> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://joshse.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Archefire Newsletter - September 2026 - URL: https://joshse.com/september-2026-newsletter/ - Published: 2026-09-04T21:04:16.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-04T21:04:16.000Z - Description: Read an extended preview of Sibling Suns 3 and apply to be an alpha reader! - Author: Joshua Scott Edwards - Tags: newsletter Welcome, everyone, to an exciting edition of the Archefire Newsletter! I'm going to skip the preamble this month and get right to the good stuff: If you want to become an Alpha Reader for Sibling Suns 3, click this button. [Apply to Alpha Read Sibling Suns 3](https://forms.gle/XppgHwomPhnHJWeu6?ref=joshse.com) If you need a little more convincing, read on! (And keep your eyes peeled for an extended preview of the book 👀) ## Sibling Suns 3 Update It's been an incredibly busy and productive month here in the Archefire household. All of my high-priority major revisions for Sibling Suns 3 have been completed, and v1.1 of the manuscript has been compiled. The book is now sitting at about 149,000 words – a number which is not likely to change too much. Incredibly, the decision to move my revision deadline forward by one month has not bitten me in the rear! In fact, if this pace continues, I might even be able to finish all of my medium- and even low-tier revisions before I send this book out to my editor and alpha readers. (That's never happened before.) The draft is much more complete and polished at this point. No more outlined sections remain; the story is fully drafted. But that's all a bunch of high-falutin' talk. So here's a concrete example pulled from the opening pages: A before-and-after of the Prologue, featuring the birth of everyone's favorite Skardwarf. 🪨 *(click to expand)* #### Prologue - draft 1.0 "Arise, Sentyx." The stone woke with ancient memories fleeting as dreams after sunrise. A piece of him torn away as his body was rent from the cracked rock. Cold, incorporeal hands shaped him. Their touch lingered, infusing the pattern of his being with Dark to see by. With new memories, or old ones returning. He was a Skardwarf. A vessel of destruction. Created to enact the Tyrant's will of death and rebirth. Was this his rebirth, then? He had existed before, some dim awareness told him. But reaching deeper into that abyss of remembrance produced nothing of his previous life. As if it had been scoured clean. Sentyx. His name was all he knew. His name... and something far older. From an age primordial, before Skardwarves and the Tyrant. Before life. Before death. Once, there was only fire. Fire that cooled, became rock, and was shattered by the arrival of an invader. --- In the first draft, Sentyx is named immediately, then his awakening is sped past in three short paragraphs. Very unsatisfying. In the updated version below, expanding the awakening scene led right into an unplanned scene where Sentyx chooses his name. Before this, where Sentyx got his name was entirely glossed over! A mystery never to be revealed. But now...well, take a look: #### Prologue - draft 2.0 The stone awoke with ancient memories as fleeting as dreams after sunrise. Golden light shone on burgeoning green, a world of endless motion. Creatures roamed and gathered and feasted on the abundance around them. Soft things that nestled their young and scaly behemoths alike, all of them lived fast and then returned to the dirt, leaving marks upon the rock upon which rested the world. Beneath gold stars and blue these creatures carried on in constant metamorphosis, becoming a vast diversity of life, expanding ever outward to cover all the lands. Until one day the rock trembled, and the creatures were no more. For many ages, stillness and quiet ruled the lands, and in the skies, the dance of stars unceasing. Brilliance above, a lacking below, and between the two, the wind. Balance could not be maintained. Hidden seeds persisted, survivors in the desolation. And the rock witnessed, slowly, ever so slowly, how creeping life returned. With it came a voice, a presence unseen, unfelt, through long ages past. **They live yet because of me.* And so the cycle began. Body rent from cracked rock, a piece of him was torn away. Cold, incorporeal hands shaped him. Their touch lingered, infusing the pattern of his being with Dark to see by. With new memories, or old ones returning. **Skardwarf, arise. Your Tyrant commands it.* What were those memories? He had existed before, perhaps existed all along, some dim awareness told him. Yet reaching deeper into that abyss of remembrance produced nothing of any previous life. As though it had been scoured clean. **He* did not exist, then. Only the rock. **Face the wind.* The Skardwarf obeyed. Overhead, the blue star meandered through the heavens, and a towering figure followed at a distance, plucking new life from the rock. Bursts of Dark left the ground pocked and broken in a valley of mountains that pierced the cloud-strewn sky. Legions of Skardwarves rose fully formed from their craters of creation, reborn and looking to their sculptor. Perhaps each possessed the same unease with which Sentyx looked upon their creator. **Follow the stars.* At once, the legions shifted, and the march began. Or perhaps he was alone in his discontentment. His step was the only one to hesitate. A hand on his back urged him forward. "Face into the wind, brother," another Skardwarf said in crunching, cracking tones of language that were clear above the deafening gale that haunted this valley. "We will not be steered astray." **Find sacred ground.