News: Short stories, audiobooks, plague of frogs

6/23/2017

I had to scoop a handful of frogs off of my keyboard to type this, but I felt like I should answer a few of the secondary questions people have had for me over the last few weeks.

The audiobook for City of Light has definitely fallen behind schedule, thanks to Blackflame's demands on my time and the fact that I have to wade through ankle-deep frogs to even reach my computer. I have to get back on that soon, but I am sorry about the delay.

As for the short stories, that's something else I have to get off the ground. I kind of put everything on hold in order to finish Blackflame (and then get into my house), but now I should have some more time to get to work on the stories.

I know I left Simon's story in a place where it needs to be continued, and I don't have nearly enough Cradle stories out, so there's plenty of work to be done there.

With that in mind, which should I hammer out first? A Traveler's Gate continuation, or a new look at the world of Cradle?

-Will

184 Comments

Bridget

6/23/2017 07:35:35 pm

Obviously first we will need proof of said frogs.

deadnettle

6/23/2017 11:30:22 pm

Can you not see the frogs at your very feet? The infestation has been afflicting us all!

Will link

6/26/2017 07:21:49 am

Some people just can't be satisfied with proof, even when it's covering them to the ankles and eating up all the flies.

Ben

6/23/2017 07:59:21 pm

Traveler's Gate, for the love of god, Traveler's Gate. I mean, Cradle's great and all, but nothing's topped the Traveler's Gate world for me.

Ian

6/24/2017 12:03:43 am

I like Cradle, but I agree. Please, more Travelers Gate.

Finn

6/24/2017 02:27:00 pm

Yeah, I have to agree. Especially if the previously written Cradle chapters work with Skysworn, because then we'll have another Cradle book out soon anyways.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:22:57 am

Yeah, but most of my short stories have been Traveler's Gate. I started doing it as a way to compensate for the fact that it's been so long since CoL, but now it feels like the more TG stories I write, the more TG stories people want me to write.

We've been stuck in some kind of feedback loop, sir!

david

6/26/2017 09:21:14 pm

Will the TGT books were your best books and since it is taking you a long time to release the next books the short stories with simon keep us satisfied with that world i think u should put okak on the side aswell as skysworn and write the TGT seauel already

Will link

6/30/2017 11:45:25 am

Hahaha, I'm glad you enjoyed the TG books, David!

If we're going by personal evaluation, I think they're my worst books. Because they were my first. I've grown as an author with every book.

But I still love the world and the characters, and I think they've got a lot of potential!

Amin Sharif

7/1/2017 05:09:30 pm

I think you should do tg but I'm addicted to cradle . I need cradle by November 1 (my birthday) or I'll have to do something
Sharpens reapers scythe

Will link

7/9/2017 04:30:51 pm

I promise nothing!

...but I'm pretty sure you'll be petitioning me for Cradle 5 by November, not Cradle 4.

Samuel

9/3/2017 12:32:27 pm

No, no we aren't...

Sean K

6/23/2017 08:33:29 pm

Stop asking us such hard questions! If you give us anything I am happy. I LOVE cradle, but it has been a while since we saw anything in the House of Blades series (Elder Empire has waited longer but at least that one has a book in the works).

If I had to choose I'd pick cradle. Would it be too much to ask for both?

Will link

6/26/2017 07:23:28 am

It shouldn't be too much, but I'm not what you'd call the world's most organized person.

Corey

6/23/2017 08:37:37 pm

I'd love to see another cradle short story, since I think there's only one other for that series? Give us some random back story of one of the powerful existences in the world :)

Will link

6/26/2017 07:24:17 am

That's the main reason I wanted Cradle on the table, Corey: because I only have one Cradle short story, and a bunch of them for Traveler's Gate.

That said, the REASON I only have one Cradle short story is because I've been devoting all of my time to the Cradle novels, sooooo...

Paden

6/23/2017 09:01:44 pm

If I had my druthers I'd want all work to be focused on skysworn.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:24:58 am

I hear that, but there's something to be said for a short story every now and then. Gives people a bite of something to chew on during the months-long break between novels.

Matthew

6/23/2017 09:05:11 pm

Trveler's Gate, definitely.

Ahmed Lone

6/23/2017 09:57:59 pm

Aw man that's a hard decision, but another cradle story would be awesome!

Illar

6/23/2017 10:04:22 pm

I would like to know more about how the elders of asylum and the Abidan relate. Seems like something that probably wouldn't fit in OKAK, but I have been really curious about.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:25:50 am

That's one of the things I'd love to elaborate on, but I'm trying to figure out where I want it to fit. If I can get it into OKAK, then I don't want to do a short story about it.

