New Side Project: Rivera's Repairs - Royal Road Writeathon 2025

Hey everyone!

I've got something a little different to share with you all today. I'm jumping into the 2025 Royal Road Writeathon with a brand new side project, and I figured it was a good call to let you all know about it.

You can check it out here: Rivera's Repairs

First things first: This will NOT affect Path of the Paladin Book 2 at all. Book 2 is sitting at about two-thirds complete, and I'm still on track to finish it by the end of 2025. That's my priority, full stop. If at any point it looks like I'm burning out or this side project is causing issues with Path of the Paladin's editing or release schedule, I'll drop it immediately. You all support the main series, and that comes first.

Will this be on Patreon? Not planning on it right now, but if folks really enjoy it and there's interest, I can definitely figure something out.

What's the crazy goal here? I'm trying to write 50-70,000 words in a month. Can I actually do it? Probably not, but it sounds like a fun challenge.

So what even is this thing? It's an experiment in creative inversion. I took every single trope and genre element I've been working with in Path of the Paladin for the past year and completely flipped them. Instead of epic cosmic progression fantasy with a male protagonist and relentless action, we're going: female lead, cozy, crafting-focused, slice-of-life, dungeon-core, lit-RPG-lite in a Science Fantasy setting inspired by Dune and the Culture series. I even got a gorgeous 1920s-style sci-fi serial cover to match the vibe!

This is purely a passion project to stretch my creative muscles and try something totally new. If you're curious or just want to see what happens when I try to write the complete opposite of what I normally do, give it a look. No pressure at all—I know you're all here for Path of the Paladin, and that's where my focus stays.

Thanks as always for your incredible support. Here's hoping this little experiment turns out to be fun!