Greetings, Adventurers!
You know what’s really awesome?
Growth.
You know what’s really hard?
Growth.
In 2023, FantaSci was the first con I’d ever attended as a pro. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a natural performer. Speaking in front of groups, talking into a microphone, or standing at a booth trying to sell my books is a LOT of work and not something I’m always comfortable doing. The author stereotype of hiding away in a tower or a cave somewhere and typing away forever without public interaction is pretty attractive to me sometimes. Alas, I live in a very different reality. I’ve spent a lot of the past year pushing my comfort zone by participating in cons as a panelist, accepting a few podcast appearances, and interacting more with writers and other readers on social media. FantaSci marked a benchmark of sorts, a calendar date where I could evaluate my growth as an author over the past year.
And you know what? It was kind of great.
I’ve got my first published novel under my belt, now. There are fans of my work out in the wild, and I got to meet some of them! Genuinely one of the wildest, most rewarding experiences of my author career. (To the reader who jumped at my table right away to buy the only jacketed hardcopy of my book and told me how much he loved Stonewhisper—you know who you are—meeting you and sharing how much I loved writing that book was the highlight of my con. Thank you, thank you!)
So… why was this update so late?
FantaSci 2023 was also when Jon Osborne first invited me to contribute to the Milesian Accords. Shortly before the con this year, he approved the outline for book 2 in my upcoming Milesian series (The Black God Trilogy? The Vechnoye Saga? Series title TBD). After FantaSci, I immediately jumped into drafting.
6 weeks, 107k words, and a whirlwind later, Tugarin’s Revenge is wrapped and shipped out for edits.
And speaking of the Milesian Accords…
We launched Paladins of Valor! The panel and signing had great attendance and I’m psyched to have this story out in the world.
They stand up for others in the cold dark of space, the dusty Wild West, and lands of mystical empires.
We call them paladins.
Co-written with the one and only David “Shady” Shadoin, The Oaths that Bind follows Ryan Fortner, a Crypto Agent about to learn a hard lesson about magic: not only is it back, but so are the demons and curses that come with it. New to the Milesian Accords universe, Oaths introduces Japanese mythos, rainy Oregon trails, and a Paladin Monk who will do anything to stop the demon and embrace his own identity in the process.
More on Milesian later, but for now, go check out Paladins of Valor. Not only is out short story a blast, it also introduces some characters you’re about to be seeing a lot more of.
In the meantime, keep reading! I’ll keep doing my best to supply you all with great fantasy fiction escapes.