I didn't take his advice

That was my first mistake. You'll have to read this week's newsletter to read about my other mistakes.

Hey, I'm back with more behind the scenes shenanigans.

This week was a tough one for my scribe, Melinda.

Papa says I should have patted her on the head and said, “everything will be okay.” But that's easy for him to do since he's taller than everyone I've ever met.

Meanwhile, I'm still vertically challenged since I haven't grown up yet in the books. I know what you're thinking.

Yes, there's a book where I'm fourteen and another trilogy where I'm 21, but they don't count since they aren't part of the Curse Breaker Series proper.

Okay now that that's settled, back to my rant.

Oh and in case you were wondering, this is Ran from the Curse Breaker Series. Papa is Sarn from the same series. He's actually the main character, and that's why I'm the main character in the newsletter.

But that's not why I'm salty this week. He's not supposed to know that the books exist because then I'd have a lot of explaining to do.

Would I actually explain how the books came to be? No, I'd just blame them on Uncle Miren and his journal.

(Yes, we actually told that story in Book Battles. Spoiler alert! I gave Melinda my uncle's journal in the book before that.

But it's still his fault for keeping a journal in the first place and putting temptation in my path. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Now back to my rant for real. So what did I do instead of taking my dad's advice?

Before I get to that and I promise I'll get to it before the end of this week's newsletter, I should probably tell you why it was a rough week for my scribe.

First off, it's incredibly difficult to get work done at the office. There's a lot of distractions and people stopping by her desk since she's right on the main aisle now. Then there's the impromptu meetings.

You know the ones where the invite arrives minutes before the meeting is supposed to start, and it says in-person. So then you have to search for the meeting since it didn't say where this in-person meeting will take place.

There was a nice lunch with a few coworkers and two execs to thank my scribe and her shrinking team for the work they did on the transition. (Melinda’s original employer was purchased at the end of 2024.)

It was a little awkward since she was the only one aside from the executives who would remain. The rest of her team will depart from the company tomorrow. 😭

After work that day, my scribe had planned a farewell get together at a local bar. Word spread as she'd hoped to get former colleagues and more than twenty people came. Some were let go in April 2025, September 2025, January, May and tomorrow. There were even a few people who left before the buyout who showed up.

The gathering had a family reunion vibe, and most of my scribe's old dept was there. So it was nice but also sad hearing about the struggles of her former colleagues to find work and not being able to do anything to help. 😭

She also planned a virtual farewell hangout so her remote colleagues could say goodbye to their departing colleagues.

In happier news, Melinda posted the first four chapters of Chaos in Chains, which is supposed to be the last book in the Riders of the Apocalypse storyline. So my aunt needs to get moving and find the remaining wraths.

You can read those chapters on Patreon and Substack too. Chapter 1 isn't gated and is free to read for all if you’re curious. It doesn't spoil the previous book since it's partly from the villain's point of view.

Melinda did some editing for Chaos Reigns, the book that precedes Chaos in Chains. More about the reading order coming soon since we may have to change the order we thought the Riders of the Apocalypse books should be read since events in Chaos Reigns did not go as planned.

I don’t know why Melinda plans things. None of our stories ever go to plan. She should plan for the unexpected because that’s what happens every time. But I digress.

But did she write anything? No. That's where my frustration comes from. So I might have said something about that instead of what my dad advised.

That might have been my first mistake. I really should take his advice when he offers it.

In my defense, the more she writes, the sooner she finishes Chaos in Chains and gets back to writing about me and my family. I just want some more page time. Is that so wrong?

Apparently it is, and I'm being insensitive. But am I really?

I'm just looking out for you. You can’t read the book if it's not done. Am I right?

How much time does one need to process things anyway?

Many of her former colleagues asked when there's going to be a movie based on our books and that's not going to happen if Melinda doesn't keep writing.

So I might have pointed that out because that's the truth. Books don't write themselves not even with AI.

And I know that because I asked one of the AIs if it could write my story. Do you know what it said?

It asked for an outline! An outline!

But we don't do outlines. We get into trouble and Melinda figures it how to get us out of trouble and then we get into more trouble. She gets us out of that trouble, and then we repeat that until there's nothing else we can do except the one thing that will end the book in the most satisfying way possible.

That’s why some of our books are a long longer than others. There was a lot more trouble we could get into in those books, and we took full advantage of that.

You’ll see what I mean when you get your hands on Curse Breaker Jousts. It’s the second longest Curse Breaker Book, and it clocks in just a few chapters shorter than Curse Breaker Enchanted. There was just so much trouble for the whole cast to get into. So we did!

I'll just have to keep bugging my scribe to write my story. But maybe I should take my dad's advice first even if I need to stand on a chair to do it.

That’s all for this week. I have plans for my scribe for next week, but I can’t tell you what they are because she receives a copy of every newsletter. So make sure to check back next week so I can tell you about my plan and how it went.

In the meantime, read a good book! Explore a new fictional world. Meet new friends! I’ll be back next week with more.

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. We’ll probably have to change the reading order and redo this graphic and parts of the covers. Oh well, nothing ever goes to plan!

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!!!