The end of the year is swiftly approaching. It has been a whirlwind 2024 for me and my family that involved a big move, and living (and writing) at four different addresses during the year. 

We are finally settling into some sense of normalcy and routine again after closing on a new house over the Thanksgiving holiday break, and I am excited for what 2025 holds…

But first, the rundown…

A little about writing:

I wrote a new novel in a new series this year, and a new Shadow Watch short story. We fulfilled the first Shadow Watch Deluxe Edition, and launched the Rage of Saints campaign this fall.

Children of the Gods

The biggest news this year is that a couple weeks ago, I finished the first book in my brand new epic fantasy series, Age of Fire.

Yes, that is a sneak peak at a small portion of the Children of the Gods cover as well. 

It is officially my longest novel to date. Somewhere around 550-600 book pages, surpassing the previous record-holder, Rage of Saints, by a small margin. In the scheme of fantasy books, it is a pretty average length. But for me, it felt like quite a feat. It took me 11 months, a month or two longer than I was hoping, but it also wound up a fair bit longer than I was expecting. 

But I chose to give the book the time and pages it needed, rather than trying to force it out fast. And I think that was absolutely the best thing for the book.

I’m really proud of it. I think it’s the best book I’ve written yet. And it will be coming in 2025.

My plan is to launch a hardcover edition on Kickstarter
in late February or early March.

Unlike the Shadow Watch books, this will be a more traditional hardcover edition (but still with some extra flair), and will also include the option to back the ebook (possibly the audiobook too). 

The Hardcover will include a stunning dust jacket with art from Joe Requeza and design by Rachel St. Clair. It will also include some black and white interior artwork as well. 

The cover illustration is complete, but the cover design is still in progress, so hopefully in a few weeks, I’ll be able to reveal–

Oh, what the heck, let’s just show off what we’ve got so far…

Joe Requeza has outdone himself on this cover illustration, depicting Malik the shaman and the Dragonmounts of the Attican Empire. 

 I’m so excited!

Now back to the release plan…

Up until recently, the main hardcover options available to independent authors like myself have been print-on-demand services, that are lower quality, but also very expensive to produce. It’s the reason I never produced standard hardcovers for the Shadow Watch books.

So… for this new series, I wanted to produce a gorgeous hardcover First Edition, and be able to add some bonus features like black and white illustrations, sprayed edges, high-quality binding, and paper. But also make it more accessible than the higher-ticket faux-leather editions I’ve funded through Kickstarter up to this point. 

Backers will also receive the ebook at least a month before it’s released on Amazon later in 2025.

So, lots more news to come on this. But I hope you enjoy the first look at the cover illustration….

And here’s the blurb too:

May the world be brighter for our burning…

At the edge of a war-torn world ruled by the Attican Empire and their fearsome Dragonmounts, the fate of nations falls upon a few individual destinies. A shaman. A huntress. A soldier. And a rebel spy.

Malik’s people are special, gifted by the gods with abilities beyond mortal men. Yet, they have chosen a life of peace and seclusion. As Malik comes of age, he longs for more than the life of a village shaman. More than the future that stands before him on the Isle of Faltara. His best friend Riese is torn between a life of duty, and the destiny that lingers in the back of her mind. 

But there are secrets on their island. Secrets that have sustained their people over the centuries. And when they come to light, Malik and Riese must reckon with their people’s shrouded past, and a destiny that will demand more of them than they ever imagined.

Urla has sacrificed everything for the expansion of the Attican Empire, but a secret mission to the edge of the world will force her to confront the brutal truth about the nation she serves. 

And born in the wake of a failed uprising, Ava has grown up in the shadow of her people’s conquerors, but the key to the empire’s power may finally be within her grasp. If she can uncover the source of the empire’s dragons, her parent’s rebellion may finally stand a chance.

So begins the Age of Fire. Worlds will collide. Fire will reign. All must choose a side.

A dragon fantasy epic for fans of Ryan Cahill, John Gwynne, and Philip C. Quaintrell.

Stay tuned! Much more coming soon!

Pantheon: Rogue System trilogy boxset

It’s been a year since the release of the final book in the Pantheon trilogy. And that means that we’re bundling all three books together into one digital omnibus, just like we did with the Shadow Watch Saga.

Three books. Launching (right now) for a brief time at the unbeatable price of $0.99.

Wolves of the Citadel (a Shadow Watch prequel)

This is the second Shadow Watch short story, made possible through the Kickstarter campaign for Rage of Saints. I’m still working on edits, but it’ll probably wind up around 6-7k words, or 30 pages. It explores some shared origins between Shadow Watch leader Ren Andovier and his early endeavors alongside a young and ambitious lord, Cyrus Maro, before he was the chancellor.

I’ve long wanted to write this one, and it’s been another fun return to the world and characters of the Shadow Watch.

It will be included in the Rage of Saints Deluxe Edition, and made available digitally to subscribers to my Newsletter.

