And, the story continues!

Absolution of the Morning Star is now a true series! Book 2, The Mourning Son, came out about a month ago and is doing well. For the first time, I had pre-orders before a launch, and through Kindle Unlimited page reads, I can see readers move from book one, the Dawn of the Lightbearer, straight into The Mourning Son. This is excellent news, as obviously, few will read book two if they don’t like book one. Am I a top ten bestseller yet? No, but I understand a sequel will take some time to shine. I did see many people grab a copy of Lightbearer during my free promotion, and hopefully, they will enjoy the story enough to see how it continues. In sum, I am finally seeing consistent sales and page reads through Kindle Unlimited! Will I be retiring from my day job soon? Unfortunately, no, but people are reading my work and seem to enjoy it, and that’s like gold for me.

After a month of rest and creating marketing material, three days ago I started book 3, Noonday in the North, and should have around 5,000 words by the end of today (we’ll see, it’s nice out here in Boston). I’ve become enraptured by Lucardia’s world, and it gets richer by the moment. Noonday in the North may not occur immediately after The Mourning Son, but it will still follow Erik’s journey. Noonday refers to the Noonday Demon, or the medieval personification of the restlessness and inattention monks sometimes felt around noontime. It’s taken from Psalm 91, “You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” Thus, the book’s central theme will be a distraction from Erik’s destiny. What that will entail is yet to be seen.

As you can see here, I’ve drafted a detailed map of Lucardia that helps tremendously to put things in context. I’ve also created book cover drafts for all six books in the series, setting visual landmarks for the larger story (click each book in the series link above to check them out). As I mentioned here, I also plan to stay in the Lucardian world for some time after I complete this series. With putting out 2-3 books a year, I should finish the series in 2023 (here’s hoping!). I will then start Koen the Gray to tell the tale of Erik’s father, especially detailing the three years he went missing before Erik was born. I’ve decided to get this book traditionally published as an experiment for myself. Going the Indie root, I spend a lot of time promoting, time I would rather spend writing. I also don’t have the same resources as a traditional publisher and I’m curious to see how well they work. I’m not selling out, I just want to see if I can do it after several years of sharpening my writing chops.

Well, that is what’s going on in my world. It’s time for a nice long walk in 50-degree sunshine to get the ideas stirring, then back into the Lucardian world. Erik is trudging through a winter wilderness and has come upon a mysterious cabin where a cabin should not be, just the kind of situation I love to write.

Cheers!