Not much to say this week.

Sales are still going strong; we'll crack 35,000 in a couple of days. I'm hard at work on The Traveler's Gate Chronicles and the pre-work on City of Light. I expect to have the first draft of CoL before the end of the year.

The release date of the Chronicles almost entirely depends on whether Amazon will let me do it as a Serial. Also, how long the Serial takes to initially release...and if I can't do it as a Kindle Serial, I'll have to come up with another delivery mechanism.

We'll see.

In other news, I was recently killed and replaced by a sentient alligator who wears my skin like a rain jacket. Florida, am I right?

It's been a pretty chill week. I'm mostly just truck truck trucking along.

How's your week going?

Oh, you want to know what the title of this post means? Please, allow me to delay by dancing around the issue for several paragraphs.

First, as I know many of you were wondering, the map is coming! I sent my crappy hand-drawn version off to a graphic artist today, so in the next few weeks I'll be uploading a map to The Crimson Vault and House of Blades.

At the very least, you'll be able to get a vague picture of the region. I know lots of you have asked for this, so there you go.

Second, I will be adding a Territory reference section as well (this will be included in the map update). It will have each of the Territories listed by name and attribute, as well as some bits and pieces about the Territory's history, cultural impact, and abilities.

Third, I have uploaded many typo, proofreading, and editing changes to The Crimson Vault. I've changed every mistake that has been pointed out to me, as well as several I found since first putting Crimson Vault on Amazon. These changes should take effect tomorrow, and if there's a particular editing issue that bothers you, please send Amazon an email sometime tomorrow afternoon asking for an updated copy. They'll be happy to send you the new, updated version.

Or, of course, you could wait a few weeks for the map/reference update. Whichever you prefer.

Finally, I'm elated to report that sales of the Traveler's Gate Trilogy have now crossed 30,000 copies.

You know how many writers sell 30,000 copies their first year? Not many. Four months ago, I didn't expect to be one of them.

-Will

P.S. Oh, right, the title. I'm also working on a collection of short stories set in the Traveler's Gate universe. The collection is entitled The Traveler's Gate Chronicles, and is tentatively set for release next month (it may take longer, depending on how long Amazon takes to process Kindle Serials). The first story or two will be available immediately, with another story added every two weeks until the release of City of Light. I intend for this to be a Kindle Serial, but if that doesn't work out, I'll figure out an alternative delivery system.

P.P.S. No, this will not delay City of Light. Not even by a day. I will be working the maximum amount of time possible on CoL, but I can't spend ALL of my time working on one thing. I would explode. The Chronicles can provide me with a healthy amount of distraction, as well as something fun for you guys to read between now and early next year.

The bear charged through the Elysian Gate, answering the Traveler's call.

Alin's voice hung in the air, demanding and rich with power. Where his summons had previously sounded no more insistent than a polite request, now it rang with all the authority of a king. The call promised everything the bear wanted: strong prey, a challenge, and a chance to ride into battle beside his brothers. He was all but powerless to resist.

Even though this summons hardly sounded like it came from Alin at all.

As the prophets foretold, I have risen from my post-book coma and returned once again to the prestigious throne that is my desk chair.

If you're waiting on an email response or a response to you in the comments, I believe I have responded to pretty much everybody. Now, it's time to begin work on City of Light.

Elysia, not Paris.

Also, for those of you who care about such trifling mundane matters, I passed 25,000 sales last night as I slept. That's House of Blades and Crimson Vault combined, but it's still pretty staggering. You guys are just that awesome.

Now, about the blog: I'm planning on producing more regular blog updates instead of the irregular mishmash that you have tolerated until this point. From here on out, I plan on writing one blog post each Saturday. Of course, I will also post whenever anything significant happens--like when I release a new book, for instance--but in the absence of breaking news I'll probably produce one post each Saturday.

So tune in on Saturday for the first of these regular posts.

Free tip: you probably don't want to miss this Saturday. I'm going to include a spoiler-full deleted scene from The Crimson Vault. It's tentatively entitled, "What Happened to the Bears?"

The bears from Elysia, not Chicago.

In the meantime, between now and Saturday, I'd like to hear your questions. "What kind of questions?" you ask. Well, let me clarify:

What is the one question about the Traveler's Gate Trilogy that you would like me to answer?

Keep in mind, as you formulate your inquiry, that I would respond to such a question in the form of a short story.

Hit me.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have crossed 20,000 sales.

As of yesterday morning, we passed the 20K mark. That's incredible! Thanks everyone for buying the books, leaving a review, telling your friends, and using your private jet to write my name in the clouds. You guys are the best!

Also, thanks to those of you who sent me the typos from the first edition of Crimson Vault. I really do like receiving those, because the text isn't set in stone. I can fix these typos, and then future readers get a slightly cleaner draft.

I still haven't cleared all the typos out, due to Dragon*Con, but I'm working on it. Beginning next week, I should have all your changes made. At that point, you should contact Amazon if you want the updated, cleaner file on your Kindle.

In the meantime, I'm back from Dragon*Con, and I had a blast! I am now going to follow that up by taking some REAL time off, as--though Dragon*Con is unbelievably fun--it's not a great way to relax after writing a book.

So this week I'm going to relax, play some League of Legends,