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hcmills

hcmills

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hcmills posts

Changing Zuni's name!

I forgot to announce this, but from Chapter 244 onwards, I've changed Zuni's name to Koko. ^^

The reason for this is that I'm afraid Suri and Zuni will sound to similar for the audiobooks after all.

I've actually been thinking about it for a while, but with the publication of Book 5 coming up, I had to make a decision, and I landed on Koko. ^^

Let me know if you like it!

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No Monday chapters for the next two weeks!

Because I would like to take things a bit slower over Christmas break. ;)

However, Friday chapters will continue as usual!

I'll probably pick up the pace again for a bit after the break, at least until I get all of Book Five out as public chapters. I might have to slow down again for a while after that, to rebuild my buffer, because right now editing is taking up a lot of my time. 

Anyway, Happy Holidays, everyone! ^^

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Switching to two chapters a week!

I think I'm going to start out posting on Monday and Friday, see how I like it. ^^

These will be two public chapters, not just for patrons, because otherwise the public chapters will be way behind by the time I want to publish the fifth book. ^^'

I can't promise I'll be doing this indefinitely, but I've got my backlog of chapters that needed to be published as e-books out of the way, I've dumped the Wix site, I've gotten way more adept at handling things like marketing an...

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Writing progress + First book free right now

So, I've got some good news. I'm working with a new time-management method called the Pomodoro technique, and it is paying dividends. ^^

My chapter buffer is back up to eleven, and since I currently don't have any plans of slowing down or much editing to do yet for Book Five, you can probably expect me to release an additional chapter on Patreon sometime soon. ;)

And while I don't know what the future looks like, I do hope to settle into a new, more productive rhythm, where I can ...

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Audiobook sale in the US!

Earlier this week, my audio publisher informed me that, apparently, we're on sale, and the first audiobook for 86% no less! ^^

The sale should still be ongoing, but for not much longer, so if you're in the US and you'd been considering checking out my audiobooks, now is the perfect chance to nab 'em. ^^

You can check both of my titles on sale out here:

2022-09-23 12:54:28 +0000 UTC View Post

Slow and steady

Hey everyone! ^^

Figured I'd give you guys a bit of an update about my writing progress. ;)

I'm still slowly rebuilding my buffer, up to nine chapters ahead now. It's not going as fast as I'd liked, but... well, c'est la vie.

Hopefully, I'll get to a point again where I can decide to put you guys an extra chapter ahead once in a while, but I find it hard to judge when I might get there in advance. Some chapters I can bang out really fast, but some take an almost agonising am...

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I'm back!

In case you hadn't noticed. ;)

I had a lovely holiday to the UK, only nearly died once trying to drive on the left, and now I'm back to work! (If you want to hear the full story, feel free to pester me on Discord.)

Hope you all enjoy today's chapter! ^^

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Second audiobook just hit, fourth paperback incoming!

All neatly wrapped up, just days before I get on a boat to the UK. ^^

You can find the second audiobook here if you like, it came out really nice, Erica did a great job! https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals2

And the fourth paperback should be hitting Amazon's digital shelves around tomorrow, I think.

I'll be back in August with the next instalment, so till then! ^^

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Kindle Daily Deal, and going on break!

First some pretty cool news: Unnatural Laws was picked for today's Kindle Daily Deal in the US, meaning it's currently only 99 cents on Amazon! ^^

If you want a copy—or know someone who'd like one—Today's a great time to use/send them this link: https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals1

Fun fact: if you shop on Amazon after using one of my books2read links, I actually get a commission. ^^

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Book 4: Unchained Potential is out now!

As always, the new book is available on Amazon and KU! ^^

This book (thankfully) didn't require as many edits as the last one, but I still made quite a few improvements, so if you do have KU or would like to buy a copy, I definitely recommend a (re)read. ;)

You can find it here: https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals4

And of course, thank you all for helping to make this possib...

