Disorder Strikes Back
And the reading order for the books releasing this fall is in peril. Will you help us save the order? Details are in this week's newsletter along with my plan to save the reading order and the day!
This week, I bring you a dilemma and the argument that’s tearing apart the cast. So let’s dive in.
What’s the dilemma?
The reading order of the Riders of the Apocalypse story arc is under discussion this week because it’s become increasingly obvious that the one currently displayed in our Kickstarter banner may not be correct:
Why might it be incorrect?
Because events did not happen the way Melinda thought they would when she made that graphic.
It’s not all the books in the picture that might be out of order. The ones with Chaos in the title are in chronological order. The problem is Curse Breaker Jousts, and that really bothers me because I’m in it and all my scenes are brand new!
Why is it Curse Breaker Jousts a problem?
Melinda wrote the story arc in the order pictured above:
Chaos Rises
Curse Breaker Jousts
Chaos Reigns
Chaos in Chains
But if we go by the events in the book, Curse Breaker Jousts takes place concurrently with Chaos in Chains.
So that begs the question, when should you read it?
Should you read it before Chaos in Chains?
If you do, then you’ll know how one of the wraths (War) is captured. But if you read Chaos in Chains first, it’ll spoil the big climax in Curse Breaker Jousts. I can’t have that, so I’m putting foot down.
(This is Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker Series in case you were wondering. And now back to my rant!)
I urge you to read the books in the following order so you are as surprised as I and the rest of the character in Curse Breaker Jousts are by the events as they unfold. Besides, my books always precede books that star my aunt. That’s just how it is. I don’t make the rules.
The reading order should be:
Chaos Rises
Chaos Reigns
Curse Breaker Jousts
Chaos in Chains
If you read it in that order, then you get all to enjoy all the magical mayhem in Curse Breaker Jousts, and nothing is spoiled.
You’ll know that my aunt will capture War and how. But that’s not a big part of Chaos in Chains and there is plenty that is brand new in that book.
Chaos Reigns actually takes place simultaneously with Curse Breaker Revealed, Shards For His Gift, and Chasing Dragons (books 9-11 of the Curse Breaker Series). Curse Breaker Jousts is book 12 in the series.
So I think we found our reading order! Now I need to get the banner updated…
Thank you for being a sounding board. The reading order gets complicated to figure out when multiple series are involved.
We should probably stop doing crossovers. You are so right! Why didn’t I realize that sooner?
Since I don’t usually plan the crossovers, I can’t actually make good on that recommendation. I’ll pass it on to the other characters, but I can’t promise they will listen.
So aside from getting confused about the reading order, I watched some kitchen nightmares unfold.
My scribe is great at writing books, but she’s not a good cook. Somehow, she’s always missing an essential ingredient, and she doesn’t notice until it’s too late. Despite reading the recipe, she always misses an important step.
Those two errors combine to sabotage so many things she’s tried to make over the years. So it’s a good thing I now live in Inari and Nolo’s apartment because I’d starve if I had to depend on my scribe for food.
Melinda was feeling much better this week, so she wrote more for Chaos in Chains and chapters 9-12 posted this past weekend. You can check them out on Patreon and Substack.
Aan she expects to have the final edits this week for Chaos Reigns, so keep an eye out for that if you’re on a paid tier. As soon as those edits come in, Melinda can finalize the book and send it out.
Remember earlier when I mentioned crossovers?
Well, I think the characters in Chaos in Chains are setting up another one. But it’s unclear at this point if this new crossover will be a new world-ending event or something else. It’s also not known when the events they are busy setting up while my aunt is trying to stop the current apocalypse will affect anyone outside the afterlife.
I could get lucky this time and the problem could stay on their side of things. It could happen. You’ll see what I mean when you read it. If you saw it coming, then you must be able to see the future because not even my scribe saw it coming.
Fay definitely didn’t see it coming, and she’s the ex-goddess of fate and the future. She would have warned the characters doing this thing that I can’t talk about because that would be a major spoiler that it’s not a good idea and won’t lead to anything good for anyone.
But no one asked her. They didn’t ask me either because I would have said that too.
The thing I can’t talk about isn’t posted on Patreon or Substack yet, but it will be posted either next week or the week after that. So it’s arrival is imminent. Once it’s posted and someone reads it, then it’s set in stone. We’ll have to do it eventually.
That might be why Melinda messed up the two things she tried to cook this week. She’s wondering where certain characters are going with this interesting plot point that definitely wasn’t in any outline for any book.
The characters in question are taking the chaos part of the book title too seriously. We’ll have to up our game in the next Curse Breaker book because we can’t let a bunch of angels and an ex-war god create all the chaos.
Don’t tell Papa I said that. He doesn’t like chaos. It’s usually hazardous for his health and mine. But a little chaos isn’t a bad thing, right?
That’s all for this week. Read a good book and stay safe if you’re in the path of the next heatwave. I’m already plotting how to keep my scribe cool so she can write when the high heat and humidity rolls in tomorrow.
Stay safe until we meet again.
New Books & Special Editions
Don’t forget to follow our campaigns:
Riders of the Apocalypse: Complete Epic Fantasy Book Series
An angel, an ex-god, & a dragon take on the riders of the apocalypse in 4 humorous epic fantasy adventure books. Follow the campaign to get notified when it launches. (The banner and covers need to be updated to reflect the new order you helped me work out in this newsletter since plans went awry as usual.
Curse Breaker Unleashed: A New Epic Fantasy Book Trilogy
An ancient army awakens and the only man who can stop them is the one who set them free in three new adventures full of heart and hope. Follow the campaign to get notified when it launches in 2027. My scribe will write these books next!!!
