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Book 1: The Novice of Thanatos
Death isn’t silent—it whispers, it tempts, it remembers.
I learned this the day I heard my grandfather’s gravelly voice long after he passed away. At first, I thought it was just a trick of my grieving mind. But then, from the shadows, I saw the warmth in his eyes and felt the rough brush of his calloused hand on my cheek—gently wiping away a tear of joy as I believed, just for a moment, that he wasn’t gone.
They call it a gift—this ability to hear, see, and feel the dead—to walk the thin, unyielding line between their world and ours. That’s why the Order of Thanatos took me in, an eleven-year-old boy without a home, and taught me their sacred rites. They said we shepherd souls, guiding them to the threshold of the afterlife—a noble mission, or so I believed. But the truth is, the Order holds a terrible secret—a secret that twists the meaning of life, death, and everything in between.
This is the story of how I became a novice of Thanatos: a journey from innocence to corruption, from duty to rebellion—a tale of ghosts, forbidden truths, and the devastating cost of power. It’s the story of how I dared to reach beyond the threshold—and risked everything to bring back what I discovered.
Log
3/10- Another tale begins, currently at 2,515.
3/12- 4,785 words. Flowing pretty good so far! Mishal comes to life.
3/15- 8,163 words. Started chapter three. Nice to have a story flowing.
3/17- 10,567 words! Wrote 1,620 words today. It has been a while since I’ve been able to write this much.
3/22- 14,790
3/24- 17,300. Hope to reach 25k by the end of next weekend. Let’s see if I’ll make it 😉
3/31- I did it! 25,009 words this month. Set a goal of reaching it by the end of the weekend! Just barely made it and finished chapter 6.
4/3- 27,720 words. Broke the 100-page mark.
4/12- 34,787 words. I had a little slow patch; work drained me for a couple of days, but I still wrote every day. Finally had a breakthrough last night.
4/17- 38,064 words. Took a day off last week after working outside all day. Got the front yard cleaned up, but it took all my energy for the day 😉
5/5- 50,156! It’s been a while since I added an update, but still writing away. I’m on chapter 13. Chapter 12 took a lot of research. By the time I’ve finished this book, I could get an MD (although a medieval version).
5/14- 55,325. Slowed a bit but still putting down words. The middle of a book his always the most difficult. I know where I want to go, but I got hung up on a witch. She’s gone now, and we move again. Decided to name book one of this series, The Novice of Thanatos. Book 2 will be called The Monk of Thanatos, and book 3, The Confessor of Thanatos.
5/25- 62,532 words.
6/13- 70,626 words.
6/21- 76,099. Writing half as much as usual, but still writing. Adapting to the new schedule with the in-laws has been tough 🙂
6/25- 80,110! So close I can taste the ending.
7/18- I realized I needed to write several more chapters. 91,575 words and counting.
7/23- Now I’ve got a complete first draft! 94,000 words. Added four more chapters to end the book in Thanatos. Read-throughs and editing begins.
8/28- On my fifth read-through after close line edit. Already printed out the first 10 chapters for my wife to start reading. She is my biggest fan and most intense critic. If it is terrible, she’ll let me know 😉
9/18- Editing complete after about two months and ten read-throughs. Time to start packaging for querying.
9/19- Query letter template finished along with a detailed synopsis. Agent querying begins again soon.
2/13- The Novice of Thanatos will be available 3/7! Be sure to pre-order!
2/28- Release is coming soon.
