A Tale of Two Versions with many digressions

And I am your Sam.

Mar 04, 2024

Hey,

We’re back and we’re about a week away from Rogue Rescue publishing! Rogue Rescue is the 4th book in the Robin of Larkspur series. If you’re new to the series, start with book 1, Hunter’s Night.

Storm the Gates, book 3 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy, is coming along nicely, and that’s all thanks to me. I’m Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series, and in the Rogue Gods Trilogy, I’m all grown up with my own magic and opinions.

Okay, the opinions aren’t a new since I had them way back in Curse Breaker Enchanted, and I told everyone who listened to me about them. I probably told people who didn’t listen too so later, I could say I told them so. But I digress.

So book 2 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy, Summon the Gods, ended and all the characters steering that plot were tired and needed a break from all the magical mayhem. Since Papa raised me to be a kind and compassionate character, I jumped into chapter 1 of book 3, Storm the Gates, and took over the book. I did this, so they could rest and recharge their magic. Aren’t I the best supporting character?

So you know Storm the Gates will be a fun romp with me at the helm. Oh dear, I digressed again. I’m supposed to talk about Robin’s books today. Melinda says I can gush about the Rogue Gods Trilogy after Rogue Rescue releases. So now’s a really good time to talk about the two versions of Rogue Rescue.

A Tale of Two Versions

What are the two versions of Rogue Rescue?

The retailers’ version and
The author’s final cut also known as the original version

Why are there two versions?

Melinda explains that in the book. Since you don’t have a copy of it yet, I’ll sum up the reasons. Then you can read the full explanation when you get the book. Sound fair?

Great! Let’s go before I digress again. The events in Rogue Rescue collided with the events in the Rogue Gods Trilogy because the characters decided it must do that.

(That wasn’t my fault. It was totally someone else’s fault. I know what you’re thinking, and I assure you, it wasn’t my fault. Before you hit reply and tell me I protest too much, let me explain.

Robin’s grown up daughter, Rosalie, forced Rogue Rescue to collide with book 2 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy. A book appropriately titled, Summon the Gods, for reasons that become clear in the opening chapters of Rogue Rescue.

But you can read the Rogue Gods Trilogy without reading Rogue Rescue. And you can read Rogue Rescue without reading the Rogue Gods Trilogy. If you read both, then you’ll understand why Melinda got so mad at this blatant manipulation of the plot of 6 books.

I might have said it was 5 books in a previous newsletter but events in Storm the Gates have made me realize it’s six books.

For now, I can just say that a character who likes Rosalie a lot misunderstood some things that happened at the end of book 2 of the Rogue Gods Trilogy, Summon the Gods, and he overreacted a lot.

During his overreaction, he made a deal with a powerful person, thus setting into motion a series of events that sent a magical crystal to Nolo’s apartment all gift wrapped for me in book 10 of the Curse Breaker series, Shards For His Gift.

And you know how I like glowing things, so I might have kept the crystal in question, never suspecting it had magic too or that it would go after my dad. So book 11 of the Curse Breaker series, Chasing Dragons, might have to resolve that little problem. And Papa might be very unhappy about that, but I’m not supposed to talk about that yet. So bookmark for a later a newsletter discussion, okay?

So I wasn’t motivated to stop the crossover. After all, why shouldn’t I benefit from this plot manipulation thing and get more page time with my dad?

And I forgot where I was going with this. Oh yes, I was explaining how I’m not the problem this time. It’s not me!

Okay, back to the two versions. Sorry for that digression. What is the difference between the two versions?

The retailer’s version is a little shorter than the Author’s Final Cut Version. What was cut?

In the Retailers’ Version, you don't see what’s going on with the ex-gods and the woman who’s trying to help them since their stories are told in the Rogue Gods Trilogy along with a lot of other cool stuff. So the Retailers’ Version is more streamlined and keeps the story focused on Robin’s quest to save her daughter, and of course, Papa rescues me.

Why did Melinda make two versions?

Because a beta reader read the original version and found it too confusing since it wove in some stuff from Summon the Gods so you could get a 360-degree view of the action from both storylines as they collide then diverge.

The reader didn't have Summon the Gods to read since that book wasn’t finished yet. So they only had Rogue Rescue, and no one in Rogue Rescue has the full picture of what’s going on.

So the retailers’ version was edited to stand on its own so you don’t need to read Summon the Gods unless you want to see what the ex-gods are doing.

But I hope you do want to read that trilogy too because I'm in it, and I work lots of magic. I’m their Sam and sometimes, I’m their Merry and Pippin. But I don’t carry anyone to Mordor.

If you read the Rogue Gods Trilogy after reading the Retailer’s Version of Rogue Rescue, you won’t be lost. Melinda kept enough things in Rogue Rescue that sync up with that trilogy, so you still get the full picture. Besides, the part that crosses over with Rogue Rescue is at the end, and there’s a lot of magical mayhem before that involving yours truly, and you don't want to miss that.

Where can you get the Author’s Cut Version?

It originally published on Patreon, one chapter at a time, while our scribe wrote both books. So Patrons read both books at the same time. For that reason, the Author’s Cut or the original version is only available on there because it captures the struggle to figure out where the heck the story was going and why the characters forced the two stories to collide.

Meanwhile, the Retailer’s Version of Rogue Gods has all those rough edges smoothed away and the story is streamlined to show you only what’s needed to close out the save the kids storyline, and that's really important to me since I was one of those kids.

The second half of Rogue Rescue has nothing to do crossovers or Rogue Gods and is a thrilling chase through the wintry enchanted forest full of our usual brand of magic and mayhem followed by a few chapters of Papa and Robin avoiding the Rangers, and the Rangers searching for them.

One doesn't simply return from an adventure without reporting to Nolo or Jerlo. They’ll hunt you down, so your heroes have zero chance of avoiding them. And that's not a spoiler because no one ever successfully avoids them for long.

If you’d like to become a Patron and get the original version of Rogue Rescue and read my books before anyone else, sign up now.

Preorder the Retailer's Version of Rogue Rescue now. It publishes on March 10, and book 5, Rogue Gift, publishes on Sept. 27, 2024, thus ending the prequel series.

New Podcast Episodes & Videos

Listen to our podcast in your player of choice. Or Watch it on YouTube.

Fantasy, Lore, & More: The Simple Delivery - Andrew Claydon dropped by to talk about his book, which is inspired by the game, Skyrim. Check it out!

New Releases, Sales, & Other Book Stuff

Dark Tides: Collector’s Edition Sprayed Edges Hardback

Dive into Dark Tides, fae fantasy romance twisted with Scottish and Welsh legends. Choose steamy, sweet, or both editions to collect!

The Fallen Kingdom: A young adult epic fantasy novel

Two books in a clean YA epic fantasy series with found family, reluctant royalty, and elemental magic - with special edition available!

Publishes on Mar. 10, 2024: The hunters become the hunted in book 4 of the Robin of Larkspur series when they’re trapped in a spell. Preorder it now.

Follow the Rogue Gods Kickstarter Campaign to get notified when the trilogy launches so you can get your hands on them. Because she’s coming to a timeline near you, and your life may never be the same afterward.

Melinda’s Substack

Discussion about this post