May Messenger Update

Trying to post updates like this from time to time, especially as I'm still struggling to write commentary. I also tend to discuss things on Discord but not here (although some of this isn't even there).

Book Status

Mob Sorcery 5 chapters will remain the focus for most of the month. I had hoped to finish the first half of the book last month and move on to DT4, but I've been struggling with this mini-arc.

I do worry that this "first half" is effectively becoming its own book, though. We're 50k words in, but there's several chapters before the prep to deal with Mei, and then there's the Mei battle. Oh, and then there'll be an aftermath. Much like the heist grew to consume an entire book, I worry this is happening again.

-_-

With that said, I do have an internal deadline for Demon's Throne 4 of late July for... reasons. I'll know more about if this deadline becomes a real one or not later (likely in early June).

As mentioned in the public schedule, I also plan to finish Neural Wraith later this year. I'll write both books together (as they're not that long) and publish them with another book between them. We'll see what that ends up being and the timing.

There'll also be two omnibuses published soon-ish. The second half of the Spellblade books will get an omnibus that includes the epilogue in late July to coincide with the 1-year anniversary of the series ending. Demon's Throne will get one next month, in anticipation of Book 4 coming out in early August.

Short Story Content

When I finished Heretic Spellblade, I teased that I might write some extra stuff for it. Unfortunately, although I started the epilogue, I've basically been endlessly writing Mob Sorcery with no real gaps. Writing a hefty epilogue takes time, particularly as I need to get back into the characters.

I do want to finish it this month, so you can enjoy it here first for a couple of months before it comes out with the omnibus.

I'm not sure I'll do much more, however. Maybe when/if I miss the Spellblade crew. I'm terrible at writing short-form content. My history is overpromising it and not delivering, so anything that comes will likely be a surprise after the epilogue is finished.

Return to Demon's Throne and Neural Wraith

My return to these series has been both highly anticipated, but also kind of dreaded (for me). I wanted to write a detailed post about the difficulties of returning to these old series, but it's difficult for the same reason writing most commentary posts are.

Both these series fell off for me during a period I became much more negative, particularly toward the harem genre as a whole. Talking about them takes me back to a period where I spent a fair bit of time considering leaving the genre entirely, and came very close to it before Mob Sorcery.

Each series has slightly different issues, but they're reflected in a similar way.

Demon's Throne has always been a series that a lot of my long-term fans feel antipathy toward. It's a series that I get constantly told I should drop in favor of whatever that reader prefers. I suspect it's due to multiple issues: Rys isn't a generic good dude (making him hard to relate to or self-insert into) but he's also not as sociopathically evil as the MCs that some people love; there's a lot more politics and management than action; the Labyrinth kind of sucks; the world has a fuckton of lore and shit, and some of it gets told through timey-wimey shit; there's more reliance on other characters (Mina got a lot of flak from ordinary harem readers for doing stuff).

In the end, there's a noticeable fall-off after Book 2. My suspicion is that the first book is more harem-y than most of my series, but those readers lose interest when Rys doesn't turn into a world-conquering alphachad in Book 2.

Neural Wraith sees a similar fall-off, but it's between Books 1 and 2. I used to think it was actually Book 2 that caused the issues, but while it has slightly below-average readthrough, the issue is that a lot of people read Book 1 (or try) and don't move on.

This is where the negativity really sets in. Neural Wraith 1 actually did stellar - it remains my best Book 1 launch, and even Mob Sorcery 1 took ages to match its long-term sales despite being a much more successful series (after a rocky launch). Perhaps part of the issue is that a lot of non-harem readers tried it and disliked the romance (there are quite a few reviews in that ballpark). There was also a weird political thing that happened when Book 2 came out (there was a massive political diatribe in a review on Book 1 that has since vanished).

But ultimately, I feel Neural Wraith's failure reflects the lack of depth in harem, and what its readers are willing to support. While I get a lot of messages and comments regretting that it won't be a longer series, I personally regret not sticking to the original idea of a trilogy that would focus on the rising tensions and upcoming crisis (which is how the series will end). It would have been tighter and I wouldn't have the series hanging over my head.

There's plenty more I'd talk about in detail, but again, these touch on sensitive topics, like AI, automation, the changes in my writing style, the romance aspect, and the fact harem continues to struggle with slow-burn while constantly demanding it. A big reason I don't care to talk about them is that I anticipate somebody getting mad at me, and I just don't particularly give a shit about the topics or how the broader genre goes.

I do my own thing now. Neural Wraith will end the way it started: as a passion project. And I'll try to find a way to wrap up Demon's Throne decisively, as I don't see it getting the sequel that handles the rest of the world.

Mob Sorcery 5 Reception

To end on a more positive note, I'll talk a little bit about Mob 5. I'll try to keep this spoiler-free for those who don't read advance chapters.

Mob 5 opens with a very introspective character arc for Vince, and includes him handling some personal issues while wrangling with the city's politics and powerplayers. I'm expanding for a new arc that brings in more players and entities, but the focus is predominantly on Vince.

I experienced a ton of self-doubt while writing this. Mob Sorcery is a series that I consider to be a guilty pleasure of mine, because I just throw together a ton of fun crap, but I add in stuff to push myself and make it more interesting. The inclusion of various myths and cultures, as well as the language aspect, is a big one.

But in my opinion, this arguably hurts the series more for a general harem audience. I get complaints about using authentic Japanese names (instead of presumably just making shit up), and I suspect a lot of people don't follow the various crime terms used by the mafia and Yakuza. While the myths certainly had some patrons interested, I know from talking to a few people that followed the series more casually that stuff like who was in the egg or Kigenai's deception went right over their head. And while those invested in the mystery enjoyed the big spiels unveiling 2.5 books of plot, some people made it clear they just wanted more bangs, booms, and plaps.

So going into Mob 5 with an opening that focuses on Vince's personal issues felt like a huge risk, given harem's propensity toward bland, empty shell protags. I've gotten stuck on individual chapters for days and reworked ideas quite a few times, as I worry any bad chapter at this point could cause a large number of readers to quit the book early on. I'm expecting Mob 4 to be the peak of the series, but I don't want to exacerbate it.

The good news is that I've gotten a much more positive reception to these chapters than I expected. Maybe the book reception will be different (especially once it's actually finished and I make some edits to the opening) but this gives me a lot more confidence to keep writing what I want.

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Anyway, that was my meandering update slash commentary post. Hopefully you enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look into what's going on, as I suspect I've been unintentionally keeping stuff closer to my chest than usual.