Adarsh

6/23/2017 10:17:02 pm

Look, for cradle we will be getting books fairly soonish, so the short stories should be travelers gate ones.

deadnettle

6/23/2017 11:33:54 pm

Personally, I'd prefer a Traveler's Gate short story before a cradle one. We've been blessed with an abundance of Cradle materials and I think it would be refreshing to get a taste of the series that made me into a fan of your work.

Ravi

6/23/2017 11:46:34 pm

We've got a ton of Lindon being awkward in Blackflame, we need some awkward Simon back in our lives!

Ravi

6/23/2017 11:47:42 pm

Or a humorous story to please the shippers from Leah's POV. "I Am Becoming Fond of A Man Who Talks to Dolls."

Daniel young

6/25/2017 04:22:15 pm

I read this comment and laughed my ass off for 10 minutes before I could write this:)That line is fantastic! I really need to see that written into one of wills books:)

Will link

6/26/2017 07:26:39 am

Whoa, hey, Lindon may have been awkward, but he wasn't Simon levels of awkward.

That's Simon's thing.

6/24/2017 02:57:02 am

What?!! You are considering something other than Cradle next?

[Cycles Blackflame madra...]

Will link

6/26/2017 07:27:14 am

For the short story, yeah. Cradle is getting a regular infusion of novels, while all Traveler's Gate has at the moment are short stories.

Titus

6/27/2017 09:00:21 am

Exactly...LOL!!!...i was thinking the same thing!!

Mathew

6/24/2017 04:17:14 am

If you really take our opinions into account, when you are deciding which short story to write next, then a poll might be more convenient.
That said, I'm 100% for Cradle. There are already more short stories about Travelers gate, while there is only one about Cradle.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:27:46 am

Yeah, except Weebly took away the good poll interface, leaving only an incredibly crappy one.

Mathew

6/30/2017 01:50:49 am

But even a crappy one gets the job done.
And it is a preferable alternative in contrast to taking a sheet of paper and a pen, then start making 2 columns(Cradle, Trav.) and drawing lines/strokes for every vote. (very old school and exhausting)
Dozens bottles of beer later(and a pizza), you still are counting, you lose your patience, you throw your bottle towards the monitor, releazing it was the pizza, you lose all hope, you open the window and jump out.

You wake up, finding your face in your 20 dollar gorgonzola pizza— with extra pepperoni, thouh with little chess as you stomach just can't handle it— your beer is lying on the ground ruining your new bought carpet, you look up, seeing you are just halfway through you say:
"Fuck, I should have used the crappy poll"

Will link

6/30/2017 11:47:30 am

That's exactly the problem, Mathew: it doesn't manually count up the votes. In my last poll, I LITERALLY drew two columns on a sheet of paper and tallied up the votes.

When I woke up with a face full of gorgonzola pizza, I scraped greasy cheese away from my cheeks and muttered, "I should not have used the crappy poll."

Mathew

7/1/2017 02:18:07 am

How about you use make one on reddit?
After all, there is already a reddit site for Cradle, so why not take advantage of it.

http://redditpoll.com/ Takes a few seconds

Jadeyard

6/24/2017 04:24:07 am

I suggest quick progress of cradle, if you already have a good idea of how the story will go from start to finish. A follow-up trilogy of Traveler's Gate would be great, but a lot of projects in true parallel make each one of them slow.

Coldsteel

6/24/2017 05:34:44 am

He's only asking about short story priorities.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:28:16 am

Yeah, this is only about short stories. Traveler's Gate novel is definitely not in the mix yet.

Diego link

6/26/2017 01:04:00 pm

You know why dont u make a short story about the Abidan and Valin ( or at least Amalgam) we found out about the abidan in cradle so by putting them in Travelers gate we kinna get a hybrid.

Coldreptile

6/24/2017 04:51:31 am

I vote Cradle, but I agree with Mathew that if you really want us to decide then you should do a pole.

Coldreptile

6/24/2017 04:53:36 am

Poll*

Will link

6/26/2017 07:28:58 am

I would, but the poll extension automatically provided by Weebly really, really sucks. I had to count up the votes by hand last time and compare them.

Aaron Perry

6/24/2017 05:11:19 am

Is it too early for a Cradle travelers gate mashup?

Will link

6/26/2017 07:29:19 am

I think so? Idk, I've actually been wondering about that.

Aaron

6/28/2017 03:52:34 pm

Whenever I read about Simon opening a portal I think about The Golden Compass knife he uses to travel between universes. I don't know if that's what you were going for but my mind makes the leap there automatically and suddenly the way is completely open for travelers.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:48:24 am

I honestly don't remember that. I was a kid when I read the Golden Compass books, and I've never re-read them.

Eric

6/24/2017 05:38:53 am

Travelers Gate please!!