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Got visited by a stomach bug last Sunday...

0/5 would not recommend. 😒

As a result, I didn't get as much done this week as I'd planned, but progress towards the publication of Book Four was still made. It'll probably be out in like two weeks, though I know better by now than to try and make any guarantees. ;)

The production of the second audiobook should also be finishing up soon, it might very well be here by the end of June, though it could also definitely end up taking a bit longer still. ^^'

Anyway, I wish you ...

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Audiobook re-published!

As some of you may have noticed, the audiobook version of Unnatural Laws was unavailable for a bit, but it's back now!

The bad news is that I had to re-publish it, and thus lost all of my rather excellent ratings and reviews... The good news is, that since it went Audible-exclusive, I now actually have codes to distribute!

So, if you'd like to help me out by checking out my audiobook and leaving a review, feel free to send me a PM or hit me up on 2022-04-29 12:52:16 +0000 UTC View Post

Unnatural Laws is being translated into German!

There's something paradoxical about the way I handle the business side of things...

On the one hand, I feel like I have a good head for strategy and numbers, and I'm always evaluating what efforts are worth my time, what I should prioritise, how much effort I should put into editing and marketing as opposed to writing, and all that.

And on the other hand, sometimes I just randomly latch onto an idea and jump into it. Like this webnovel, which started out as an idea to create a rea...

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About the retcon!

I managed to get all of it done! ^^

The main changes are concentrated in Chapter 189. I recommend a reread for that one, because it's gotten quite a bit longer. 

Other than that, there's a new bit at the end of Chapter 188, which is kind of unrelated, but still important. Since it's only a small section, there's no need to reread the whole thing, and I'll post it here:

New section of Chapter 188<...

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Upcoming retcon and break!

So. The last couple of weeks have been unprecedentedly busy and chaotic for me. That's mostly because I had to divide my attention between:

  • The production of the second audiobook
  • Trying to get the mess with the pricing and distribution of the first audiobook sorted (Still not fixed)
  • Editing book four
  • Preparing for Comic Con (only to get a fever the day before from Covid, and ending up spending the whole weekend in bed, unable to attend...)
  • And o...

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Chapters all a day early!

Because of Comic Con. ^^

I fear I'm going to be quite busy tomorrow with last minute preparations, including but not limited to picking up the banner I had made and setting up my stand, so I decided to post a day early. 

Enjoy! ^^

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Fourth book cover preview!

Pretty cool, right?

The editing is going quite well, so I'm expecting to publish it in May! ^^

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Third book out in paperback, and going to Dutch Comic Con!

And I'm very excited about both of those things! ^^

The fine folks at Attitude Holland have graciously offered me some space at their stand to give some workshops and sell signed paperbacks, so if you happen to be going, do come say hi!

Tickets for this year are sold out, I'm afraid, but I expect this may become a recurring thing, so there's always next year! (Probably ;) )

As for the third paperback, as always you can order it in two places online. Over at Attitude Holland,...

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First e-book free right now!

That's right, it's my first ever free promotion for Unnatural Laws. ^^

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, now's a great time. Especially since it also allows you to leave a review on Amazon! ^^

Alternatively, you could grab this opportunity to hook a friend on this series so you have someone to talk about it with outside of my Discord server ;)

Just send them this link and tell them to quickly pick up a free copy before the promotion ends! 2022-02-18 13:37:34 +0000 UTC View Post

Check out what my girlfriend made! ^^

It's her very first enamel pin! 

If you like it, you can buy it here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1134987762/mola-mola-fluffy-pancakes-glitter-enamel 

And if you'd like to see what else she's producing, you can follow her 2022-01-07 13:41:29 +0000 UTC View Post

The Whispering Crystals, Book 3: Unimagined Adventures is out now!

The Whispering Crystals, Book 3: Unimagined Adventures, is now available on Amazon and KU! ^^

I made a lot of edits to this book, so if you do have KU or would like to buy a copy, I can certainly recommend a (re)read ;)

You can find it here: https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals3

And of course, thank you all for helping to make this possible, I appreciate all your support ...

