We're a few weeks into the school year, and settling in to the new/old routine, more or less. With my oldest off to college, and my youngest now in High School, I'm getting sentimental about all the lasts. Last time I'll help one of them learn geometry. Last time I'll teach one to drive. Last time I'll find a "box of strawberries" in the fridge that is nothing but stems. It's funny how even the things you don't like become things you miss, innit?

My oldest sent me one of her papers from college. Not so that I could review it. Just to read it so that I could see what she's doing. It's cool to see her maturity of thought and writing. Still miss having her around though.

Oh, I also wanted to share that that we bought Storyworth for my mom a while back now. If you don't know what that is, it's a site that asks questions about the past, and shares the answers with family/friends. I've quite enjoyed learning what her grandparents were like, what she did as a kid (less dinosaur-chasing involved than I thought), and even sides of my grandparents that I hadn't been old enough to see.

One technical note--I’m likely moving to a cheaper Kit plan, which means the email format will shift a bit while I re-tool. Thanks for rolling with me during the transition.

Click here to be removed from family content.

Shepherds has been my toughest book to write. I drafted the beginning and the end first—which weirdly made the middle slower and more deliberate. It’s not a bad thing; it’s just… different. Two threads are solid; I start the third today. Meanwhile, I'm working on teasers.

War drums echo from Bellon to Aendolin. Elliah—bereft of magic, stubborn as granite—owes a debt to Truth, while Hughelas works with dragonkind to mark roads no map can hold. A dragonscaled troll walks where prayers fail. Warders bristle under the thumb of the High Elves. The Mother of Trees grows quiet. The Father of Stones listens. Threads pull tight: mercy or victory, oath or freedom, one life or a thousand. When the cage groans, who pays to keep it shut?

I’m shifting ad spend back toward Guardian League for a bit. It’s trickier to advertise than Thaumatropic Roots—fewer pull-quotes and the imagery’s harder—so I’m testing copy pulled from early reviews (and tweaking for US/UK). If you’ve got a favorite one-liner you’ve used to pitch GL to a friend, reply with it and I may feature it (with credit).

P.S. Be brutal: if one line of my ad copy made you scroll past, what was it? If one line made you click, what was it? Your “yes/no because…” helps me tighten everything. One of you has told me you don't like super-pointy ears! 😁

All books by Steven J. Morris