premiere, you will need to purchase your ticket for the October 16 event!