Sneak Peeks and Leaks And What's Next?
Hi! This is Ran, your favorite fictional character!
(I hope I am. If I’m not don’t tell me! If you forgot who I am, I’m Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series. I’m still trying to get all the page time, but more on that later.)
I have so much to tell you this week. I’ve got good news, sneak peeks, and some pesky real-world leaks making my scribe, Melinda, kind of grumpy. But let’s start with the fun stuff before I dive into the leaky water pipes that might be stalking my proo scribe (and leading to under-desk adventures). 🛠️
Catch the Scribe is Finished!
Well, the first draft is done anyway. It still needs editing. But we got to the end of the story!
Melinda wrote the last words of Catch the Scribe, which took the events from the first newsletter adventures and updated and expanded them. So you can finally discover how the heck I and my family left the pages of our book and met our scribe. 🎉 It also contains our first adventure in your world, and it was pretty crazy (spoiler alert).
Melinda will start editing it possibly today if she’s not too exhausted from commuting to her job and working for someone who isn’t me. I’m not her only boss, and that’s weird to admit, but it’s true. I also don’t pay her anything, so as much as I hate sharing her with anyone else, I kind of have to since her real job pays the bills.
So I’ll just keep you updated on the editing. Sometimes it goes quickly and sometimes it doesn’t. Every book has different needs, and we never know how much editing a book will need until it’s done.
What’s next in the writing queue?
--> Book Battles: the sequel to Catch the Scribe.
--> Chaos Reigns: the sequel to Chaos Rises.
Yes, she’s going to try and write them at the same time, but I haven’t decided if I will let her. I might want to hog all her writing time and make her add chapters to Book Battles, which gathers the next batch of adventures from those early newsletters and weaves them into a story that will answer burning questions like:
How did I gain control of this newsletter?
Where did the newsletter dragon come from?
How did she get tangled up in our newsletter and become my nemesis, leading to the events in Dragon Spells?
I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I can’t wait to find out!
Become a patron or upgrade your Substack membership to read Book Battles and Chaos Reigns as Melinda writes them.
Sneak Peek: Chaos Rises Illustrated Edition!
Melinda wrapped up edits for the illustrated edition of Chaos Rises, and I have a sneak peek of the art for you!
Along with the final cover, we’ve got some interior spreads, and they are spoilery. So you look at them and speculate about what my aunt, Misriah, Fay, and her family get upto in the story. My aunt might unleash Misriah upon the riders of the apocalypse. (Misriah is Papa’s guardian angel, and she’s also a no-nonsense warrior angel. So my aunt drives her crazy.)
This edition will be part of our next Kickstarter campaign, tentatively planned for sometime in May. (Though that might shift slightly—more on that in a bit.) There will be options to just get Chaos Rises or to get Chaos Rises & the illustrated omnibuses for the His Angelic Keeper series.
Kickstarter, Proofs & Printing: The Latest Updates
Kickstarter Progress:
Melinda won’t launch the next campaign (featuring the His Angelic Keeper series illustrated omnibuses and Chaos Rises illustrated edition) until:
All Robin of Larkspur special edition Kickstarter books make it home safely. many should arrive on their new owners’ doorstep this week.
She receives print proofs for the books for the next campaign. Proof = peace of mind for my scribe.
Tariff Troubles:
This week, Melinda placed an order with a U.S.-based printer for proof copies to test printing options due to the recent tariffs on imported good. The U.S. printer offers fewer options (no fancy gold foiling or colored edges 😢), but it eliminates uncertainties about tariffs.
Unfortunately, there’ve been some hiccups with that order, and she’s exploring alternatives just in case. I’ll keep you all posted on developments as soon as there’s more info on the printing situation. I promise Melinda won’t launch the next campaign until all the details are sorted and the books are ready to print from a printer we trust.
Life Update: Melinda vs. The Leaks (Plumbing Drama Ahead)
Okay, now it’s time for some real-world updates. Leaky pipes are stalking my scribe! Seriously! There might be something to Papa’s magic’s aversion for water. Here’s a rundown of the chaos:
Leak #1: A leak started months ago in the laundry room (adjacent to Melinda’s bathroom). She reported it weekly, but the management association ignored her reports.
Leak #2: last week, Melinda’s bathroom sprang a leak right where the waste water pipe is in the adjacent laundry room. That finally made the management association call a plumber. The plumber came and replaced the leaky pipe. Victory! Or was it?
Leak #3: Back in early March, Melinda found a water bubble the size of her palm under the paint in an interior wall at her day job. A group of very amused coworkers poked it repeatedly to feel the water slosh about.
Ever the responsible one, Melinda wrote to office services and informed them about the leak. Then Melinda went on vacation for her birthday, leaving the matter in Office Services’ hands. Last Monday, Melinda went to the office and guess what?
The Bubble Came Back! And it spawned some friends since the leak was never fixed so it got worse. How did Melinda find out when her desk wasn’t near the wall in question?
A coworker (who was working remotely) asked her to check his computer, so Melinda crawled under his desk to confirm his PC was on. A coworker from the device side of IT team came over to check that the PC in question had internet access, and that’s when they found the water bubbles multiplied until they surrounded the electrical socket and the internet port which were both in the wall.
A mad scramble began then to reroute wires, fix the internet connection, and restore internet access to the PC. Reports were sent and eventually maintenance came to check the leak and hopefully they’ll fix it so by the time you read this.
So that’s what Melinda has been doing besides writing. She’s been dodging leaks and reporting them. Hopefully, the leaks will stay gone so she can get back to editing Catch the Scribe, writing new books, and bringing YOU the stories you love.
Closing Notes
Thank you for sticking with us through all the updates and chaos! Your support keeps Melinda (and me!) going. We’ll keep you posted on proofs, tariffs, and Kickstarter progress as we know more, and in the meantime:
Keep an eye out for more sneak peeks of Catch the Scribe, Chaos Rises, and His Angelic Keeper illustrated omnibuses!
Cross your fingers that there are no more sneaky leaks in Melinda’s life (we’ll take all the good vibes we can get!).
Become a patron or upgrade your Substack membership to read Book Battles and Chaos Reigns as Melinda writes them.
As always, hit reply if you have any questions or just want to say hi!
Until next time, happy reading!
—Ran (and Melinda, but she might be hiding under the desk)
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