Brian C

6/24/2017 06:26:07 am

Travelers Gate please!

wthidden

6/24/2017 07:12:21 am

A poll would help gather data in a concise format; if one then wanted to use it to defend one's choice more the better. On said poll I would select 'Cradle'

Will link

6/26/2017 07:30:05 am

Yeah, I agree that a poll is the best way to handle questions like this, but Weebly's default poll extension is terrible. It used to be great, but in my "Cradle versus Elder Empire" poll a few months ago, I had to actually count up all the entries by hand and compare them.

Sancus

6/28/2017 03:25:42 am

You could always use a straw poll or something. http://www.strawpoll.me/

Will link

6/30/2017 11:49:21 am

That's...a really good idea, Sancus. I've taken strawpolls before, but it never occurred to me to make one.

Tyler V

6/24/2017 08:55:08 am

Traveler's Gate Short Stories, OKAK writing, and occasional Cradle lore building blog posts?

Jeremiah H

6/24/2017 09:18:42 am

I can go either way

Jukssuver

6/24/2017 09:31:21 am

As I read Blackflame, I had the thought, "I would like to read a short story from this series done in the fashion of a children's book, and it would be called 'The Littlest Sandviper'."

Paden

6/24/2017 09:45:32 am

Hahahahaha yessss

Carl

6/24/2017 09:46:56 am

All other comments are irrelevant 😂

wthidden

6/24/2017 09:59:10 am

While the sandvipers are interesting I think the Fishers are more intriguing, I would take your idea and re-title to 'The littlest Fisher'.

Adarsh

6/24/2017 01:52:35 pm

How about "The Littlest Blackflame" ?

Kim

6/24/2017 09:59:22 am

As far as a poll goes...as of Saturday at noon, est

Travelers Gate: 8
Cradle: 6

And I vote Travelers Gate!
So...9!

Alex

6/25/2017 11:07:02 am

This is rigged the Russians are iterfering with the votes

Will link

6/26/2017 07:45:12 am

Curse you, Putin! Always trying to read more Traveler's Gate.

Tim

6/24/2017 11:28:53 am

Will, do you consider making your books available for amazon prime reading.

Will link

6/26/2017 07:45:57 am

If you mean Kindle Unlimited, they are available! All of them!

Tim

6/27/2017 01:41:35 pm

I didn't mean kindle unlimited; Amazon prime reading exists as well

Will link

6/27/2017 08:32:19 pm

Good to know! I'd never heard of that before, and after googling it, I can see why. I can't enroll my books in it; Amazon selects what books are available to Prime customers, the authors don't.

Azqa

6/24/2017 11:53:12 am

While I don't expect a short story every month, I'm hoping you'll have time to do a few before your next book release. In that case, I'm hoping for one from each world. I think it would be great if you released the Cradle and EE (hey, I'm hoping!) stories the month before the applicable books get released to help whet appetites. Based on that, I'd vote for an Amalgam short story first to fill time.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:51:01 am

Hmmm...that's a good idea.

In that regard, I should plan out what stories I'm going to write in advance.

Lashan

6/24/2017 12:08:02 pm

Cradle makes more sense - "strike the iron while its hot", and Blackflame definitely heated things up. Simon can relax a little. Interesting question - would fans prefer Skysworn faster or have few stories and delay the book? Kidding, they will prob troll me with frogs from your backyard to oblivion.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:51:23 am

Usually, the short stories don't delay novel progress.

When I feel like they will, I just stop writing them.

April

6/24/2017 12:17:03 pm

I'm going to go way out on a limb here, and say another, as yet unseen world under Abidan protection? Failing that, travelers gate.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:51:53 am

That's actually one of the stories I wanted to write! I wanted to do a short story on a fresh pioneer world.

Brian S

6/24/2017 05:39:16 pm

Simon? Simon, let me think... Oh wait, I remember, wasn't he a doll? I can hardly remember it's been so long. Anyways, I'm sure Lindon would light him on fire if he causes any problems.

Jeremiah H

6/25/2017 06:42:03 pm

Ghost armour might stop that

Will link

6/30/2017 11:53:21 am

If I really wanted to troll, I would have all of my series end up looping into Cradle. The Abidan just scoop up the crew from Traveler's Gate and Elder Empire and dump them into Cradle.

I would get crucified and then burned by angry readers, but at least I'd die laughing.

Daniel young

6/30/2017 09:32:45 pm

Hey man, I'd read that. Would be fun. Very silly but fun

Diego

6/30/2017 11:24:26 pm

It would be doable. Just make each world blow up due to the evil gods from asylum and the abidan make a new world from all the pieces. That said it would b crazy juggling so many POV's and the new magic system would be Either too OP or tale a whole series to fully explain. Thats one of the things i love about ur books though anything can really happen and u can find a way to make it work.

