May 2023 Update (Read this first!)

Hi everyone! Well, Wandering Warrior: Judge is done.  It had to go through some major developmental editing, which is what I have been doing these past few weeks. Introducing the 'big bad guy' as the lich in the last third of the book was too long of a wait, so it was necessary to change some things by doing a prologue.  I also had a bit of an epiphany.  While Wandering Warrior is a GameLit story, it isn't a normal progression fantasy.  James doesn't really have a true progression arc, or a redemption arc.  He does have a maturation story arc, which usually fits the mold of a different genre like mystery or the occasional high fantasy.  The character who *does* get a progression arc is Cross.  That means I needed to change up their interactions a bit, and introduce Gleason and Cross earlier as well.  I ended up adding a new Chapter 7, so it will look like you are missing a chapter but you really aren't, the rest just got bumped one.  The final version will have a few interactions between James and Cross being less harsh, and more of a mentor/student vibe in the later parts of the book.  Because, ultimately, that's what this series is.  It's the first person perspective of the mentor for the judges that are created on each of the worlds James leaves behind.  I'll be dropping all of the new chapters as well as the ending here in just a bit.  Like I said, the chapter numbers will be a little wonky, but it should all make sense if you read this first.

After some very extensive research by myself and several others, there are exactly zero other books like it in the genre at the moment, (first person perspective on a mentor character), so I'm taking a big risk with this story.  But, for a fever dream that turned into something that I came to really love, I'm very happy with it.  I really hope you all do too.  It's either going to make big waves, or flop hardcore.  That's why I agreed to sign this series with Legion Publishing and do the audio through Tantor, so I can get a larger advance up front and let them absorb the risk.  I won't see the same level of profit on the back end if I had done it another way, but considering my current situation the sure bet is the way I need to go.  With my wife's current health concerns, paying off my house as quickly as possible is the smart choice, even if I lose money over the next ten years.  That level of stability will really help with her stress levels, and the lower I can keep them the better.  (That might be oversharing a bit, but in case you couldn't tell I'm a pretty open person.)  It also means I now have a hard deadline for when Jury and Executioner are due for Wandering Warrior, since Tantor is giving me the money up front.  That means my priorities have to be with James, Jess, Murphy, Leedy, and Cross for the next several months.  They don't mess around, and I need to get them done with plenty of time to spare.

Anyway, I hope all of you have a fantastic rest of the month, and be sure to let me know what you think about the end of Judge!

Michael.