Surprise! New Novel!

5/1/2016

So this is going to require a little bit of explanation.

Bottom line: I wrote another book! It's not Traveler's Gate or Elder Empire, it's a totally new series in an original universe! And if you're on the mailing list, I sent you the first ten pages today as a preview!

If you're not on the mailing list, you should sign up, because I send free content to the people on the list every month.

If you recall, a few months ago, I suggested that I wanted to write a weekly story here on the blog. For fun, and to give people something to read in between books besides boring news posts. So two months ago, I started writing it, so that I could be a few chapters ahead and wouldn't miss any updates.

Then I came up with the idea of the monthly short stories.

Well, the short stories do everything I wanted the weekly story to do. They're fun and quick to write for me, they're something to read in between books for you, and they slowly reprogram you into my loyal drones. Win-win-win! But I'd already written half a novel's worth of content for what was supposed to be a once-a-week serial. So I just kind of...finished it.

The final books in the Elder Empire, Of Killers and Kings / Of Kings and Killers, are still coming out this summer! The first book in a new Traveler's Gate trilogy is coming out after that! And also now there's this new novel, Unsouled, part of a series I'm calling simply "Cradle." I like to write, what can I say?

You may have noticed I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. But I'm chewing this one! I'm chewing so hard.

Anyway, yeah, Unsouled is done. It's finished. It's in editing now, and I'm going to put it up for sale on Amazon as soon as it's ready to go, I expect in just a few weeks. I'll announce a specific date as soon as I can, but it won't be long.

Until then...enjoy the preview for those of you who were on the mailing list! Everyone else, please admire the beautiful cover!

-Will

P.S. I've heard from several people who were signed up for the mailing list but haven't been getting the stories, and I finally figured out what to do! Some email providers, most notably Gmail, often move my messages into the Promotions tab or simply block it outright. So if you want to get the stories without having to email me weeping, begging, and prostrating yourself, then just add [email protected] to your Contacts! Then your email provider will know I'm not trying to sell you things, and I'm just trying to send you free stuff.

P.P.S. Well, I am trying to sell you things. But hopefully things you want to read.

68 Comments

Paul Jones

5/1/2016 11:53:03 am

Add my email pls.

Will link

5/1/2016 12:05:02 pm

The mailing list signup is directly to the right of this comment, Paul!

Jim

5/1/2016 11:53:20 am

Yay for more great stories to read, thanks will, but i still miss simon haha

5/1/2016 12:05:48 pm

New trilogy begins after Elder Empire! Most of the wait is already behind you, Jim!

John

5/1/2016 12:09:11 pm

"He reached out, grasping for the glowing white fruit,
hanging beyond his reach like a full moon."

What does "beyond his reach" mean? I would expect it to mean that if he stretched as far as he could reach, he still could not touch the fruit. So how did he get it?

5/1/2016 12:26:37 pm

You know, John, an hour ago it said "hanging like a full moon," but I thought the sentence read weird like that, so I added the "beyond his reach" phrase because I thought it sounded better. Just now.

I'll remove it, because you're absolutely right that it's not clear, but I'll grumble about it while I do.

5/1/2016 12:53:31 pm

I thought there might be a disembodied voice urging "use the force, Luke!", errr, I mean, "use the madra, Lindon!".

5/1/2016 04:37:49 pm

Careful he must be! The Dark Side I sense in him.

5/1/2016 12:18:50 pm

It is a beautiful cover worthy of admiration...

5/1/2016 12:26:56 pm

Yeah, I was happy with this one.

Francesco

5/1/2016 12:28:37 pm

This look really interesting, especially the eastern culture influence!

5/1/2016 12:30:11 pm

I'm not going to lie, I've gotten really into Wuxia / Xianxia novels that are translated from Chinese. They're very fun, but they're also all exactly the same. I was very tempted to write a version of my own that doesn't follow the exact same plotline everything else does.