Roy Petty

6/24/2017 09:14:57 pm

I vote for Cradle. The Travelers gate is fun, but it feels like the cradle series has much more room for growth and I want to see the potential.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:54:00 am

If I'm being honest, Roy, I'm leaning toward Cradle for similar reasons. Cradle has a lot of little nooks and crannies I don't have time to explore in the novels.

Perrid13

6/25/2017 12:16:55 pm

I vote Cradle, but I understand if you need a change of pace/ want to throw other fans a bone.

Daniel young

6/25/2017 04:26:31 pm

How about you do a short story about the abbodons home realm?

Jack

6/25/2017 05:24:39 pm

I vote Traveler's Gates. That's the series that got me, and many others, into Will's works. I know I'll catch a lot of flak for this but I'm not a big fan of Cradle. I'd personally rather read some Elder Empire or even more so Travelers Gates.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:54:55 am

I'm not sure why you'd catch flak for that. I understand completely. They're all different series, so having your own preferences is only natural.

Jay K

6/25/2017 05:49:03 pm

House of Blades FTW! Seriously, though, I'd say finish what you've started with Cradle since you're on a roll & inspired. Simon is training, getting deeper into the rooms, so he'll be ready for the tests you have waiting for him. And lmk when you're thinking of a video game for House of Blades - what a puzzle, RPG that would be.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:55:51 am

I've always felt like Valinhall would be incredibly easy to turn into a game.

The other Territories are more suited for a tabletop RPG than a video game, since a lot of their abilities have more roleplay benefits than mechanical.

sid

6/30/2017 04:30:13 pm

I would be the first pre-order for a TG video game!

Solias

6/25/2017 06:46:44 pm

I vote travelers gate, the gate series has one of the most interesting magic systems I've ever come across and I'd love to get another book to expand on my understanding of it

Will link

6/30/2017 11:56:13 am

Yeah, I miss that magic system. It's a ton of fun to write.

Walter

6/25/2017 08:40:20 pm

Cradle 🙌🏼🙌🏼👍🏻

kaden

6/25/2017 10:54:02 pm

I would definitely say that cradle has a lot of room to grow and a lot of holes and story to fill. Its a great book, but we in the EE community would like a EE short. Maybe emperor related?

The frogs are a nice change from the rabid badgers at least. That being said the frogs are slimy

Will link

6/30/2017 11:57:13 am

If I did something like, for instance, setting aside a day every week to work on short stories, I feel like Elder Empire is the world I'd be most excited to work on. It has room for a lot of cool short stories.

Wesperado

6/26/2017 08:42:16 am

Is there any way to access all of your short stories? I'm a fairly new reader of yours.

Captain Dafodil

6/26/2017 01:04:58 pm

Yes please. I'm on a quest to locate this archive of hidden treasures. If anyone could just point me towards a collection of the Wight's short stories, you would save me a lot of questing time, and I can get back to enjoying my summer.

captain dafodil

6/26/2017 01:07:19 pm

And for the record (is there a record?) I vote for a Cradle story. So much room for awesomeness in that world.

Will link

6/30/2017 11:58:01 am

Apparently there is some kind of online record of all the short stories, but honestly I don't know where it is.

Email me, and I'll be happy to send you copies directly!

Daniel young

6/30/2017 09:40:44 pm

I'm fairly certain the Reddit team knows where that archive is.

Poly_core

7/4/2017 03:20:29 am

here we go

http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/home/?u=ba4bf39fb09712a9c982f3bc8&id=9a4055d765

Poly_core

6/26/2017 01:06:21 pm

Well, I've got an idea and I think it has little chance to end up in one of the book (except if you do a traveler's gate prequel about Valin).

A short story showing how he ended up in Valinhall and elucidating his powers to travel between between Territories would be great :p I'd like to see how he got into Elysia and if he ventured anywhere else!

Solias

6/26/2017 03:09:14 pm

That's an excellent idea, with valin being such a great side character I'm all for exploring how he got buried alive and what lead up to it

Kaden

6/27/2017 11:00:15 pm

If ypu look into it hard enough you can see that valin is related to a pre text in EE where he is called The Unknown Wanderer

Sean K

6/26/2017 02:54:51 pm

How about option #3, DEATHBATTLES!!!

Riley

6/27/2017 07:21:39 am

I was surprised I didn't see this before. That's what I was going to suggest!!!

Will link

6/30/2017 11:58:46 am

Man, I miss those too. But I feel like I owe you guys a full short story, not just a long fight scene.

Riley

7/2/2017 05:52:25 pm

You could start with a real story and then have it devolve into a death battle. Best of both worlds!

scott pike

6/26/2017 05:27:48 pm

Travelers gate please. Also Frogs??

