Year-end Update!

Hey everyone,

It’s been about a week since The Solace of Hope released, and I figured since it’s also getting toward the end of the year, I’d give a brief update on how the year has been gone.

The year started with the release of Steel Sharpens, which was such a fun book to write. And since I released it on the 10-year anniversary of my first published book, A Warrior’s Path, I gave ALL of my books away for free for a couple of days. I want to say five days, but I can’t remember. Anyway, something like 30,000 books were downloaded, which is phenomenal. I just hope people start reading them at some point.

And after resting a bit after finishing Steel Sharpens (but not long enough), I began The Solace of Hope. I made that decision because since Steel Sharpens was so easy and fun and I figured since I was still in the groove, I might as well jump into book 3 of The Eternal Ephemera. That turned out to be a bit harder than I expected. A lot harder, lol.

But after a few false starts, I figured out the plot, the story started rolling, and it just kind of unspooled from there. I can’t remember when it started to ease off so I wasn’t pulling teeth, but somewhere along the way, I also went on vacation to Hilton Head.

The wifey and I went there for our 25th wedding anniversary, and that turned out to be a bittersweet moment. We got to Hilton Head, and that night, our son called, telling us that one of our cats had died.

Toby was his name, and a long time ago, he showed up on a neighbor’s front door on Christmas Day at around 2 months old. He wasn’t a particularly affectionate cat. Nor was he nice. From the outside, most people would think he was an asshole, and that was sometimes the name that we often called him.

But there was an energy to Toby. A defiance wrapped up in a cute fluffy cat. It’s hard to describe, but he wrapped us around his paw by simply wearing us down. I can’t believe the things he got away with. Any beverage left on the counter-water, coffee, tea, or soda-became his if we turned our back for just a moment. And we knew he’d do it and still forget! We would then get mad at him and later on, laugh about it. Eventually, we just broke down and lived with and loved his eccentricities. There are so many memories about that little boy.

Anyway, I eventually got The Solace of Hope finished, and I decided to take a well-deserved rest. For those who don’t know, I also have a full-time job that can pretty stressful. Writing is my solace (see what I did there?). But about that rest, it largely didn’t happen. More about that later.

So I said that a rest largely didn’t happen, but I did take time off. In August, I flew across the pond and went to Scotland for WorldCon in Glasgow. I met a bunch of friends over there and had a really good time, but the highlight of the trip was easily the Highlands, especially the Isle of Skye. I could have spent a month or more in the Highlands. There is a majesty, mystery, and magic to those hills, and if I could go back today, I would. Even though I hate the cold, that’s how much I loved that part of the trip. The Highlands is gorgeous.

Unfortunately, upon coming home, there was a health issue in a family member that I had to help with. Everything turned out largely fine, so when I got home and after a book signing at a bookstore in Asheville, NC, I decided to drive down to DragonCon. I hadn’t intended on going, but I got a fantastic deal on a hotel that was one block off the main site, and it was only a four hour drive, so…

Anyway, I had a wonderful time, amongst the best I’ve had in years of going to DragonCon. The one embarrassing moment was when Zack Pike, author of the fantastic Orconomics (anyone reading this newsletter should definitely give it a try), came up to me at the bar in the Westin, and I had no idea who he was. I’ve scared Zack when driving him in the hot rod I used to own, had lunch and dinner with him on multiple occasions, and I had no idea who he was. Thank you prosopagnosia!

That turned out to be the norm for the rest of the conference, but people were gracious, and like I said, I still had a fantastic time.

Then it was home. Writing. Work. Rinse and repeat. I was hitting another groove.

And then Hurricane Helene hit. We got off relatively easy, all things considered. Power was out for 5 days-which meant most of the food in the fridge/freezer was ruined-there were dozens of trees down all over the place, the internet and phone was down in the office for two weeks, but we were pretty much back to normal shortly thereafter.

But the people in the mountains… entire towns gone. Homes washed away. Some of them are still homeless and out in the winter elements. I hope they get the help they need, and I also wish there was more I could do for them.

Later on in October, I met a bunch of authors in Charlotte for a weekend writer’s retreat we sometimes have. Those meetings always recharge the batteries. Plus, I got to ride a one-wheeler (badly) and also learned that my competitive streak isn’t dead. I lost a simple game and was pissed enough to make sure it didn’t happen again.

October rolled into November, and I was still writing and working, rinse and repeat. Oh, yes. What was I writing? It isn’t Instrument of Omens, book 5. Sorry, but if it’s any consolation, that is the book I’ll be working on starting in 2025. I can’t wait to get back to Seminal. I’ll probably write books 5 and 6, back-to-back once I dive back into that series.

Anyway, after I finished The Solace of Hope, I had this notion of writing some old-school fantasy with a simple world, a Dark Lord, Chosen One, Gandalf-figure, and even a fated love. I wanted to make it as tropey as possible and honestly thought that would be easy. Don’t ask me why. It was just a burr under my butt, so I figured why not?

But just like The Solace of Hope tricked me, this book did as well. It does have those old-school elements, but there is so much more. A lot more. Ultimately, I think my brain is incapable of writing a story set in a secondary fantasy world that isn’t deep, and that kind of worldbuilding ends up changing what was intended to be a simple plot.

Thankfully, I’m rounding third and heading for home with that one, and I might share it on my Patreon, but the sequels for this one (and it will need sequels) are going to come after I finish Instrument of Omens and The Eternal Ephemera.

And finally, I have a release date for the audiobook for The Solace of Hope. As before, it will be narrated by the magnificent Travis Baldree. The release date is June 24th, and here is the link.
I’ll probably remind y’all again as time goes on.

For now, I hope everyone has a wonderful and happy Holidays!

Davis​​