I started doing it for fun, and then it became a little too real. And this is the result!

Scott

5/1/2016 12:49:32 pm

Nice! Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out :D

Jason Reback

5/1/2016 01:31:53 pm

Very nice, and I'm very intrigued by it. I'm a bit annoyed that I can't find what happens right now so that should be proof positive that its a good start. Once again I'm glad that your writing and expanding things and trying new things. Keep it up.

5/1/2016 07:16:58 pm

If you wanted to keep reading, then it worked! Awesome!

I always like trying new things, that's what keeps it fun for me. Thanks for giving me a shot!

Brian

5/1/2016 02:03:07 pm

This was a great start and I can't wait to read the rest of this book. I just hope I don't have to wait too long.

5/1/2016 07:12:09 pm

Not long at all, Brian! Release date coming very soon!

5/2/2016 07:15:34 am

Glad to hear it! Quick question, will you put a new entry into your blog when it is available so we can know when it goes on sale?

5/2/2016 07:25:30 am

Of course! I always post about it on the blog, and wherever else I can. I'll do a post with a release date, and then whenever I'm uploading it, and then when it's available for sale.

Patrick

5/1/2016 04:13:57 pm

I was wondering if this was based on xianxia novels and reading the comments I find out it was! Neat.

It'll be nice to have a xianxia that actually ends after a reasonable length rather than going on and on and on.

5/1/2016 04:42:35 pm

Well, it is a series, so I'm not sure how long it will end up being. I don't have any plans in that regard, I'm just going to wait and see.

But each book will have a real ending, I can promise that. And nobody's reincarnated, and Lindon doesn't get a miraculous relic from heaven that solves all his problems.

5/1/2016 05:46:20 pm

Hopefully he doesn't miraculously become unhandicapped, either. I was rather annoyed with Butcher's Codex Alera series as it progressed.

5/1/2016 07:10:58 pm

My main problem with Tavi in Codex Alera was that his magic lacked anything that made the Fury system unique. He wasn't controlling intelligent furies, just mindless forces, so he was basically using generic elemental magic by the end. That disappointed me.

I didn't mind him using magic, but I wanted him to use the series' unique magic. Like he can't use the normal furies everybody else uses, but he can use the Great Furies. Something like that.

Either way, I still enjoyed the whole series.

(And no, he's not becoming un-handicapped. He's genuinely starting off worse than everyone else, and he has to continue working around that.)

5/1/2016 06:01:54 pm

Holy Crap! That was good! How many goats do I have to sacrifice to get a full book of this?

5/1/2016 07:11:31 pm

No goats, but $2.99 for Amazon very soon!

...maybe one goat.

Voracious link

5/1/2016 10:30:33 pm

If I can't afford a goat, will a slice of pizza do?

5/2/2016 05:57:07 am

Only if it's goat pizza.

DVe

5/1/2016 09:36:52 pm

Good story i enioyed it found it a bit odd though but would definitely love to read more
Good to know when the books are coming out and i must once again say cant wait for TGT

5/2/2016 05:57:31 am

Glad to hear it!

James Johnson link

5/2/2016 10:54:55 am

Off to a great start. Will be buying.

Ps. When is the next audio book for TGT coming out?

5/2/2016 07:11:44 pm

Thanks, James!

I honestly don't know when City of Light will be coming out in audio. I only put Crimson Vault up a little over a month ago, and now I've got to find time to record another book while simultaneously writing two books and having just written a third.

My cup spilleth over with books.

That said, it won't be TOO long. I plan on starting the recording this summer, whenever I can squeeze in the time, which means that the audiobook would likely be for sale in the fourth quarter of this year.

Francisco

5/2/2016 06:48:57 pm

The story seems interesting. But I'm going to add a critique, there is too much background information before we get to know and like the main character. Would it be best to start at the point in time when he's trying to grab that fruit and present the same situation but with less background info? It would give the reader a chance to relate to the character you can then go and show him trying to touch the mandra without results outside of the clan ceremony. Just a thought.