Zach

6/26/2017 06:57:25 pm

I vote travelers as Cradle should be 10 books at minimum and travelers is concluded. Finish EE write a few travelers shorts and deliver a candle book every 6 months for the next 5 yrs and I'm good

Will link

6/30/2017 11:59:09 am

Done!

Magelan

6/26/2017 08:37:52 pm

Cradle! Please! Simon got a great conclusion, but Cradle got a cliffhanger! That's not fair. Besides Lindon just got strong! We're getting to the best parts! Cradle vote +1!

Will link

6/30/2017 11:59:46 am

Ah, but if I did a Cradle short story, it probably wouldn't be a Lindon one.

Riley

7/6/2017 04:45:42 am

I would love to read more about the other major players in cradle and/or the other parts of cradle. As it was said Cradle is huge, so I would love to get to see more of that.

Jose

6/26/2017 09:50:08 pm

TG. I'm really curious how far Simon has gotten within the house. Would also like to see him add rooms.

Riley

7/6/2017 04:48:27 am

I would love to see him both add rooms and add more people to the dragon army. I'd love to see simon stumble across a young boy/girl and see them do something that catches his attention.

Joe

7/6/2017 05:03:29 am

In one of the TG short stories, Simon is retrieving I think the 11th fang, which means he would be close to having re-collected the complete set. And you've got the army about half full at least at that point.

Unless they start smithing more fangs...

Ann M

6/27/2017 04:29:44 am

New reader here. It's the Cradle series that brought me here, so I vote for another Cradle story. Dance with the one who pays you 😉

I'd love to read some backstory of the Sword Sage. Yerin says her master was far beyond Eithan - is that just ignorance on her part? What level is a sage on the Copper - Overlord scale?

Brian C

6/27/2017 08:59:28 am

So it goes Foundation realm which has copper, iron, and jade then the Gold realm which is low-gold, high-gold, true-gold and then the Lord realm which is underlord, overlord, highlord (I believe that's what Will came up with) then Sage realm. So long story short, yes her master was much more powerful than Eithan.

Brian C

6/27/2017 09:05:24 am

Correction it goes Underlord, Overlord, Archlord. It was really bugging me so I had to go back and look it up in the Blog Archive.

Ann M

6/27/2017 07:22:33 pm

Thanks for the clarification; I hadn't picked up on that. Wonder how far it is from Sage to whatever level that Grand Patriarch Li Markuth was on?

Mathew

6/30/2017 06:27:16 am

Sage realm doesn't come after Archlord.
Will said a few times that the Sword Sage and Li Markurth are 3 ranks above underlord, I assume he meant Major Ranks(Copper to Low gold) not minor(Copper to Iron).
Northstrider& co are 5 ransk above Underlord.

Mathew

6/30/2017 06:28:51 am

"Wonder how far it is from Sage to whatever level that Grand Patriarch Li Markuth was on? "
They are at the same level/rank

A FAMILY OF RACCOONS ON THE RUN FROM JANGO FET WHILE DRINKING LARGE AMOUNTS OF VODKA WHILE FIGHTING THE OTHER FAMILY OF RACCOONS WHO WANT TO FIGHT THE ROMAN LEGIONS

7/28/2017 06:46:52 am

Didn't he post that makurth had ascended or was extremely close to? It seems like he was far more powerful than anybody we have seen yet, but we HAVE only seen 3 lords

Will link

6/30/2017 12:01:03 pm

I'm actually hoping to clarify this scale in Skysworn! If it works like it should (everything always works better in my head...), then it should be a cool scene!

Daniel

6/27/2017 04:51:44 am

I say a short story from all three. Have them connect in a way some how. Doesn't have to be in a big way but maybe a sulte small way.

Daniel young

6/30/2017 09:44:39 pm

Hey other Daniel's back!

Wesperado

6/27/2017 06:53:28 am

I definitely vote for Cradle!!! Please? :)

Titus

6/27/2017 09:08:01 am

It has to be Cradle. Unless it's a short story about Simon adding another room to the House of Blades.......outside of that, the cliffhanger to BlackFlame was too much man!!!! Please finish SkySworn!

This one humbly Thanks you....

Jimmy

6/27/2017 12:32:13 pm

I would prefer the Cradle come first, but would be very interested in some additional content from Travelers Gate when it is ready

Unrelated to the timeline question of your poll... short stories of:
*different cradle factions, perhaps in other areas of the iteration (perhaps some of the areas shown to Lindon in his vision from Suriel)
*Cradle: Yerin's Origen/Trials
*Cradle: Eithen's backstory
*Trials within Valinhall
*Travelers story from the perspective of the dolls (someone above mentioned that and I loved the concept)

If there are several shorts from various series, a compilation would not be a bad idea either, rather like a companion collection.

