A Hard Post to Write - By NotWill - Will Wight, New York Times Best-Selling Author of 'Cradle'

A Hard Post to Write - By NotWill

4/16/2025

Hello there fantasy author blog enthusiasts! This is Sam, Will’s favorite and only younger brother coming in hot with a very unfun post while Will is somewhere in the middle of the ocean writing something not ocean related.

2025 has been off to a rough start here at Hidden Gnome Publishing. As some of you may know from the last blog post, our cousin Ellie was diagnosed with stage four Ovarian cancer in January. She fought for four months but ultimately didn’t make it. She passed away 19 days before her 25th birthday.

Ellie was one of the cousins we grew up close to, relationally speaking. We took many cross-country RV trips as a family. I saw snow for the first time on one of those trips to Yellowstone and we brought Ellie on her first visit to Disney World. After she graduated from college, we even discussed with her the possibility of interning for Hidden Gnome to get some real world experience.

Her older brother Stuart is one of my best friends and a Cradle fan himself. I’ve spent a good chunk of the last couple months in Georgia trying to be there for him and his family. In the end, there was nothing we could do, which is probably the part that stings the most.

A little over a week ago, another member of our team, Lily, had her mom pass away unexpectedly. She and her husband Patrick, our art designer, are currently with their family trying to navigate that loss.

Life is hard and it’s difficult not to feel anger when you lose a young cousin to cancer and your mother before you’re ready to say goodbye. The only bright side is the 24 years Ellie got to impact other people’s lives and the effect a good mother can have on raising an awesome daughter.

7 of the 12 members of Hidden Gnome are grieving in different ways right now. It’s times like these where being a family company is difficult, so apologies in advance for delays in some of our deadlines we’ve communicated. We’re all trying to get back in the proverbial saddle as quickly as we can.

The great part about being a family company is that we can be there for each other. Because of this job and the fans who support Will’s career, we have the ability to take time away and support our relatives when they need it the most. Sincerely…gratitude to all of you.

Cancer sucks and I have a whole new level of empathy for anyone who has or is currently walking through this. We’re all rooting for you! And remember, “A dragon is not ashamed of tears.”

-Sam

24 Comments

4/16/2025 11:16:14 am

You all take care of yourselves. Take all the time you need and don't you dare feel an ounce of guilt for taking it. We have been absolutely spoiled by the team's incredible level of engagement and Will's prodigious production. I know I for one, found so much comfort and relief in this community during the height of the pandemic when things were so hard. The love and joy this team puts out into the universe is a wonderful and special thing. You guys rest and recover, and we'll be here when you're ready.

Destinee

4/17/2025 02:31:12 pm

Well said, sir. A sentiment I feel strongly akin to myself. Thank you for saying it so well.

Dissentinel

4/16/2025 12:40:43 pm

I'm so sorry Sam. May Ellie's memory be a blessing and wishing you and your family the best as you navigate this.

Peach

4/16/2025 06:41:41 pm

So sorry for your loss. Take all the time that you need. As with all things, this too shall pass.

Legit Rikk link

4/16/2025 07:21:00 pm

I’m so sorry to hear this. Grief is a terrible thing to feel as it never goes away. I hope you all know that deadlines are much less important than personal, mental health.

MC^2

4/16/2025 08:54:31 pm

I am so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with your families. Take all the time you need! We don't just care about your work, we care about you. We care about you guys more than your work!

Love, joy, peace...these things can bloom where happiness cannot, and I have found them to be a healing balm amidst suffering and sorrow in my own life. Family is a gift, and I am glad yall are able to be with your family during this time. Blessings

Garin

4/17/2025 04:04:54 am

Sending my love to your family. It’s admirable that you’re able to look for the bright spots during a time like this.

Roger Senna Rosa

4/17/2025 04:12:29 am

You, friends, are our heroes. I am really grateful for those amazing stories and really think is more than fair that you take your time to heal and put yourselves back on your feet. We shall wait for our Immortal Lord Will to come back from his slumber to grace ourselves with his ancient knlowdge. I am really sorry for all your losses and pray that you find comfort in these hard times. I pray that God be with you and help you to process all that. Thank you for your hard work and I wish you all the best.

Kyle Smith

4/17/2025 06:52:38 am

Not easy times, Family is first in my opinion. Do what is need to keep yourself centered, the books come when they come. Hang in there, God bless

Andy

4/17/2025 06:53:33 am

Cancer is a hell of a beast. It’s so hard to fight, and in the end it leaves loved ones grieving and feeling helpless. Fortunately, we get to choose how to respond and how to remember those that we’ve lost. I lost my dad to cancer a couple years ago, and though I still miss him dearly, every day I am thank for the time I did get. It reminds me to be present with all my relationships, to cherish the time I do get, and to make more room for that time.