5/2/2016 07:09:19 pm

I hear what you're saying, Francisco, but I disagree.

The first scene is only three pages long, and despite the tone, it spends more time characterizing Lindon than explaining the setting. I actually put more exposition into the second three pages than into the first three.

Your opinion is absolutely valid, and this is a very subjective thing. Maybe I'll change my mind and change some of this. But for me, as a reader, this is exactly what I need in order to know and like the main character. If we started with him trying to get the fruit, I wouldn't know him or like him, so I wouldn't care if he got the fruit or not. If I know he's been struggling to keep up with his peers ever since he was a kid, then I DO want him to succeed.

Nikk

5/3/2016 09:09:59 pm

I disagree with Francisco too. I think the background information sets the flow of the main character and the reason why he would go to such great lengths to obtain the fruit. If it started out with him trying to get the fruit, I would wonder why he was trying so hard to get it, and how he trapped the spirit tree, and why there is a 'physical' and a 'spiritual' fruit, and the background helps set the foundation of the world the main character is in, the mechanics of the world and the motivation behind his actions

Alex

5/3/2016 08:49:31 pm

I liked the first chapter, very interesting and Im looking forward to see how the plot will develop and what other trials Lindon will have to face. I like how your world's all make sense and that people don't just get amazing powers just because. And your explanations on powers/ madra/ the remnant are great.

Looking forward to the release of the book.

5/3/2016 08:59:55 pm

Thanks, Alex! I like to know exactly how characters get their amazing powers, because then I can know how I could potentially get amazing powers in the same world. It's all part of the plan.

Once it's out, let me know what you think!

5/3/2016 09:06:26 pm

An excellent start! I can't wait to read the rest of Unsouled! And I can't wait to read Of Killers and Kings / Of Kings and Killers! And I can't wait to read the new Travelers Gate Trilogy! And.. wait... I am a Loyal Drone so soon? With so little programming...

5/6/2016 08:52:25 pm

Dance for me, my word-puppets! Dance!

Mike

5/5/2016 08:39:17 pm

I really enjoyed the story. I like the eastern influence. It's like Will is stuck in a wheel of awesome!!! Writing trilogies and then writing new ones so the creative juices flow and back to previous trilogies.

What is Wuxia / Xianxia and where can I find a good story to start with? (I love the comment section, I learn new things!!!!)

5/6/2016 06:45:20 am

Yeah I've been wondering about that series myself. I have been trying to find it on amazon and I don't know if I found the correct one or not.

Devin

5/6/2016 07:47:48 am

Wuxia is a genre, not a series, if that was the confusion, I couldn't tell. Copy and pasted, wuxia is this.

The word wuxia is composed of two characters. The first character, wu is used to describe things having to do with martial arts, war, or the military. The second character, xia refers to the type of protagonist found in wuxia fiction, and is also a synonym for chivalry. Thus, wuxia fiction is translated as martial-chivalric fiction.

The simplest way to describe this genre to those who are not familiar with it is to define it as Chinese swords and sorcery.

If you're looking for similar fiction, try out WuxiaWorld.com They have a lot of great fiction that is translated from authors who write this type of fiction. I would suggest reading something like Against the Gods or Coiling Dragon to familiarize yourself with the genre if that's what you're looking to do.

5/6/2016 08:57:50 pm

Devin is wrong like 99% of the time, and as a matter of fact I wouldn't trust anything he says because his words are the words of the Serpent Devil, but THIS TIME he is correct.

Apparently Wuxia is more martial-arts related (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and Xianxia is more fantasy (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon set in Middle-Earth). But I don't really appreciate the distinction, and apparently the lines between genre are pretty blurred, so I just kind of mash the two together.

