If you read fantasy for the magic, the world-building, and the occasional moment of dark humor—I write that. One urban fantasy series, one epic fantasy series, both set in the Fractured Arcana universe, with more coming. My newsletter takes you deeper into the worlds, the characters, and what's next.
Newsletter - January 1, 2024
HAPPY NEW YEAR! (But I wrote this before the New Year, and I hope I'm sleeping as this goes out)
We didn't travel anywhere over the break this year--apparently, having kids in high school can root you in place over the holidays. I know it's just a season, and will be over before we know it.
On the bright side, my wife took on baking, much to my family's delight. We get a new loaf of sourdough about once a week, and she usually gives one away. She's learning all about feeding "the mother", keeping the temperature right, and I get to reap the benefits. Plus, she made homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas day--YUM!
My oldest daughter was gifted about twelve books this year... all fantasy I think. And as I write this, I know I'd better go sneak out for a morning run, because she thinks Barnes and Nobles is going to have a hardback sale today, so she wants to be at the doors when it opens. When I was her age, most of my books came from the library... which required ten miles of walking uphill, in the snow, both ways. (Violin background. I know my mother reads this and will roll her eyes, since, in reality, she drove me to said library.)
My youngest and I are working our holiday jigsaw. I picked something simpler than our usual.
Middle daughter has made multiple rounds of cookies, and she’s sneaking in her first parent-led drives around the neighborhood. 👍😬
I've gotta share a couple of neat, unique gifts I received this year.
What are your special memories from this holiday?
Mother of Trees is set to release on February 3. I still have work to do on the blurb and ads, but I think the interior content is finalized (until another ARC reader points out an issue). Thank you to all the ARC readers! I really appreciate the help getting the word out.
The bones of the story for book 2 of the series are solid (ooo, that's gonna be funny... two books down the road), but the pacing is wrong. I’ve been thinking about how to rewrite it over the holiday, but I find it hard to put (virtual) pen to paper with the release of book 1 looming. In its current incarnation, Elliah visits the High Elves, the Alluvium, and the Salts all in book 2. I think that gets split. That would make this series 4 books. Deja vu? We shall see.
Indie Author Showcase
I'm trying out something new in partnership with other indie authors. Let me kick it off with a couple of links to YouTube author panels that Katherine Graham hosted in the last few days. I was in the first one, and my good friend Edith was in the second. And you can find your way to more from YouTube.
Below you’ll find connections to other indie authors and the stories they’ve crafted.
Books you might enjoy
Monsters for the New Year, on Kindle Unlimited
Previous Newsletters
- Newsletter - December 14, 2023
- Newsletter - November 19, 2023
- Newsletter - October 25, 2023
- Newsletter - September 13, 2023
May you get lost this week in another world.
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Steven J Morris
If you read fantasy for the magic, the world-building, and the occasional moment of dark humor—I write that. One urban fantasy series, one epic fantasy series, both set in the Fractured Arcana universe, with more coming. My newsletter takes you deeper into the worlds, the characters, and what's next.
I want to invite you to try a new game I've been building, an idle farming game in the world of Thaumatropic Roots. More on that in a minute. First I want to prove that progress continues in my next book, despite my game-making side-efforts. I finished one of two intertwining storylines. The unwritten storyline has little more written than its foundation, and it is the much more complex storyline. So, either a bunch of this book is going to get cut, or I'm writing a longer book than usual....
I promise I’ve made progress on Father of Stones (FoS). Here's a screenshot to prove it: click the photo to get to the live data showing progress But... I have put a little time elsewhere. I want to invite you to try this web-game I’ve been building out. It was meant to be a role-playing game around Thaumatropic Fractures, but ended up being focused on Thaumatropic Roots. https://tfrpg.sjmorriswrites.com https://tfrpg.sjmorriswrites.com The game will ask you to use your email to associate...
I built a tracking page for Father of Stones (FoS) this week. I did not, notably, write very much of said book this week. There's a joke in there about creative avoidance and I'm not going to pretend I don't see it. Anyway — here's what I made instead. Word Count Over Time A live chart of Father of Stones' progress since late June. I'm not smoothing over the slow weeks. There's a very flat stretch from June 'til August where I worked on the Eigenthrope story, then another flat stretch through...