Can you feel the chill in the air? Summer is drawing to a close, and after back-to-back heatwaves, I nearly cried the first time I took Nazgul out in the morning and felt I needed a light jacket. While all the other authors have been out gallivanting at Worldcon and Dragoncon (I'm not jealous, not at all 😭), I've been holed up in my basement blasting a fan at my desk. That's where the magic happens.

What's that? You think the magic is writing?

Heavens no! The magic is listening to 5-hour long YouTube videos and podcasts while playing Elden Ring.

Most of my writing these days happens on a train into work (this very sentence included). The good news is my company is requiring a stricter in-office schedule, so my most productive days are yet ahead! Until the baby comes, of course.

But that's 3 months away, and until then, I've got updates for you! Frankly, they're a bit on the light side this time, but we'll still have a monthly question and giveaway and, at long last, conclude the greatest tournament of the millennium. Let's get to it!

Grave of the Waiting

Last month I told you "Grave of the Waiting is complete*", with a big asterisk next to the word complete. This month, Grave of the Waiting is complete! No asterisk, just an exciting exclamation point. Cue the music! 🥳🎉🎈 (Warning: The music is melodic metalcore. It's one of those kinds of books.)

I know most of you will opt to wait for the Kindle or paperback version before reading it, and fear not! That version is coming down the pipeline. Baking in the oven. Another metaphor implying it's in progress. The illustrious Sarah Chorn has been working on edits for the manuscript since the day after I sent last month's newsletter, and I'm excited to get those back in about two weeks. After that, I'll crank into high gear and get my revisions done as quickly as I can.

I'm still not ready for the cover reveal — mostly because I want to try something different from the Sibling Suns reveals. Some would call my idea unwise. Unhinged even. Whatever it is, it'll be exciting! Until then, here's another little teaser to hold you over.

Luke did an outstanding job on this one, and coincidentally, he's running a sale on new commissions. If you've got some art you want rendered in his one-of-a-kind style, don't hesitate to contact him!

Secret Project

I can only share some breadcrumbs in this section, due to the nature of the secret project being, well... secret. (Shocker!)

All I'll say is that I've been writing from Bengard's point of view lately. If you've read An Ocean of Others, you'll recognize him as the veteran Finger who recruits Grim into the Agency. He's turning out to be a character I didn't know nearly as well as I thought I did, which is always fun to learn in the middle of drafting.

I wish I could share more, but everything is rather hush hush right now. More to come soon, I'm sure!

A Tournament of Others Concludes!

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come! The greatest tournament that ever was and ever will be conducted on this planet has come to a climactic end! There can only be one winner. Only one character who has persevered through unimaginable adversity,. Only one Skardwarf who has faced into the wind.

Oh yes, that's right. My friends, I am pleased to announce the winner of A Tournament of Others:

Sentyx has done it! And how could it be any other way?

With that, let's take one final look at the predictions leaderboard.

Tragic news for 'Reed em and weep'. But who cares about that? The author's prediction has been validated! Through the extremely precise method of sending out unmoderated polls to everyone on the Internet, I have finally determined which characters you, dear reader, most adore.

But I'm not alone in my victory. 'Facing the Win' has faced the wind and won as well! (Try saying that three times fast.) As I promised in the original newsletter announcing this tournament, there will be a prize for the top prediction. There's just one problem... I don't know who Facing the Win is 😅

So, step forward and claim your prize! What will your prize be? I don't know! I haven't thought that far ahead - but my gut tells me it's going to be great.

Monthly Question

Last month's question was about what your favorite short stories are, and you gave me some great suggestions!

State Change by Ken Liu, Five Silver Rings by Zack Argyle, The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow by Ryan Cahill, and the classic Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft.

Happy to see some indie love in that list! Now let's throw it to the wheel and see what the Round God decides.

Mr. Boe Kelley, congratulations, my friend! You win a free indie book of your choosing. As a champion of indies, I know your TBR is probably three miles long, but let's add one more to the list!

This month, I'll hit you with another soft ball:

What is your favorite novella, and why do you love it?

In keeping with last month's trend (it's a trend now, there are two datapoints, shaddup), I'll buy an indie novella to a randomly chosen answer. Just leave a comment below and you'll be in the running!

Once again, the only restriction for the prize is no tradpub. We rep indie in this space.

Joe Abercrombie, begone! Fonda Lee, scram!

Nazgul the Dread

Just one last order of business – puppy pictures!

Chances to get Naz out of the house were slim this month – it's just way too hot for a small pup with black fur. But we managed a few times!

He got a bit sick again this month, probably because he ate something he shouldn't have (very typical). Luckily, he's feeling much better now because he couldn't go to daycare and expend his energy for over a week. Always a handful, this pup!

Of course, the upside is that when he's not feeling well, he gets really cuddly. You won't find me complaining about that! 😊

The downside is that he got into drugs. 'Snow' as they call it in some places. Or 'fenbendazole' as they call it at the vet's office.

I guess you can't have your cake and eat it, too. A lesson our little pup has yet to learn. I suspect he never will.

That's all I've got this month! Like I said, a bit light on the project updates, but I expect next month I'll have much more to share. Hope to see you there.

And as always, thanks for reading!
— Josh