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Audiobook version of Book 1 is here!

Remember that audiobook version of Book 1 that I occasionally mentioned was being worked on? No? That's okay, it's been a while... :')

Anyway, there were a lot of delays for various reasons, though mostly because my fantastic narrator, Madeline Thaler, and I were both doing this for the time and kept running into new issues to fix. But! At last, the audiobook is here!

Actually, it's been here for nearly a month, I just wasn't aware yet... I was waiting for ACX to publish it before...

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Book Three cover sneak preview!

Just wanted to give you a heads-up that Book Three will definitely be coming out this month! 

Look at that gorgeous cover, I think it's the best one yet ^^

As always, I'll be listing and thanking my Patrons in the backmatter, ranked by tier. So if you ever wanted to level up, now would be the time. ;)

Anyway, thank you all for making this possible! 😌

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Book Two paperback is here! Also, announcement about signed copies!

In case you're interested, the paperback version of The Whispering Crystal, Book Two: Unusual Enemies, is now available! You can find it here: https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals2

It took me quite a bit longer than planned to release it, because other things kept getting in the way (mostly editing, it's always editing...) but that's life, and it's here now ^^

I've also come to a d...

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Retcon for chapter 151

Just a little heads-up! 

In response to reader feedback upon the publication of Chapter 151, I ultimately decided to rewrite it pretty much from scratch. So, I would recommend a re-read of that, if you're interested in keeping up with the canon. ^^

I also added an interesting segment to chapter 148 in the process, but I added that to a pre-chapter author's note in Chapter 151, so you can find all the changes in a single location. Enjoy!

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Book Two is out! (Also, short chapter delay for Tier 3 and up)

Ring the bells and bang the drums, it's finally here! ^^

Well, I actually feel I did this pretty quickly, even if I went ten days over my goal of publishing the next book within six months ;)

Anyway, it's here now, and you can buy it or read it on KU by following this link:
https://books2read.com/whisperingcrystals2?store=amazon 

Now for the less pleasant news:
Due to ...

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Book Two: Unusual Enemies

Book Two is nearly done! It's getting a sensitivity read/final proofread right now, and after that I'll be formatting it into an e-book ^^

And of course, anyone's who's currently a Patron will be getting a shoutout at the back of the book! ;) 

Oh, and thanks to those who responded to my poll! I'm not sure how it works on your end/if you can see the results, but it's definitely pretty clear where most of the interest lies (Which makes it useful!) ^^

Edit: Oh, and don't f...

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Future projects

As an author--and I'm sure other authors can attest to this--I often get the question: 'How do you come up with all this stuff?'

Now, I can't speak for other authors in this regards, but most of my story ideas start with a dream. I can't remember if that's true for The Whispering Crystals as well, but it probably is.

Anyway, I had such a dream last week on Monday. I woke up from it at around 5:30, and there was no falling back asleep after. I lay awake, my mind racing as the seed ...

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Bonus Chapter 149B: Interlewd

Author's note:

All right. This is adult content, please don't read if you're under 18 or whatever age makes it legal in your country. Otherwise, enjoy, ya pervert!

(Finally earning that 18+ rating, yay!)

Also, this is my first time writing smut, and it's as of yet un-beta'ed due to time constraints. So please, be gentle with me. ;)


Kaitlynn is pleasantly flu...

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Tales of Dreidan

I had a bit of a crazy idea, and—as I'm wont to do—I've decided to run with it. 

I'm turning the backstory of Nix—my character on Rules as Fun—into a short novel. I'll have to see how much time I can find to work on it of course, as I'm ploughing ahead with the editing of Book 2 full steam, but I am pretty excited about it, because I love this character. 

And of course, I'm going to serialize that as well, and you guys get to be the first to read it ;) View Post