Mason

6/27/2017 01:00:45 pm

Cradle 100%!!
Pulled me in on a completely different level to TG. I wanna see Lindon start dismantling people

VLADIMIR DANILCHENKO

6/27/2017 01:26:57 pm

CRADLE please. Easily one of my top 5 favorite series now, and I have read hundreds.

Stuart

6/27/2017 09:20:00 pm

I love all your books equally and finished all of them in less than a day each, in some case two per day. I would love to see more plot added to anyone of them, but out of all your stories I would have to choose cradle next.

Sharon

6/27/2017 09:42:36 pm

I would prefer a short story on TG. I like the idea of expanding Valin story and how Valin hall came about.

hassan

6/27/2017 11:05:50 pm

most freaking definitely cradle
come on man i'm dying here for the rest of it

Mathew

6/28/2017 09:08:46 am

Will, I noticed that you joined the Fools of Fantasy group a few months ago, planning to write an anthology together.
Can you say
1) when you might release(can be a VERY general date)
2)general storyline of your side story
3) is this the short story you asked us about(Travelers vs Cradle), or totally different
4) as the name of the group is FOOLS of Fantasy, is the theme of the short story going to be "Fool" as well. Would be amusing to see a Clown that cultivates.(The Path of the laughing Death) Every Cultivator cowers in fear before his jokes.

Will link

6/30/2017 12:03:39 pm

I wanted to do it, but I don't have the time to lead a side project. I'm happy to write a short story whenever they tell me to, but since no one has confirmed whether we're even doing it or not, I'm highly doubtful that's ever going to get off the ground.

I wish, though!

Will link

6/30/2017 12:04:56 pm

P.S. There's actually a fun pair of characters from Cradle that would work perfectly with the Fool theme. The Twin Jesters--I think I mention them in Unsouled. They're like a capricious Santa/Krampus pair.

Mathew

7/1/2017 02:24:16 am

It's the other way around; The Jester Twins, not The Twin Jesters.
Is he some kinda of god, or a mortal cultivator.
Could he be on a similar level as to the Dreadgods.

Barlimor

6/28/2017 01:04:08 pm

My vote goes to Cradle. I love Traveler's Gate, but Cradle has so many unanswered questions. It seems like any expansion on that world building is fuel for my excitement for the next release. Thank you for both. The fact that we get one short story from two amazing series is reward enough...... almost (#greedylikeLindon)

Will link

7/9/2017 04:32:24 pm

Lindon would, indeed, ask for both. His eyes are sometimes bigger than his stomach.

shantanu

6/28/2017 07:33:53 pm

Huge Travelers Gate fan (really how I was introduced to your writing). That said, Cradle has really grown on me. I like Elder Empire, but I'm voting for one of the others instead.

If we can get new additions to both the Traveler's Gate and Cradle series, that would be ideal =)

Garbagiel the Raccoon

6/28/2017 07:45:15 pm

I have taken a break from my ruminations upon the universe and the machinations of those who run it to let you all know that the next short story should most decisively be Traveler's Gate. As you all were.

Will link

6/30/2017 12:01:52 pm

All hail the Eternal Raccoon!

Now, if you could eat some of these frogs...

Obstructiel the Frog

6/30/2017 05:51:29 pm

Don't even think about it you trash-eating washout...

Joe

6/29/2017 05:20:46 am

Is there a single place we can find all of the past short stories?

Warren

6/29/2017 05:55:42 pm

I'm gonna move honest Will, I need me some more Simon. I like your Cradle stuff a lot, but it's been a long time since I got spend time with Simon and pals.

Jonathan

6/29/2017 10:34:03 pm

Personally, I really liked TGT a lot, but it reached a satisfactory conclusion for the time being. Unless you're ready to write a whole new set/trilogy, then I think you should finish Skysworn. I would really like to see Lindon do something with his new training other than train, or see him return to the sacred valley and rescue his family from the school before continuing on. Just my thoughts.

John

6/30/2017 05:24:50 am

Not that Skysworn was one of the options he laid out, but I can't wait to read more and see what happens with Jai and his sister and how he responds to Lindon healing her. I have to imagine that will weigh more heavily than Kral's death. How he then deals with the Jai patriarch will be interesting. I am just hoping enough of what Will wrote works so that is the next book and it comes out soon. If that happens I just hope he doesn't leave us with a MASSIVE CLIFFHANGER like this time since I have reconciled myself to EE being after (or before) that and I just couldn't get into it.

