The first copy of Grimbriar, Book three of The Swordspeaker Saga, has arrived. And it actually turned out better than I expected!
The green is such an inviting color. It makes me think of Ireland or the wizard of Oz.
And it’s super thick. This one clocks in at 499 pages, one shy of 500, the longest thing I have ever written. Even Gandalf with his ridiculously pointy hat can’t stand up to these books!
Seeing the proof you might think the book is in the final stage and very close to releasing, but, alas, you would be mistaken.
I decided to do the final draft with a print copy this time. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. But it’s such a wonderful experience to read something on the page. When I read over the draft while it’s on my laptop, I’m always tempted to change things right away and I think sometimes that takes me out of the flow.
So this time, I plan on just marking passages with a pen and going back and making changes afterwards. I hope there won’t be too many!
If all goes well, I can finish this next draft by the end of May and get it to the proofreader by June…which means the book is likely to hit shelves this summer!
Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to keep up with the latest changes to the schedule.
Artificer Refresh
But Grimbriar is not the only green to show up this spring. The Artificer’s Apprentice, my beloved (FREE) little 24 page steampunk short story just got a refresh.
At the time of this writing, Artificer has 368 ratings on Amazon, by far my most read work. When I saw how many had read it, I decided that it deserved a little bit more attention.
So I went back and made some very minor edits and redesigned the cover. I always liked the original image of the broken gate, but thought the overall design could use some work.
And I have to say, re-reading it, I fell in love with that story all over again. It’s such a satisfying story to read. I almost can’t believe I wrote it.
Clearly, I’m biased as it only has a 4 star average rating. But it’s so dear to my heart. There are two scenes in it that, if you don’t cry, you might want to visit your doctor and see if your heart is functioning properly.
Reading it again made me think that I probably will revisit this world again sometime in a longer form. If there’s one thing that reviewers consistently said in critiquing the book, it was that it was too short.
Truesilver falters
Speaking of reviews, Truesilver‘s average rating went from 4.3 to 4.2 on Amazon recently.
That may not seem like a big deal, but it means the rating now displays as 4 stars instead of 4 and a half. It’s frustrating to me that I always seem to get lower reviews when I put my books on sale for $0.99 or free. It’s one of the reasons I don’t do many sales.
I also do not like the way Amazon’s rating system works. It weights newer reviews over older ones. If it was a straight average, the first review would count just as much as the most recent, but that is not so. Six ratings ago Truesilver was at 4.3. You would think out of 183 that six people would not be able to make an impact, but that’s how fragile the system is.
So, if you’re reading this and you bought a copy of Truesilver on Amazon and have yet to leave a review, please leave one today. It would mean so much because lower ratings reduce the sales and the visibility of books on the site.
The war has only just begun
One of the themes of Grimbriar (which is available for preorder—see the button below) is that a battle is not a war. In a war there are setbacks and victories. Days when it seems as though it will never end, or that you will never win if it does.
Things like reviews taking a downturn or sales dwindling off are setbacks for certain, but there are victories as well. Holding the proof copy of Grimbriar in my hand is one of those. There are 163,000 words in that book and they’re worth reading. Words of wonder and hope and truth.
I pour my heart and soul into my writing. Some days I don’t think my dream of writing full time will ever come true.
But, like the heroes in my tales, I keep fighting.
In Grimbriar, Kion often goes to Strom’s journal for guidance and inspiration when he feels lost and defeated. In one passage, he reads this:
War is an act of faith. A struggle and a search and a longing for that final justice, for that final peace, when we can lay down our arms and embrace each other, rather than tear each other apart
I’ll keep fighting the good fight. Because these stores need to be told.
