Binding Roots: Available Now!

At long last, my second novel Binding Roots has been released. You can find it here!

This has been a long journey for me. I started writing this novel about ten years ago, before I started writing Twin Paths. By now, it has seen six complete rewrites. It never came out quite right.

I changed characters, added plot points, removed plot points, added them back in. It was not until my grandmother’s funeral that I had the idea to use her life as loose inspiration for the main character and framing of the story as a whole.

I am happy to finally have it at a place where I can share it.

Happy reading!

Announcement: Short Stories + YouTube Channel!

In my last update I mentioned that I had news about branching into other mediums. That news is… I am now writing short stories to supplement the novels of the Eastern Lands AND I am starting a YouTube channel, Fireside Improv! I love writing novels, and will continue to work on the planned novels for the Eastern Lands, but novels take a long time to write. But I also want to be able to create stories more regularly.

My first short story is already up. You can find it here, or through the navigation at the top. It relates to the first chapter of Twin Paths. My goal with the short stories is to explore the world through more down-to-earth stories, or through the eyes of every day people. Some of them will relate to the novels (while avoiding spoilers!), while others may explore locations and characters intended for future novels, or even places I don’t currently intend to explore.

The YouTube channel is going to be a story-based video game channel. To start with, I will be running a series with Total War: Warhammer 3. These series will be narrative-focused. I have always played games this way, and I am excited to be able to bring them to life in a more structured way!

Each series will have clearly defined main characters and goals from the outset, and we will see how the characters are challenged by the uncontrolled environments that game campaigns offer! None of the chapters are scripted, meaning I am recording the audio while playing and am not fully in control of what happens. It is all created ‘on the spot’. For those among you who enjoy Total War games, part of the goal is to inspire how you can create your own narratives as you play.

I can’t wait to get started and share these journeys with you! In the future I will be looking for ways to bring interactivity with the community to allow you to help guide the direction of the narrative. If you have any ideas, please look out for the videos and give them a comment!

See you soon!

Second Novel Update

Writing novels is hard. Writing good novels is even harder. In July of 2021 I wrote that I had a full draft of Rising Winds - and that was true! That said, my test readers provided some great feedback that I rushed to implement. The changes wound up opening the doors to further changes. I added characters, modified other characters’ journeys, and tightened up the narrative.

In the end, I wrote several new chapters and reworked several others. With a full time job, these changes took a fair while to implement, which in turn required a new set of testing and smaller changes. All of this to say - the final draft is now set.

So what is next, you may wonder?

Rising Winds has been renamed to Binding Roots, and it now needs its final touches before publishing. This includes formatting, book cover, and in-book artwork. I cannot commit to a firm release just yet, but I will provide an update as soon as I have a firm date!

Also, keep an eye out for other big news coming in the next few days! While I am fully committed to writing all seven of the planned novels of the Eastern Lands series, I also love storytelling in general and am branching into other mediums!

New Cover!

The Eastern Lands has a new Japanese inspired art direction that better fits the feel of the series!

Each novel will have its own beautiful color scheme and pattern, uniquely designed to capture the essence of that particular story. They each use the same basic style to demonstrate that while they are independent stories, they share the same world. Each starts with a block that uses a subtractive style to reveal the truth beneath.

Twin Paths utilizes a green-red scheme that evokes a clash of ideas. The mon of the Kachi Shogunate is its centerpiece. Fractured it two, it represents the fractured sisters who are at odds with one another and each on their own path.

Binding Roots utilizes a blue-yellow scheme that evokes the mix of coldness and warmth that Ieda feels as she travels north, both figuratively and literally. The roots represent the unshakable bonds of ones family and the past.

Get your copy of Twin Paths and Binding Roots with the new cover soon! Keep an eye open here for the release announcement!

Cover Design By: Ilaria Besana

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews!

I am currently travelling around Italy, and while I have been doing so over 300 copies of the Twin Paths eBook have been ordered! I have heard some great things in terms of word of mouth to increase exposure, and the initial marketing campaign was a decent success.

I am currently working on getting the next book in The Eastern Lands, Rising Winds, up to a standard I am happy with, but if you’d like to see it sooner rather than later, I need your help!

Twin Paths needs verified reviews on Amazon. Many potential readers who are intrigued will not make a purchase unless there are several reviews. More reviews means more income, which means more time available to work on Rising Winds. So if you would like to help me out, the best things you can do at this point is:

A) Get the book through Amazon
B) Read the book!
C) Leave a review on Amazon

Please do not leave a review unless you have actually read it. While I certainly want to see Twin Paths succeed, honestly is extremely important to me. I’d rather have fewer sales achieved honestly than many sales achieved by manipulation and misleading reviews.

Thank you to those who have already gotten a copy of Twin Paths, and I hope you are enjoying it! To those who have yet to get one and are on the fence, I hope there will soon be some reviews to help you decide one way or the other (though at 99 cents, what do you have to lose? :)  ).

Happy reading!

Twin Paths - Out Now!

The Kindle Version can be purchased on Amazon now!

The paperback version is coming soon!