1 Toire, an end and a beginning.

Time does fly. It seems like only yesterday I was writing the first draft of Wheel of Fate. 2022 was full of wonderful events and firsts. So what happened in 2022?

I’m pretty far behind schedule now, and that has altered my plans for Hammer and Flame. First, I got behind because I took on a ghostwriting project. This was ultimately good for the books because it allowed me to stock up for events I could not otherwise have afforded. I also took the time to create a 50-page D&D module packet to have at events and on the website. We played one of these modules at ORF, and it generated interest. These two things alone delayed work on Ember in the Forge by six months.

A further delay came in November when I was finally cleared out for the year and ready to go full-tilt into EitF (for real this time). I lost my boy Batty. A 14-year-old crossbreed mediumhair, he was visually unique by his two-tone hair and his fangs. He was also comically dumb, and my mom always said he was on borrowed time because of it. I’ve brought him into Ember’s life since he’s gone from mine, and I really like the life he has in Ambergrove.

I had a personal crisis after this loss, waking up the first day in my entire life without a pet to lovingly call bub. I then got my first bunnies, initially to fill that void and to fulfill a lifelong dream of having bunnies—which had somehow never been in the menagerie. But, boy, do I love my boys. Two brothers, a bonded pair, I named them Merry and Pippin (Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took). Pippin always gets into trouble and Merry is along for the ride, so I figured it was a fitting tribute to fantasy while also describing them perfectly. They, like all my pets, also like to “help” with the books.

I had initially planned to have EitF completed in September 2022 to allow for six months working with an agent to try to be published with Tor, a dream publisher of mine. The delays in the process have two outcomes. The cover art for EitF is complete before the book is, allowing me to look at the cover art while writing the book and make a cover mockup.

Whereas I may not be able to take the avenue I had planned, there should be a set schedule for Hammer and Flame:

Hammer and Flame will be published through Archway Publishing, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. If all goes to plan, Ember in the Forge will be published in late spring, Ember on the Anvil will be published in the summer, and Ember of the Flame will be published in late autumn.

I also have many plans for events for 2023, expansion to even more libraries, and giveaways. I hope you enjoy the second tale of Ambergrove.

What is 1 Toire? It’s the day Mara’s destiny is completed and Ember’s begins. How about yours?

Until next time, adventurers.