It's a uniquely Chinese take on fantasy, and I'm fascinated by some of their tropes and concepts. They can get very long and most of them are incredibly similar to one another, but they're still fun to read. Also, many of them are written online as original web-novels and the authors post a chapter every weekday.

www.wuxiaworld.com

Coiling Dragon is a great place to start, Battle Through the Heavens maybe, Tales of Demons and Gods...

Crazy

5/10/2016 09:17:19 pm

Can't wait for killers and kings and kings and killers. But I still resist your mighty power wizard of the words you shall not take me (fully) B)

5/11/2016 03:45:53 pm

Your will is as an egg to me, waiting to be crushed.

5/11/2016 08:02:26 am

I did not like the word advance, maybe use evolve? I like the Xianxia theme but I hope that you keep away from RPG elements. Really looking forward to it !!!!

5/11/2016 03:47:09 pm

I'm honestly not sure how to have a magic system in which people advance in power without inviting a video game comparison. "Advance" is sort of my compromise.

But their understanding of magic is limited, and once Lindon leaves Sacred Valley, there are whole new branches of the system to explore.

Harlequin

5/11/2016 01:25:31 pm

Well my first impression of the ten pages you emailed everyone was that this world seems to be an inspired personal take on those Chinese Cultivation novels. It was rather like the world of Doulou Dalu from what i gathered from theses 10 pages anyways.

The Boy has potential, but his tribe has been settled in a backwater location for too many generations. The Paths that the tribe has, the four of them are probably the paths that their ancestors had, and so they know how to deal with them but not any others that there may be. They probably involve the clans bloodline. Being unsouled was probably the norm many generations ago, and so he is a throwback genetically.

He is empty like a wine gourd, blank like a canves, a field waiting to be planted, just seeking to be filled with a spirit. You filled those 10 pages with plenty of hints, the mc is smart but dense and his family is made of up of ignorant tribal shamanistic types. Its completely obvious what he has to do, and it has nothing to do with waiting for the heavens mercy because the heavens already gave that to him when he was born, what he makes of it is up to him.

Biggest hint was this paragraph: "Then the Remnant rose from the tree’s corpse. It was made from lines of vivid purple, like color sketched on the world by a celestial painter. The Remnant was thin and free of details like bark or leaves, as though it were the purple skeleton of the tree that once had been. In reality, it was more like a ghost. A spirit without a vessel.
Remnants were constructions of pure madra, freed from their physical bodies. Whenever a sacred artist of enough power died, he left his soul behind him as a living force."

Its obvious he has to bind the spirit to himself somehow. Its like the narrator in explaining to the audience about new things that don't exist in our world knows more than the mc, or the explanations make the mc look rather dull-witted for not making the connection if he knows everything the narrator does.

Anyways it did look like it may need some polish. I didn't really notice anything in particular i didn't like, but maybe its because i've read dozens of similar Wuxia or Xianxia stories over the years it just wasn't completely enthralling as im used to. *shrug*

I did find it rather interesting though. Wonder where you going to take us on your latest journey.

Harlequin

5/11/2016 03:44:50 pm

Most of what you've guessed is wrong, but I can see how you got there.

It is indeed my take on the Chinese cultivation genre, because it has fascinating mythology behind it and I've wanted to try writing one for a long time. Not much in common with Douluo Dalu, though, aside from the word "spirit."

As for the narrator knowing more than the character, this whole section is in Lindon's POV. Nothing is revealed that he doesn't already know.

I'm glad you said what you did, though, because this helps me know what someone familiar with the genre is thinking at this point in the book. I might be able to tweak the next section to play on those expectations.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your response! Once the book is out, I'll be interested to see what you think about where I'm taking it.

Zach

5/20/2016 08:31:45 pm

ahhhhh well played Wlll, HQuin your a deusche

5/26/2016 04:08:23 pm

Nah, I never mind people sharing their opinions on the blog. So long as they don't mind me agreeing or disagreeing with those opinions. I like it when people are honest with me, and I'm honest with them in return. Harlequin has had some great discussions on here.