Jonathan

6/30/2017 12:27:13 pm

In a couple of previous comments he said he had an almost finished book for Skysworn. Being that close and moving on to something else before it's finished would be a tragedy.

john

6/30/2017 01:30:44 pm

He said if he could use the stuff he cut from blackflame mostly intact he would publish skysworn next. He isn't certain he can though, in which case EE will be next. So I am hoping he can use it and I will get another fix

sid

6/30/2017 04:31:33 pm

I love all of your books and Cradle is my favorite setting. However, I would love a new TG short story to add to my next re-read.

Brian S

7/1/2017 12:01:39 am

So Will, it seems like there are a lot of people who are missing some of you free shorts that seems to really wanna read them. Why not pop a new button up top and load up everything over three months old. Anything less that three months old would be reserved for those of us on your mailing list for the first three months.

This would give those new fans of yours a chance to read your short stories that you published before they discovered you, and give those fans who just can't wait a good reason to get on your mailing list.

You know, just a suggestion, you seemed like you were bored and needed something to do anyways.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:36:53 pm

I'm honestly not sure what to do with these mailing list short stories, Brian.

For one thing, they've been effective tools for building up the mailing list, so I want to keep using them.

But should I just have them release early on the mailing list, and then come out the next month on the blog? Or bundle them up later and release the collection on Amazon for $0.99 or something?

Azqa

7/12/2017 02:25:40 pm

IMO, release them on the mailing list individually and then bundle them up and publish collections on Amazon. Even if people have the PDFs from the mailing list, a single collection that can be read on a Kindle or app is nicely convenient.

Mathew

7/1/2017 07:36:17 am

Will did I tell you that you have a VERY scary lastname.

Hells, forget the Night King, with a name such as yours you should be the rightful king of the wights.
Now, winter has come, and you can march with your rotten army conquering westeros and become the King of the Seven Kingdoms., and then, perhaps, of the whole world, muhahaha (a guy has to have ambitions)

If it were some cheesy xianxia novel, you'd have your own harem of highly attractive...rotten women, who'd love nothing more than to eat the living flesh from your body...
So..yeah, good times to come.

Coldsteel

7/1/2017 09:32:14 am

It's a little known fact that those floating island shards of reality in the Willverse are actually officially known as "Isles of Wight".

Will link

7/9/2017 04:38:46 pm

In xianxia? You mean you don't think I actually have a harem of undead beauties who cater to my every whim?

I do think I've got an appropriate name for a fantasy author. Most people don't know what a wight is, but fantasy fans do.

Sophia

7/1/2017 08:56:11 am

This is completely contrary, but I think since you can't decide between the two, you should just finish off the Elder Empire books instead.

Amber

7/1/2017 02:57:44 pm

My vote: Traveler's Gate
It's been a little while. I feel like it's time to visit Simon and Leah. There are many questions left to be answered. Many details yet to be filled in. I also liked the idea of a prequel helping us to get to know Valin better.

Daniel young

7/2/2017 04:33:36 pm

I'm going to have to vote cradle simply because there are so many nooks and crannies that I doubt we will ever see with out some.

Lucas

7/2/2017 04:52:05 pm

Why not do something different this time Will? I was thinking you could perhaps come up with a mapping system about your universe (or universes). You could show information about size of the worlds and strength of its inhabitants. Obviously you wouldn't show too much right? It would be specially interesting to have some more information about Simon's and Lindon's worlds.

Lucas

7/2/2017 05:03:11 pm

Also, this should keep everyone happy instead of a short story targeting a single world.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:39:17 pm

I actually started messing with this, but I'm not sure if I can...

Walter

7/3/2017 09:41:58 am

What iron body did the previous black flames use?

Will link

7/9/2017 04:39:58 pm

I don't remember what it's called; I'd have to check my notes. But it was to improve their power as deadly artillery, not to survive the corrosion of their power.

Mars

7/3/2017 11:01:31 am

Will have you ever thought about chapter releases for your series that you're writing? I subscribe to some "patron" writers that release chapters weekly or even daily (based on donations/rewards). Then when the book is complete they publish it. This way everyone wins something. Just a thought. I love the world you create, thank you. My favorite is the cradle series so far.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:40:22 pm

I've thought about this, Mars, but I'm not 100% sure how I'd do it.

Voidran God-King of the Void, Slayer of Rabid Chipmunks

7/4/2017 12:12:29 am

Will, while I do like the TG series ALOT I think you left it on a cliffhanger that could last for a long while and I do think you should do a new book/short story for it. I also think you should do Cradle next because you left it on way too big a cliffhanger and too many things unexplained.

Sincerely your humble reader Voidran
P.S I also think- HOLY SHIT THE CHIPMUNKS ARE BACK EVERYBODY RUN I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!

P.P.S THE CHIPMUNKS HAVE TEAMED UP WITH THE FROGS WERE ALL GONNA DIE!

Will link

7/9/2017 04:41:01 pm

Never before have I seen a frog with a tiny helmet and sword riding a chipmunk into battle.