The Shadow Watch Kickstarters

We shipped the first book this Summer, and boy, did it turn out even better than I could have imagined.

It is truly special to see these books reach backers’ hands. To be able to produce artwork and a deluxe book of this quality for this series is truly amazing, and would not have been possible without the amazing backers.

We launched Book Two in September on Kickstarter, and funded at over $28k, allowing even more artwork, plus a city map of Maro’El.

But you can check out the Late Backer Store to see more…

 

A little about life:

Like I hinted at previously, this was a year of change. And it brought some challenges, but also plenty of exciting new changes as well.

The Move

My wife Kaitlin and I had been considering a move to South Dakota to be closer to family for sometime, but we pulled the trigger this summer. Kaitlin quit her job teaching middle school art and took a new position at a Montessori Elementary School. In June, we put our house on the market, and we packed things up.

We lived in an apartment for a few months while we searched for a new house. But unfortunately, we couldn’t get into the apartment until the end of the summer, so we ended up living with my parents for a little over a month in the interim (thanks Mom and Dad, for that, and a lot of other help during our transition). 

We partially unpacked, shoved the rest into storage. And then, in August, we moved into the apartment, and were able to begin house hunting.

Autumn was an odd in-between period, where we were kind of settling in–Kaitlin started her new job and our boys started at new daycares and preschools–but we were still looking for a new house, and much of our stuff was still in boxes.

Thankfully, in November, the right house came on the market, and we moved over the Thanksgiving holiday break.

Moving with kids is tough. Four addresses in six months is about as fun as it sounds. But ultimately, we knew this change would be the best thing for our family in the long run.

We are REALLY grateful for all the help our family offered during the transition time. Watching our kids while we moved stuff multiple times. And it is truly a blessing to be raising our kids closer to grandmas and grandpa, and aunts and uncles and cousins too.

Kids

Logan is 4 now, and Parker is going on 3. Technically Logan could go into kindergarten in Fall 2025, though I think we will most likely be holding him back another year (his Aug. birthday allows for a choice).

The move was tough for them. They left friends and the only home they’ve known, and were real troopers through the transitions. Both have made great new friends at their schools. And they’ve been enjoying a lot more Grandma and Grandpa time here. Which has been really wonderful for us all!

Career(s)

Since I write and work from home, the move also added a challenging element to my work. Turns out, I really function best when working in a really regular space and routine. Weird, right? Needless to say, I’m thrilled to have my home office back at our new house.

This year, I’ve been writing part-time. And freelancing as a web designer the other part of the time. So hey, if you know someone who needs a website, feel free to hit me up.

Longer term, I am aiming to transition toward full-time writing, hopefully in the next couple of years. But for right now, I am grateful for the flexibility to pursue writing as a profession. Something that was just a dream a short time ago.

And all of you have made that possible, so I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank each and every one of you who’ve read my books, shared them, and supported me on this wild journey of becoming a professional author. 

 

A little about business:

Okay here is the transparency part, where I get granular about the business side of writing. Publishing is challenging to break into in any sort of sustainable way. And I am fortunate enough to make a healthy mid-list income from my writing.

A key piece to my success over the years has been aided by the transparency of other authors along the journey, and it is my hope that I can help other authors who want to treat this creative endeavor as a business.

About half the job is writing. There are a lot of other hats you have to wear. And it gets to be more as things go on.

So with that being said, here’s how 2024 went on the business side…

 

These are estimates, though generally quite close

Major Takeaways

• Overall, this was a hold steady year – Considering it’s been 13 months since my last book release, with Guild War last November, this is to be expected. I just launched the Pantheon Box Set, and will be launching the Age of Fire series in early 2025. So I am aiming to build off the steady sales of previous releases, to reach greater Net Growth in 2025.
• Every income stream grew this year – 2023 saw more year-over-year growth, but much of that was from spikes from new business directions (launching audiobooks wide and on Youtube, and the first Kickstarter). The bulk of that growth came in Fall 2023, and last year my Amazon income actually went down from the previous year. One of my primary goals in 2024 was to build something more sustainable across the board in my business. Spikes are a natural part of the publishing industry, but I wanted to build a stronger foundation. And that was a big win this year, thanks to steady and effective advertising. Without the spikes of new releases or new endeavors, the business still grew a bit, and more importantly, managed very steady income month over month. 
• Amazon Income Doubled from 2023 with over 4.5 million page reads – A major driver of this was bringing up KU. 2024 was by far the best year I’ve had on Amazon. The Shadow Watch box set is the bulk of that. And fingers crossed, that will grow with the Pantheon box set in 2025.
• Gross to Net Ratio went down quite a bit – Though overall Net Income ticked up a bit from last year, basically, I spent more money to make a similar profit. Again, much of the reason is that there were no spikes from new things. No advances. No new income streams. Just Advertising existing products and continuing what I did last year. In a year like this, I just didn’t have the bandwidth for any new endeavors, outside of writing a new book. I am always trying to optimize advertising for better returns. But I will spend money to make money any day.
• With new releases and a more stable foundation, now it’s time to build toward more growth in 2025.