My thoughts are with all of you as you process these losses over the next weeks, months, and years.

Anonymous

4/17/2025 07:21:03 am

I'm very sorry for your loss. Please prioritize all of your mental health above anything book related.

You guys must be going through a challenging time right now. I just wanted to suggest a meditation technique that has helped me in the past with processing strong emotions. When I was very young I had been sexually abused by a babysitter and I had buried it deep in my mind. Decades later while practicing this technique, I was able to finally face that experience and move on with my life. The catch is that to learn this technique you have to attend a 10 day, intensive, silent meditation course. For the entire 10 days you will be asked to meditate starting from 4 am until 9 pm with breaks only to eat, shower, etc. I will put a link here in this post with more information. If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd very much encourage you to attend it.

Sending love to you and your family.

https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/about/code

Derek Hansum

4/17/2025 08:22:13 am

My heart goes out to you, your family, and the whole Hidden Gnome team. I have lost several close family members far too young, and just found out this week about the sudden passing of a good friend well before his time. Grief is the burden and price we all pay for the love we give and receive. Take the time you need to be with family and loved ones.

DesperateFan

4/17/2025 08:34:33 am

Sorry for your loss. But Will's okay, right? Please say Will is okay.

Quentin

4/17/2025 09:00:58 am

You all were a ray of sunshine when my mom was abruptly put on hospice a few years ago, so thank you again and sorry for the family you have to miss.

Logan K

4/17/2025 10:10:52 am

I'm so sorry for all of you. Losing loved ones is hard and especially so when they die so young. Take all the time you need to grieve.

Demetrius B

4/17/2025 11:39:34 am

Please take all of the time necessary. No living being could go through any of that and just keep working like everything is okay. As a whole you have all done absolutely amazing work and it is more than enough to hold all of your fans over until you’re ready to come back.

Braedon Halle

4/18/2025 07:49:53 am

Its truly heartbreaking to hear what happened to your family and team. Healing takes time, and I hope that all of you take whatever time that you need to get through this. If I had to say one more thing, it would be that Will and his writing have had an incredibly positive impact on my life, and that I am a better person because of it.

Mike

4/21/2025 09:13:46 am

Best wishes and prayers to all of you in your trials. We all support your dedication to family before business. That can be hard in our materialistic world, but your fans will still be here waiting for you, ready to appreciate your great work!

Alan

5/4/2025 08:42:59 am

I'm really sorry for your family's loss. Cancer has become very present in my world these past couple years. Battles ongoing and lost.

5/9/2025 07:58:30 pm

I’m so sorry for y’all’s losses. Praying for you families in this time of sadness. I’ve been reader and fan since a few weeks after the launch of House of Blades, even talked to Will on discord a few times (big fan boy moment) during the earlier days of cradle. That said I feel like Hidden Gnome is a part of my family and I’m I grieve for all of you guys. Much love!

Colin

5/13/2025 11:19:49 pm

I am so, so sorry for your loss.

Y'alls stories, especially the Cradle series, have gotten me through a lot of rough times (... I may or may not have already played the entire series on audible for my infant son...) and it's heartbreaking to hear that you're going through so much at once.

I hope you take the time you need to heal. We'll still be here when you're ready

Dr. Tim Blake link

5/14/2025 11:29:28 am

So sorry for you loss, so incredibly hard.
Some time life just kicks you in the nether regions.
Take time to grieve, do not rush, and you will be different.
It is hard, but embrace what life you have, even though it now is without those you care for...stay strong all of you!

Katie

5/14/2025 08:27:48 pm

My sincerest condolences to you and yours. I intimately understand what it's like to work with others that are as close to your family as your family itself. While I have not lost a close cousin or a mother I have lost other family and I deeply sympathize with the struggles you all are facing. Take your time. Each day will move forward.

Mike Burgess

5/21/2025 03:18:58 pm

My deepest condolences to the losses experienced by the Hidden Gnomes family. Be well and good on you for prioritizing family over business. We will be here when you guys come through this. And as an aside, cancer sucks. So as some of my patients say, "Cuck Fancer" (I'm a pediatric oncology nurse here in Memphis, so it's barely appropriate when they say it but I always chuckle).

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.