First, the "news!" Most of this is a recap, so please allow me a moment to take you on a tour of the present before we discuss the future...

1.) The Reaper pre-order is still up!

We didn't take it down, because that would have been stupid!

2.) Cradle merchandise is still 10% off!

It's not much, but it's more than 9%!

3.) Voting for the Path contest is live!

I hope that link works and doesn't send you to some crazy document about how to sabotage a hospital or something!

4.) We'll be announcing the winners of the Path contest on my Twitch channel!

We're going to announce the contest winners this Friday at 8 PM Eastern, and you can vote right up until that begins!

Full disclosure: I have not read these Paths...but I will be reading the winning Paths live, so you'll get to see my genuine reactions! My incredibly narrow-minded, judgmental reactions of pure scorn. Tune in!

5.) Also on Twitch, I'll be doing my normal Monday night pre-launch stream from 9 PM to midnight!

If you're Australian (or pretending to be...) and have already read the book prior to that stream, please don't spoil anything for those of us living in the past!

If I have to know what happens without telling anyone, so do you.

6.) REAPER LINES OUT OF CONTEXT!

I've got a couple of lines pulled randomly from the book. I shouldn't be spoiling anything significant here, but if you're particularly spoiler-averse, shield your eyes.

MILD SPOILER WARNING!

Reaper Line 1: “Oh no, I missed something!” Eithan cried. “Quickly, repeat your entire conversation before you forget a word!”

Reaper Line 2: “…she’ll be your opponent.”
Little Blue put hands on her hips and whistled a challenge.
​
Reaper Line 3: Reigan Shen coughed up blood, which wasn’t as bad a sign as it seemed.

-Will

Also, in just a moment I'll reveal the first line of Reaper. Thought I ought to lead with that information.

But first! There's been a lot happening since I've been on Broken Foot Leave, so it's time to catch you up on all the succulent news.

1.) Cradle #10, Reaper, is now available for pre-order in ebook and audiobook! It releases on November 2nd, and we have NO PAPERBACK PRE-ORDER.

Amazon's paperback service is print-on-demand and they can't do pre-orders for us lowly independently published authors. Our hands are tied. We'll try to release the book early enough in paperback that you might be able to get it delivered and read it on Day 1...but we can't guarantee that, because we don't know where you live.

Our ninja spies followed you home, but they never reported back. You have very impressive security ghosts.

2.) There's a sale going on right now for Cradle merchandise! Everything Cradle is 10% off, no promo code necessary, but unfortunately we still can't ship outside the US.

COVID and the Union of Bridge Trolls really wreaked havoc on our shipping lanes.

3.) The third Cradle collection, Rise of Lords, is now available in ebook!

Just like the first two collections, this one contains three books of the Cradle series in one file, this time of course being volumes 7-9.

I don't know what I'm going to call the fourth and final collection. I've been workshopping Lindon Dies, but I'm also considering that as the final book title. Lindondies.

4.) The first six books of the Cradle series are FREE right now on ebook, in case you need something else to stuff your Kindle before Halloween.

This sale includes Unbeseelt, the German version of Unsouled, which is 100% in German and also currently 100% free!

See if you can catch all 16 secrets I slipped exclusively into the German version!

5.) >When on November 2nd will the book go live in my region?
Good question, you!

The answer is, WE DO NOT AND CANNOT KNOW. People have been upset at us in the past for the book not becoming available exactly at 12:01 AM in their region, and we have no control over that.

If I could control Amazon, I would be in space right now. But I cannot.

However, the audio and the ebook WILL both be released on the 2nd, that we can guarantee.

They're both coming out and they'll both be out on the second of November , but the timing is never guaranteed across regions. We've had people on the west coast of the US get it before people on the east coast, we've had people in the UK get it before people in Australia, and some people don't get it until 8 or 9 AM. But it's always up on the day of release.

Audio and ebook = November 2nd!
Paperback = Probably before November 2nd! Does that mean you'll get the book on or before November 2nd? We don't know! Paperback shipping was an inexact science even before the Rise of the Paper Weevils.

6.) There is a fan-submitted Path contest going on through next Monday, the 25th, at noon EST! I guess you submit through this link!

I did not even know this contest was going on until very recently, because I have been sequestered from such knowledge.

Speaking of which...

7.) My foot is fine, thanks for asking. I know you were scrolling down to see how I was doing physically, and my heart radiates in sympathy with your concern.

I was getting tired of waiting for it to heal, so I had it replaced with a cyborg foot. It's one more step toward my ultimate goal of transcending fleshy humanity.

Is that it? I think that's it!

-Will

PS. First line of Reaper:

Information restricted: Personal Record 8154.
Authorization required to access.
Authorization confirmed: 008 Ozriel.
Beginning record…
 
Ozmanthus Arelius looked up into the ash falling from the sky and knew he’d failed.