 

Writing Projects for 2025

And I suppose it’s time to look ahead now. With the move, I did not get as much written as I hoped. I am planning to write more in 2025 with a much more stable schedule and life (still so naive, so optimistic, the gods laugh)

Children of the Gods (Spring 2025) – Ebook and hardcover will release first through Kickstarter. Backers will get the ebook edition at least a month before it’s released on Amazon. The Hardcover will be the first physical edition, likely shipping out in the latter part of the year. There will be a paperback version, probably in 2026.

Swordslinger (serialized in 2025) – I hoped to start writing this in 2024, and that didn’t happen. But don’t worry, I have been plotting, and I’ll begin writing it in February 2025, after I send Children of the Gods to the editor. This is a post-apocalyptic LitRPG trilogy that will coincide with events and characters in the first Pantheon series in some interesting ways. I plan to release this first on Patreon and Royal Road. But I am still deciding what the release model will be.

Age of Fire #2 (begin writing in 2025, release 2026) – Book One turned out a fair bit longer than I was originally expecting. And I would be shocked if Book Two isn’t a little longer. This one will take a little while, especially as I endeavor to write two series at once. I am actually really excited, because both series are so different that it will be energizing. I think.

The Darkling Queen Deluxe Edition – coming to Kickstarter in summer 2025. With book 4 in 2026.

Business Projects for 2025:

I had good intentions last year, but ramping up my advertising was the only business goal I really managed to complete. Ads went well this year, and I’ll keep looking for ways to scale things up. Sadly, it’s not as simple as spend twice as mucch to make twice as much.

As for new endeavors, I’m carrying a couple things over from last year’s goals…

• Foreign translations for the Shadow Watch… A carryover from last year. Still wanna do it. Moved to the backburner this year, due to busyness. I would prefer to sell the rights, I think. I sent out a handful of queries this year to agents, and will likely look into a few more. I will also likely contact a few foreign publishers directly that have worked with some writer pals.
• Selling things direct from my website… Another carryover… I’d like to be able to offer signed books outside of Kickstarter… this ought to happen in 2025. I am looking into Shopify. 
• World Con or Dragon Con or Dragonsteel or Author Nation… I would love to attend all of these, but likely only one will prove possible, at best.
  

Future Projects

Pantheon Deluxe Editions – probably in 2027…

Watcher Chronicles (2026 or 2027) – As I dip my toes back in with some Shadow Watch short stories, I’ve been itching to get this sequel series written. Lots of requests for more. But I am adamant that I will only write a follow up when it feels right. There is more to explore, but I do not want to write something that feels unnecessary. So the plot is percolating. 

The Pantheon Games (2027?) – This will be another Gunnar and Co. series. It’s still a couple years out most likely.

Blade of Fire (??) – I started a progression fantasy awhile back. I still fully intend to write it. I’m really excited about it. But it’s set in an entirely different universe. And well… you see the list up above already. I may slowly plug away at this when I need breaks from Pantheon or the Shadow Watch universes.

Others (??) – And assuming all those turn out as trilogies, I’m already thinking quite a ways ahead. I’ve been toying with a dark urban fantasy series for quite a long time. Also, an Annhilation/Stranger Things-esque sci-fi idea. And a cozy fantasy. And if the muse strikes, who knows if one of these will jump up the priority list. Or perhaps something entirely new.

I need a few clones, really.

Much Gratitude

I hope you are enjoying this holiday season. And wish you the best in your own endeavors in 2025.

My own endeavors are greatly indebted to many, and it seems fitting to close with gratitude:

To Kaitlin, who has supported me throughout this writing journey, and puts up with someone who lives in other worlds. My boys, who remind me to be present in this one. 

My parents, who fostered a love of reading and writing when I was young, who helped us settle during our big move, and who give our kids so much love (and breaks from mom and dad). My siblings, for love and support, for loving on our kids, for good food and football and games and good memories this year.

Also indebted to many in the indie writing community. A huge thanks to Andrew Cobble and Merrick Books for all the help with these Deluxe Editions. Thanks to JDL Rosell for going full Barbenheimer with me on our Kickstarter campaigns. Thanks to Petrik Leo and Library of a Viking and Lord TBR and Boe Kelley (and many many others) who boosted my work this year. Thanks to Zack Argyle for including my books on the Epic Fantasy Audiobook channel. And thanks to the members of the Forge Writing Group, even if we didn’t meet much this year, you all still inspire me.

And thanks to all of you readers (especially if you actually read this long rundown)! I am blown away every day that I get to make up stories and call it work.

Here’s to 2025 and beyond!


Cheers!
Stephen