Shadow of Arthan and Beyond

Well... it's been a while.

I've been keeping pretty busy behind the scenes, and while I've shared bits and pieces here and there, I realized it's probably time for a proper update. I've reached one of those interesting points where one stage of the journey is wrapping up and another is just beginning. So I thought I'd sit down, catch everyone up on what I've been working on, what's changed, and where things are headed from here. There's a lot to be excited about, and I'm looking forward to finally sharing it with you.

Shadow of Arthan

First, I'm happy to say that Shadow of Arthan is officially complete. The entire novella is now published here on the website in six parts, so if you've been waiting to read it all at once, now's the time.

This story ended up becoming something I really enjoyed writing. While The Templars of Alderath leans more toward classic epic fantasy, Shadow of Arthan takes a different approach. It's faster, more intimate, and carries a bit of a spy thriller feel as Lorna navigates the darker corners of Arthan while confronting pieces of her own mysterious past. There's plenty of action, a healthy dose of intrigue, and more than a little emotional baggage along the way.

Most importantly, it closes the chapter I wanted it to. With Lorna's story now complete, I'm finally free to shift my full attention to what's coming next.

The Templars of Alderath Performance

Publishing The Templars of Alderath turned out to be the beginning of a whole new education. Finishing the book didn't mean the work was over—it just meant the job description changed.

Over the past several months, I've spent a lot of time learning Amazon Ads and the business side of being an author. Marketing is its own craft, and I've discovered there's a lot more to it than simply putting a book out into the world and hoping people find it. I'll save the details for another post because there's enough to talk about to fill one all by itself.

The process has been slower than I'd like, but it's also been encouraging. The sales, reviews, and advertising data all point in the same direction: the book is finding the right readers. It's just happening one reader at a time. I'm nowhere near paying the bills with writing alone yet. At the moment, the royalties won't even buy a bag of trail mix—especially if it's the good kind—but compared to where many new authors start, the numbers are surprisingly promising.

So, onward I press.

The Wrath of the Primus

With Shadow of Arthan complete and the biggest hurdles of publishing and marketing behind me—for now, anyway—my attention has shifted almost entirely to The Wrath of the Primus. The marketing side of things will always be an ongoing process of learning and refinement, but it's finally at a point where I can let it run while I focus on what I enjoy most: building stories.

The last few weeks have been especially productive. The story, plot, and character arcs are now fully developed after several rounds of revisions. The next step is what I call "going to scene." That's where I take all of those outlines, notes, and character arcs and turn them into a complete scene list, weaving everything together into one seamless narrative timeline. After that comes organizing those scenes into chapters, building chapter outlines, and then—finally—it's time to "go to prose."

That might sound later in the process than it really is. For me, the story is essentially written long before I draft the first chapter. By the time I begin writing prose, the hard creative work has already gone through multiple iterations. The prose is where everything finally comes to life.

If things continue to move at the current pace, I'm hopeful to have the manuscript ready for beta readers in about four months. Since I've already learned the ropes of publishing with The Templars of Alderath, getting Book Two onto Amazon afterward should be much faster. Barring any major surprises—and life does have a habit of inventing those—I think there's a good chance The Wrath of the Primus will be in your hands before the end of the year.

Getting a Day Job

That brings me to the question I've been pondering the most: will I need to go back to a day job?

The honest answer is that I don't know yet, but I'll probably have to make that decision within the next couple of months. While I still have savings, they're not unlimited, and I can't justify betting my family's financial security on the hope that Book Two suddenly changes everything. If The Templars of Alderath begins selling at a more sustainable pace before then, I'll gladly keep pushing forward full-time. If not, it's time to go back to work.

Honestly, that's not the end of the world. Plenty of authors write while holding down full-time jobs, and I have no problem joining their ranks if that's what it takes. The biggest downside is simply that progress will slow. Writing two hours at night is very different from writing all day. However, I can blunt this speedbump by fulling planning out the remaining books in the series in the time I have left.

For now, though, I still have a little time before I need to cross that bridge. If you're the praying type, I'd certainly appreciate your prayers that Book One continues to find new readers. I'd love nothing more than to keep building this world full-time.

Conclusion

That's about where things stand. It's been a busy season, and while there have been plenty of challenges along the way, I'm grateful for the progress that's been made and excited about what's coming next. Every step forward, no matter how small, brings me a little closer to the goal.

Thanks for following along on this adventure. I'll be back next week with another post, including a deeper dive into everything I've learned about Amazon Ads and marketing as a new indie author.

In the meantime, if you haven't already, I hope you'll check out The Templars of Alderath and Shadow of Arthan. Every reader, every review, and every recommendation helps more than you know. I'll keep plugging away on the next adventure, and I can't wait to share it with you.