Hello again.

It hasn't been that long.

Here are some updates:

1) On Kindle Unlimited: I've spoken with some very well-established authors in the LitRPG genre (basically people who have made writing LitRPG/Gamelit/Wuxia books in the last 5 years or so their profession and some of whom have started their own publishing imprints and LLCs) about going KU vs. Not. The consensus is that as an indie author and especially an unknown indie author, not going KU is suicide. Amazon will bury the book, it will be overshadowed by the glut of new releases who are in KU, and it'll basically by DOA. I'm not thrilled with this, but it is what it is. I didn't come to this decision lightly, but now that I have, I want to be upfront about it. For now, the story will remain here up until the release (which I'll get to in a minute). Being on KU does have some advantages aside from just having a shot at being in the algorithm instead of out in the cold. For one, it means that in the future, I can have promotional events where I can reduce the book to Zero dollars, which I will likely wind up doing when I release book 2 later this year. When that happens, I'll make an announcement here so even if you're not a book-buying or KU-using type person, you can still get a digital copy for free. Stuff like having the book on sale for less than a dollar becomes more feasible for me to do, so if you're a cheap-book hunting person that could work too.

2) Release date: Catching covid really did set me back. I was hoping early-to-mid May, but now it's looking like early-to-mid-June. I still need to get a website up, organize some kind of basic marketing, and do one or two polishing edits. Editing a book is rough, yo. So I'll be leaving the old version of the story up here if folks want to read through it, you've still got about a month.

3) COVER STUFF

So I hired a really awesome cover artist ( Enzo Fernandez @pkblitz on Twitter, he's very cool and talented, please give him a follow) and this was some of the initial concept work he did for the cover:

Anya Final Concept:

Anya Rough Concepts:

Anya has undergone some narrative changes to her powers in the new version of the story. In the original her class was Phoenix Knight (and she looked a bit more like version "D" in my head) and she used heavy armor and a glaive at first, followed by some gauntlet-mounted blades later. She also used her fire magic close and at extreme range. In an effort to get away from the spell-sword(or spell-glaive) achetype, I've gone with a Monk type build, where she still has magic, but it's all at up-close-and-personal and a mix of precise striking fighting moves plus rip-and-tear like the Doom Guy.

Pharaonic Cobra Final Concept

Pharaonic Cobra Rough Concepts:

The pharaonic cobra initially only appeared in volume 01.06, but now makes a much earlier appearance. They've been changed a bit too but it's a secret

I'll post the full cover once the book goes up for pre-order/live/whatever. I think that's it for now?

Best to you all and stay safe out there.

-J