* The Tyrant's wind blew and the risen rock understood: he was a vessel of destruction. Created for one simple, beautiful purpose. Death. They would scour away life and create sacred ground. He searched his rock memories and found he could only guess. Death affords rebirth. Rebirth was...good, then? He did not know. He did not understand. "What do you call yourself?" the other Skardwarf asked. He grunted, for he had been given no name. Instead he let his silence linger as they walked. Perhaps this Skardwarf who called him brother would give him answers to his many questions. **What is a brother, for one?* "You aren't much of a talker, are you?" He said nothing. How could he say anything when he was not sure of its meaning? But...perhaps he should try. This was the first Skardwarf he had ever met. He did not want him to move on, leaving him alone. "What...is your name?" he asked. "You can call me Cavern." "Cavern." The word surfaced a memory of a big mouth in the rock. Was this why he talked so much? Was that where he got his name? "Why?" Cavern made a crackling noise, then showed his teeth. "That is where they hid, long ago. They named it shelter. Lit fires for warmth and fear of the dark. That is where I want my sacred ground to be." The memory of rock supplied the truth of Cavern's claim. He saw soft creatures huddling together near flame, surrounded by protective rock. They shivered and clung to one another, and the biggest of them shielded the smallest from the freezing storm blowing through the cavern mouth. One of the little ones squeezed a bigger one, and whimpered, "I'm scared, Sentyx." The big one told him, "Do not be afraid, little brother. They will not find us in here." Brother. One who clings to you for comfort. Did Cavern need comfort, then? "I have chosen name," he said when the memory cleared. "I am Sentyx." Cavern grinned again. "Sentyx. I like it. What does it mean?" "Your brother." --- Like this one, scenes all throughout the book have been dramatized, expanded or streamlined depending on what the story called for, and adjusted to carry the themes of each chapter and the book as a whole more strongly. In all, the major revisions produced an additional \~15,000 words. But for anyone keeping track of word counts (hello? anyone else? just me?), this book is actually still about 7,000 words shorter than To Burn All Belief, a feat that I did not think was possible. So *much* happens in the trilogy finale that I originally thought I would have to split it into two books. I think I've hit the sweet spot between fast-paced plot and deep character arcs and relationships, and I'm incredibly proud of how the story is turning out. But I'm quickly approaching the point where my own notes and self-revision are insufficient. I need more eyes on this bad boy. That's where you come in. ## Become an Alpha Reader Sibling Suns 3 Alpha Reader applications are now open! This is your opportunity to get early access to the unfinished book and a chance to help make it better. Here's how it works: 1. If you're selected, you'll receive a Google Doc with the full manuscript on November 4, 2026 2. You leave comments/reactions/questions in the doc as you read 3. Answer a questionnaire when you're finished 4. If you complete the reading before January 4, 2027, you get a whole bunch of rewards! Once I've received notes from all the alpha readers and my editor, I compile all the feedback into a revision guide, so alpha readers have a **direct influence** on the final book. But you're probably more interested in the rewards, eh? Here's what I've got planned: - A **signed paperback** when the book is released with an alpha-only numbered bookplate - A **published acknowledgment** that identifies the contribution you made - A **side character** named after you (with in-universe styling) - A **private post-read discussion** and debrief with me and the other alpha readers. I'll answer any questions you have, full spoilers! I'm looking for **four or five** alpha readers, so not everyone who applies will be selected. However, applicants who aren't selected can opt into a later, larger beta reading opportunity. The form will be open through September 30, so you've got plenty of time to consider whether you're interested. This isn't first-come, first-served. Here are the only requirements: - You have read *An Ocean of Others* and *To Burn All Belief* - You can read a 150,000-word manuscript in two months, between November 4, 2026 and January 4, 2027 If you're ready to face into the wind, click the button to apply! [Apply to Alpha Read Sibling Suns 3](https://forms.gle/XppgHwomPhnHJWeu6?ref=joshse.com) ### An educated Gul with money on his mind ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a5/c0/a5c05d76-2771-410a-9c03-22592d945087/content/images/2026/09/image.png) who u callin educated? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a5/c0/a5c05d76-2771-410a-9c03-22592d945087/content/images/2026/09/image-1.png) im not sleepin on da job, im just resting my eyes ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a5/c0/a5c05d76-2771-410a-9c03-22592d945087/content/images/2026/09/image-2.png) i can see ur soul --- That's it for this month, folks! Consider signing up to alpha read the book – it really helps, and I think it'll be a lot of fun. One other thing I didn't mention above: alpha readers will be some of the first people to know the full title of the finale. What does AFTS mean? When will he reveal it to the world? When will he stop typing rhetorical questions into his editor!? Personally, I'm most looking forward to the post-read debrief. I can't wait to experience your heartbreak– I mean, answer your questions! Yes, yes, that's what I meant. As always, thanks for reading! \- Josh