Hello everyone, and welcome to the August edition of the Archefire Newsletter. This month's news is hotter than the nonstop heatwaves we've been experiencing around Philadelphia, which puts it in the 90 to 100 Fahrenheit range. Still not as hot as my house felt when our air conditioning broke last week...
Anywho, let's jump right in!
Grave of the Waiting is Complete*
After beginning to draft the story in October 2021 and beginning to publish it in serial on March 1, 2022, the Grave of the Waiting serial is, at long last, finished! Indeed, at this very moment, the front page of my site looks like this:
You get the idea... there are lots of new chapters posted! Huzzah! 🥳 Nine new chapters just today – that's nine months' worth, according to the pre-hiatus publishing schedule.
And those chapters finally bring us to the end of Ada's story. It's bittersweet, but I'm so glad it's out in the world and ready for you to read.
I mentioned last month that I had a deadline in place to finish the book by August 5th – tomorrow, if you're reading this on the day I send it. As always, a strict deadline lights a 🔥under my 🫏, and I just about pulled it off.
Now, uhh, you maaaayyyy have noticed the asterisk in this section's heading and the progress bar only being at 98%.
Okay, I confess, I didn't manage to complete the Epilogue yet. It's only going to be 1500 words or so, and I plan to post it this week as soon as it's finished. If you haven't started reading the book yet, it'll almost certainly be published before you reach the end.
Take a jaunt down to the Grave of the Waiting homepage and get started today! This version of the book – the Serial edition – will remain completely free for members of the website (i.e. those of you who have signed up for the mailing list) in perpetuity.
But there's still more work to be done. Let's walk through them in order:
#1. More Editing
The book that's published on the site isn't the first draft, don't worry. I still put a lot of thought and polish into it, editing it for dozens of hours (145.65 hours to be exact) to make sure it's a cohesive story. In fact, that's pretty much all I've worked on this month for my writing projects. But! I want to really make this book shine, especially because I plan to submit it to the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC).
Cue, the amazingly talented Sarah Chorn! She's an editor and a self-published author known for emotionally impactful stories, her latest being The Necessity of Rain.
With her help, I'm hoping we can make Grave of the Waiting hit HARD. If Ada's story doesn't make you cry by the end of the book, I haven't done my job. (Don't be ashamed; I cried twice this month while editing.)
I'm absolutely thrilled she agreed to take on this project and can't wait to see her edits. I'll be sending her the manuscript tomorrow, and hoping to get started implementing her suggested changes in September.
After that...
#2. Kindle and paperback release
I'll be publishing this as a Kindle version and a paperback on Amazon – but unfortunately, it's not going to be on Kindle Unlimited, unlike the Sibling Suns books. This is mainly for one reason:
I want to give the book to you for free!
If you're already signed up for the mailing list, you'll get the download link as soon as I'm able to send it. Likely even before the full release on Amazon.
If you sign up for the mailing list after the book is published, it'll send you to a download page to get the .epub free of charge.
If you want to support me in some small way, you can still drop $0.99 for the KDP version, but it's not necessary. You can also pick up a paperback, which I'll try to price as cheaply as possible and match that price with signed copies you can buy from the Archefire Store.
That's the plan, anyway. After that, there will be a bit more work to do on the website.
#3. Website updates
Now, a quick note about branding and... shivers... AI.
The Grave of the Waiting homepage (and some other pages on this site, plus Goodreads) still uses the old cover art, which was created using AI back before it became pretty much settled that AI use in self-publishing is verboten. The older chapters (Prologue through 16) have header images that were AI-created as well, dating back to late-2022, early-2023.
The latest batch I published (17 through 27) were all made AI-free using stock images from Unsplash, and I'll go back and replace the older chapter images sometime this month.
Anything with the old cover art will be updated to use the new cover art, for which I commissioned another super talented artist and author. The one-and-only Luke Tarzian, creator of surreal, psychedelic cover art and stories both!
The branding update will have to wait until the official cover reveal for Grave of the Waiting. I need some more time to create all the replacement images anyway, and I have special secret plans with this cover reveal.
I can't wait to unveil it – Luke did a fantastic job. You're going to love it! For now, here's a little teaser. 😉
Phew! That was a lot about Grave of the Waiting. What else have I got going on?
Ah yes...
There's a new...
S E C R E T P R O J E C T
Believe me when I tell you I have no malicious intent on withholding the details from you. I promise I'll be merciful and unveil everything in due time.
Suffice to say I'm extremely excited about this one. It's something I've never done before, and it's shaping up to be pretty dang excellent.
A Tournament of Others
Airhorns blaring. Announcers screaming. The crowd is going wild.
IT'S TIME FOR A TOURNAMENT OF OTHERS - SEMIFINAL RESULTS!
In the end, both brackets were only separated by a single point! Truly, this has been the greatest tournament of the millennium. With three points to two, the co-founder of the Agency has defeated the longest lasting Finger. Reed advances to the finals. And who will he face? None other than the crowd favorite, the one and only Skardwarf of Hand Sixty-Four – Sentyx!
These two are the best of the best, and only you can decide who will claim the championship. Vote now to determine the victor!
And of course, one last look at the predictions as we head into the final round.
In a last-minute turnaround, Reed em and weep is once again at the top of the leaderboards! But will he secure his lead in the final round? You can't make up this kind of drama, folks.
Greatest. Tournament. Of the millennium.
Monthly giveaway
Imagine my surprise when it turned out no one wanted this one-of-a-kind Lorelay head baby onesie for the baby they may or may not have.
Now I shall revel in your surprise at finding out that this onesie was a ruse! Like a Benefactor's illusion washed away by Druid's Tears, the true form of last month's prize is revealed:
And as the sole commenter, with a somewhat-less-than-helpful guide to raising kids in real life rather than an apocalyptic wasteland (it's okay, I forgive you 😂) – Chad Hiking Reader, you've done it again! Congratulations my friend. Don't spend it all in one place.
Oh wait, you kind of have to...
Moving on!
This month's question is an easy one with a straightforward prize. No tricks this time!
What's the best short story you've ever read, and what do you love about it?
Answer by leaving a comment on the newsletter below! This month, I'll pick one comment at random to buy an indie book of your choosing. The only restriction is it has to be self-published. No Sarah J Maas or Brandon Sanderson allowed in this house!
Nazgul, Pup of Darkness
This has been a longer update than I expected, so let's wrap up with a few Nazgul pictures.
Our boy had to go under anesthesia for a dental cleaning, and boy was he loopy when he got home. He could hardly stay awake.
Of course, that's pretty normal for a sleepy boy like him. Especially after a day playing with his puppy friends at daycare. Most days, he passes out in the car before we even leave the block.
Looking through my Google Photos album, I take most pictures of him while he's sleeping, as it turns out. He's just too cute to resist. About a week ago, we lost AC in our house, so he had to sleep with me on the basement couch – the only place cool enough for him to get some shuteye.
But he's not always sleeping – in fact, most of the time he's either chewing on things, trying to get me to play with his favorite toys, or barking at cars out the window. He leads a thrilling life! This cupcake from his birthday has been his recent obsession.
But that's it! Hopefully in August we'll get a few more temperate days so we can take him out to some local parks. His black fur doesn't do him any favors in the kind of heat we've been having – it positively turns him into a hot dog!
That's all I've got this month. Next month, expect some more news on Grave of the Waiting. Aside from that, I think it's about time to return to my Mathemelodian novella outline – unless the secret project has to take priority... 🤐
As always, thanks for reading!
— Josh