Speaking of which, I just noticed that I misinterpreted something he said. When I said "this whole section is in Lindon's POV," that was wrong. The first section isn't, I had just forgotten it was in there. So now that part of the comment makes more sense.

Other than that, we just disagreed on a few points. No big deal.

Andrew

5/12/2016 03:16:12 pm

Will this book take place in the larger multiverse-thing you've been hinting at with Traveler's Gate and Elder Empire?

5/15/2016 07:52:28 am

That would be cool if it did

5/15/2016 10:31:59 am

I don't want to spoil too much, but...it very much does.

After reading this and OKAK, you'll have a very good idea of where I'm going with this.

5/15/2016 05:57:42 pm

The anticipation, it BURNS!!!!

5/17/2016 07:51:34 pm

With how fast he is responding to these comments it makes me wonder if he is actually writing this book and not have completed it years ago and is now just torturing us for his enjoyment

5/26/2016 04:09:46 pm

Take that, Crazy! First I'm responding immediately, then I don't respond for over a week!

It's all part of an elaborate mind-dance designed to baffle your senses.

Brett

5/18/2016 05:57:49 pm

Will,

I just need to say that I have been in a reading funk. Amazon calls it s Showhole, but this is something else as it deals with having nothing to read. Your short stories have been my saving grace until the end of the year when everyone plans to release their books. Anyways I just wanted to say thank you very much, and I look forward to the next installment of which ever book you're sending our way.

Keep up the good work and thanks again,
Brett

5/26/2016 04:10:33 pm

Spring and fall, man. That's when everybody releases, and I'm not sure why.

Maybe I should too...

Glad you're enjoying the stories, and thanks for reading!

Asphodel

5/22/2016 06:15:23 am

Ahhhhh! Release date, when? The wait is killing me.

5/26/2016 04:10:52 pm

June 14th!

5/24/2016 03:31:17 pm

I have a 11 hr flight on june 14th any chance a lengthy product will be available? And if not can you reccommend something cool? I tried three series and put them all down after a 100 pages or so....
Youve ruiiiined me

Trent

5/24/2016 08:55:48 pm

Its hard to match Will but here is a few reads that I enjoyed recently. I do really hope Will answers you himself because I'm rather out of books to read myself and I'd trust his opinion more than my own. :)

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss (prolly read this already)
Way of Kings or Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson, prolly read these already too)
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (also popular and gritty)
Storm Front - Jim Butcher (also popular but worth adding to a list)
The Sorcerer's Ascension - Brock Deskins (8 books, free with prime, decent)
Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb (has a lil LGBT influence but nothing descriptive)
Black Sun Rising - C. S. Friedman (confusing world but enjoyable)
Fimbulwinter - E. William Brown (fun, sexy and light and free with prime. male power fantasy with a couple lesbian witches 3 short books)
The Warlock in Spite of Himself - Christopher Stasheff (comedy series of a bunch of books, not spectacular but I kept reading them)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein (Sci-fi)
Neuromancer - William Gibbson (Sci-fi cyberpunk)
Valor's Choice - Tanya Huff (Military Sci-fi)

5/25/2016 05:17:38 am

Trent thanks read mistborn and wiseman but the rest are new heres a few I enjoyed

Kings dark tidings series

Black Prism light bringer series

Prince of thorns series

5/26/2016 04:11:28 pm

PERFECT! June 14th is the release!

And I don't know when June 14th rolls around for you, but I'm on the east coast of the U.S.

Doc Mosh

11/22/2016 02:03:00 pm

So how many books will be in the Cradle series?

11/22/2016 02:28:04 pm

I'm not locking myself down to a specific number, Doc, but...a lot. More than ten, if I get my way.

11/26/2016 11:08:55 am

Does that mean one main story arc or perhaps more than 10 in different story arcs?

Stuart Shaffer

3/8/2023 06:58:55 am

Crazy to learn that Cradle started out as a short story promo!

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