Hi! Happy New Year! The first chapter of Book Six is tomorrow. If you haven't seen it on the main page of the series, here's a description!

Book Six - Lost to Faith

Summer begins with exams for the new year. Afterward, Grimstone Squad is split apart by their upcoming missions. Lives are put in peril as a mysterious weapon emerges in the south, yet a greater threat looms over Sybil's head as an enemy reappears to threaten her freedom. Trust is fragile, but faith is far more brittle. What will ring true at the end?

I've never been great at these little snippets. Sorry.

If you have read all of the books up to this point, thank you. I don't think Book V was as strong as the previous one, but there is uhhh... A lot of stuff happens. I hope you enjoy the next one.

It's been over a year since I started posting Grimstone on RoyalRoad. If there are any lore questions, go ahead and ask them. This is an open Q&A, no matter how later you are to the party, you can ask away.

I've learned a lot from your comments. Mostly that the vast majority of you hate Alton. It's okay. I understand. He's always had that song in his head that makes him do crazy things, but that isn't an excuse. I do understand though, he isn't my favorite either. (Mine is Veximarl).

(I'm sorry you don't get a lot of love, Veximarl. I have failed you).

At least Chickadee is the favorite among those who voted in the Book One character poll. I'm glad. He's probably the hardest to write for, so I'm happy he's popular. Which reminds me, now that we're past Book Five, I can talk about all sorts of plots that I've dropped without spoiling anything! There's so many!

Hey, you know that weird scene where Veximarl touches Chickadee's hair in Book One? It's because he grew up in the swamp and is intrigued by strange hair colors... Also, I was totally gonna have those two be a couple by the end of the series, but around writing Book Four, I realized that was a huge mistake. Chickadee has a type. Veximarl is not that.

And that's how Tishamarl started. Tishamarl? VexTish? Vexigwyn? I don't do these ship names.

Another thing, Rosethorn originally didn't appear in the fourth book at all, he got shipped out to the war before the fourth book began and then was randomly supposed to show up as a villain later on? But that didn't make sense either? Also, both Alton and Duxton used to be way worse people, but I mellowed out Alton to make Duxton look worse and made Rosethorn a "positive role model" for Duxton because he really needed one.

Ah, talking about what could've been is fun. I'm just gonna JK Rowling it up and add comments like this whenever they won't be spoilers. Oh, but, I actually had a very good reason for making all these changes.

I couldn't make everything centered around just Grimstone Squad. I didn't want the world to feel small and self-contained. So a lot of side characters got bigger parts, and I increased the cast size of those who are behind the scenes because it's really weird if everyone good or bad had been introduced by the end of book two, right? That's weird?

And every time I do that, I had to go back and rewrite parts. I don't want to drop random people in from nowhere. There's a process to my madness. Like, I had to randomly get Sybil kidnapped in Book Three so I can go over the fact that she's claustrophobic and it gives a reason for Tyrtain around so he can be the "bad guy" of Book Five, but why Book Five? Why not Book Four? Why did they even go to Carapace in the first place? Because I set up that whole business in Book Two, because apparently I'm stupid and don't like to do my plot points in an order that makes any sort of sense.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy them dealing with idiot gods. No particular reason why. Just really hope you've all been enjoying that.

So anyways, let's talk about book six.

I haven't finished it, because the end of it has been very emotionally exhausting for me. I don't know how long it is. I assume right now it's about the same length as book five. So it will take about three months to be posted.

I don't know yet if I have to go on hiatus or not after book six.

Because right now, seven is a mess. It's very emotionally draining for me to write it, as there is a lot of stuff that I have promised in terms of plot lines, and I swear that everything is gonna get answered. Which reminds me, Let's get to frequently asked questions... Of which there are only two. So at least there's that.

Why are Alton and Sybil a couple? Why? Just, why?

Because Alton's song makes him do really stupid things. He's been mentioning that song since the first book. No one has been taking it seriously. As for Sybil, she also has problems. I can't get into the specifics of it. Yes, it will be addressed eventually.

Why does it take so long for important issues to be addressed?

Well, that's what Chickadee's whole story is about. Him and Stonetoe, you know? People have problems with themselves, and you can't instantly fix them. You have to work at them, and sometimes, even if it's obvious to others, people don't always see faults in themselves. A lot of this story is about emotional growth, but each book takes place during a small amount of time. Three months at most. Book Four alone takes place over a five-week period. Book Six is also about six or seven weeks. It's enough time to confront a really big problem, but a lot of the smaller problems are going to continue to stack up and become pressurized.

So when it comes to things like Tish using naughty magic on Veximarl, or the fact that Alton isn't always good to Sybil, it's gonna take awhile. I know that I could've cut out so many things and make the story happen that much faster in half the amount of books, but I think Grimstone is about those smaller moments. It just wouldn't be right if there weren't scenes of Veximarl playing with his foxes or of Sybil's slow descent into madness until she "fixes Foggy." For the sake of those moments, please be patient with me. I'd appreciate it.

Any other questions involving lore or otherwise, go ahead and ask them. Want to know more about the southern war or Brayton? Go ahead. Even if it's a question you have later on, just make a comment on that chapter. I'm always open to answer questions about mythology and lore.

Oh, and tell me who your favorite character is now, especially if it's someone not in the main squad. Or if you had a favorite moment. I like reading about those things.