VOIDRAN GOD-KING OF THE VOID, SLAYER OF RABID CHIPMUNKS

7/29/2017 10:28:17 am

They are both powerful and surprisingly terrifying and that's coming from a guy who has complete control over a dimension that has bunnies that could level New York as it's weakest monsters

Terry

7/5/2017 01:55:25 am

Cradle please!

Dean

7/5/2017 02:05:10 pm

Hi Will, massive fan of both the TG and the cradle series, so thank you for the pleasure you've given me through that!

Personally I obviously want more of both, i feel like would enjoy maybe a new trilogy, from an adult Simon in his prime, maybe attempting some romance, but maybe facing a new enemy (maybe a different continent?) where Simon could grow and become even more badass!

Anyway looking forward to the following cradle books!

Will link

7/9/2017 04:41:26 pm

That's actually my plan for the new trilogy, Dean!

Bob Bobby

7/5/2017 02:37:45 pm

Since you asked directly, I'd like to sidestep that question and put my vote towards the City of Light audiobook. I've already pre-pre-ordered it.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:41:47 pm

Man, you're right. I really do need to finish that.

Bob Bobby

7/9/2017 05:55:38 pm

Whoooooo!!! If you want to add even MORE to your plate, you could start up a short story podcast where you read the novellas in parts each week. You could even add ads for Mail Chimp or what have you and make motivating cheddar.

Will link

7/9/2017 08:46:27 pm

That is what I should do: instead of audiobooks, just each chapter as a podcast episode. There, done.

They wouldn't sound nearly as good, but they'd get done a lot faster.

Riley

7/6/2017 05:08:35 am

I would love to just see either a TG or a Cradle short. I love them both and i would love some more world building.

For TG some themes I would love to read are Simon's continuous search for swords (you already did one but id love to see more), Simon's recruitment for the Dragon Army, Simon's creation of rooms, and Simon's depth in the house (maybe an explanation of all the rooms and what you get from each room, as well as an explanation for what you get?)

For Cradle some things I would love to read are about the Major people on Cradle and Major places (for both we were given a small tidbit of information in Book 1... but I want mooorree), explanations on what else is out there (cradle is the "cradle" for a reason what else is out there...), sword sage's backstory, maps, rank system, iron body system, and so many more things (that I am just too tired to think up right now).

I vote for whatever you have time for as long as Skysworn comes out this fall.

scweeb

7/8/2017 06:19:14 am

So with all the TG short stories you have done would you pick up where the short stories have left off? Or would you have to re tell some of the short stories for the people who haven't read them?

I have honestly given up on any new TG story coming out.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:42:40 pm

I understand that. It's been a while!

But it would pick up where the current short stories left off.

Bill

7/9/2017 08:16:50 am

I have perhaps what might be a contrary view.

Lindon vs Simon

By nature of the stories and the protagonist progression, Lindon's (yes damn spell check, Lindon not London)... path of growth is longer. While there are a ton of questions in TG, Simon is fully formed. I would imagine the second set of books in TG will take on an even more epic scale. With Lindon and each next step being a magnitude more difficult than the previous, he's really just started his journey after three books in.

I believe you should get Lindon to some benchmark point of significant achievement, then revisit the next phase of Simons story. I believe one reason TG has "aged" so well it that while there are still plenty of questions, the phase of the storyline introduced in book 1 was brought to some closure. Lindon/Cradle feels like we are just getting to the good part. IMHO you should get Lindon to a somewhat similar point of his growth as Simon, then move Simon forward. Then go back and forth, with shorts every now and then to supplement both.

Will link

7/9/2017 04:43:10 pm

I...actually really like that.

Now that Lindon can defend himself, it would be a cool deathmatch.

Bill

7/12/2017 12:09:25 pm

This is why some folks write and others read. I belong in the reader group. I didn't mean Lindon vs Simon, what I should have said is - "When you compare Lindon and Simon ......."

Meaning, Simon is in a much better parking spot right now when compared to Lindon.

Simon is a cake cooling on the rack you can now frost.
Lindon is a cake 20 minutes into 35 minute cook cycle.

Lindon the cake has risen a bit, browned a bit, but still has to rise and is all gooey.

Caleb Chamberlain

7/13/2017 08:23:56 am

I'm coming late to this party, but I think you should write whatever you feel like writing. Maybe your workflow is more flexible, but my own creativity is a fickle friend. Write whatever pulls you at the moment...

Having said that, I hope it happens to be Cradle... :-)

Ben

7/20/2017 08:23:27 am

Definitely Cradle! After finishing Blackflame I cannot WAIT for more.

Yo read this

7/24/2017 09:13:10 am

How about a story about the Unknown Traveler from EE?

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