Deathmatch #2 - Return of the Death went out to the mailing list just a few minutes ago, right before midnight my time (although sometimes it takes a few minutes to get the email, so if you don't have it yet, just wait)!

By definition, that will be the last story of 2016, so Happy New Year!

And it will be the tenth piece of content I sent to mailing list subscribers since I started the mailing list, ten months ago: nine short stories and one preview of Unsouled.

Great year, everybody! Thanks for sticking with me, and I'll do my best to make all the stories in 2017 the best so far!

​-Will

P.S. If you're signed up for the mailing list but you're not getting the stories, it's likely because your email provider is eating them. Gmail is especially bad about this. Check your junk mail and your promotions tab, and if they aren't there, add [email protected] to your Contacts list. That will make sure you get future messages.

P.P.S. And then after you've done all that, let me know what stories you're missing, and I'll send them to you. Happy New Year!

Mailing list story going out RIGHT NOW! And instead of being either of the stories I had planned and worked on, it's a Deathmatch instead, because WHY NOT?

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

-Will

I'm still working on Blackflame (obviously, because what else would I be doing with my time?), but there's been a recurring notion in the comments for some time now that I'm setting up for a gladiator-style death match among all my characters.

I'm not saying I am doing that, and I'm not saying I'm not, but it suggests to me a fun little game we could play in the comments below this blog.

You propose a matchup between two of my characters, or one of my characters and a character from a totally different work, and tell me how you think it would end up. You can use as much or as little detail as you want to. Example: "Simon versus Superman: I know Superman would throw him into the sun, but how long do you think he could run before Superman caught him and threw him into the sun? I say an eighth of a second, but what do you think?"

I will respond to these comments, as can anyone else who wants to. For instance, in this case, I might say "I think Simon would last negative three days. As soon as the match began, Superman would fly around the earth and reverse time, picking an unaware Simon up three days before the match began and throwing him into the sun."

Other, more fair matchups might be more interesting.

This won't lead anywhere, and I'm not going to do anything with this, but it seems like a fun thing to do over the days leading up to Christmas. Also, it's a good way for you to squeeze out hints about how strong I think certain characters are, like the Emperor. Or Eithan. Or even the emperor of the Blackflame Empire, who has yet to be introduced.

Pro tip: Suriel versus any mortal is going to result in that mortal being banished out of space and time. My only response will be "Suriel banishes them out of space and time."

​So...fights to the death. Go!

-Will

So you remember two weeks ago when I said I was trying to get a short story out by the next day?

Well, here's why: because I was leaving my apartment to do nothing but write for two solid weeks, and I knew that if I didn't squeeze the short story out before I left, it would be two more weeks.

And I didn't. And it's been two more weeks. And I'm sorry. I need to stop calling them monthly short stories and call them something like...regular short stories. Or short stories I release when I'm not trying to hammer a book out in a short amount of time.

That said, this will be the tenth month since I started doing the mailing list short story thing, and if I finish and send out this Cradle one as well as a Simon one for Christmas, then I'll have released ten in ten months! (Though to be fair, one of them was an Unsouled preview when I had yet to announce I was writing Unsouled.) 

That's just as good as monthly, right? Right? ...guys?

On the bright side, I've been working non-stop on Blackflame and I actually have some measurable progress to show you! First, I'm in the process of uploading a shiny new progress meter to the right of this very post!

And second, behold:

Gasp in awe at its wonder!

I actually have the cover for book four ready too, but the reveal for that one will have to come later! 

And by "later," I mean "when I come up with a title for book four." The art is done, but the type isn't, because I have yet to actually title the thing. Speaking of art, did I tell you I got the first sketch for the Killers cover back recently?

Well, I did, and it's shaping up, but those covers take a lot longer to make than the Cradle covers. I'll reveal that one when it's ready!

More soon!

​-Will