Enjoy the chapter :) See you with a fresh one on Monday.
-Plum
6 – Voyage
Thanks to his new acquaintances, Ward fell into a comfortable and productive routine on the living ship. His day began in a room called the “Vitality Hall,” which was basically a gym, as far as Ward could tell. It was an ample space with several sections of open flooring lined with wicker-style mats. More than that, there...
2025-01-31 16:39:26 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy :)
Oh, heads-up: The uh, excitement doesn't end with this chapter, so if you hate cliffs, maybe wait for the next.
-Plum
43 – Merc Time
Tony held his shotgun ready, following in Beef’s prodigious shadow. If he were calling the shots, he’d be scouting ahead, but Beef seemed to trust the intel his boys gave him, and he wasn’t slowing down to talk tactics; n...
2025-01-30 19:48:56 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy! I think a lot of lingering questions were addressed in this chapter. Let me know what you think. Cheers,
-Plum
15 – Solar Caster
For the next two days, Victor spent his time supervising the workers as they made progress on his cultivation chamber. Having access to master artisans, all the materials he could ask for, and Elementalists who could shape and mold stone made for much quicker progr...
2025-01-30 17:34:02 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter!
-Plum
5 – Sponsor
When Ward finally returned to his room, ready for a good night’s sleep, he braced himself for a barrage of questions from Grace. To his surprise, though, her first concern had nothing to do with this duel, his close call with his wolfen alter ego, or the new spell he’d acquired. She met him inside the door, wringing her hands, and asked, “Where’s Haley?...
2025-01-29 19:58:08 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! :)
By the way, I love all the discussion after these chapters. You folks are amazing with your theory crafting. It makes writing so much more fun when there's engagement like that, so thank you, thank you.
-Plum
14 – A Lovely Day
For the next few days, Victor mostly kept to himself. Not entirely, though; one morning, he visited Trobban again and re...
2025-01-28 17:17:34 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy today's chapter :)
Thanks for reading and supporting!
-Plum
4 – Chains of Silence
Ward looked around the gallery and, for the first time since Trent Roy had issued his challenge, felt a little nervous. More than a hundred people were standing around in a loose circle, watching him and Roy, while True rehashed the same rules she’d gone over earlier at the brea...
2025-01-27 21:45:22 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter. Fair warning if you hate cliffs: the current crisis isn't resolved yet. Hopefully, in the next chapter.
Thanks :)
Plum
42 – Venting Frustrations
Tony sat in the back of the cab, paying twenty-five bits every ten minutes or so to have it cruise in a wide circle around the NGT tower. He didn’t know what else to do. Of course, ...
2025-01-26 20:46:44 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter. Love the feedback and predictions (some of you are too good!) Thanks for reading and for all of the support :)
-Plum
41 – Floating Free
Addie, eyes closed, lips pressed into a thin line of intense concentration, focused on the Dust she could feel in the matrix that ran through her veins. She couldn’t feel the matrix. She couldn’t tell it was in her veins; she just knew that...
2025-01-25 20:36:01 +0000 UTC View PostHere's your Friday delivery! Hope it's a good start to your weekend :)
-Plum
3 – Fernandes the Blue
It wasn’t until their third day aboard the living ship that Ward met another sorcerer, and it was thanks to an introduction from Trent Roy. Ward, Haley, and True were just finishing breakfast, talking about how much better True’s leg was feeling, when Ward’s sorcerous antagonist approached thei...
2025-01-24 20:56:51 +0000 UTC View PostHere's your chapter!
Enjoy! See you in a couple of days - or tomorrow if you read Vainglory ;)
-Plum
13 – Everybody Dies
Victor withdrew into himself for several days after Tes left. At first, he let his loneliness and frustration get the better of him, and he languished in heavy, emotional doldrums, refusing audiences with Bryn and instructing her—through the door of his suite—to keep ...
2025-01-23 22:07:38 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter. A few hints about things to come and some world building. . . We're just getting warmed up :) If there's something wonky with my formatting, let me know. When I pasted it over, some of my spaces disappeared, but I think I fixed them.
-Plum
2 – Villains and Knaves
The living ship’s ascent into space was something Ward didn’t think he’d ever forget. As it climbed higher, the ...
2025-01-22 20:50:12 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, folks! Those of you who hate this sappy stuff, rejoice, for there won't be much more for a while. Hope you can enjoy the character development a bit, and see how Victor is changing :)
Cheers,
Plum
12 – Cruel Irony
When Victor stepped out of the tunnel into his ready room, he expected to see Kynna or someone from her retinue waiting for him. Instead, he f...
2025-01-21 21:11:33 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! Thanks for reading and for all the support :)
-Plum
1 – Void Leviathan
Ward stood with Haley and True among another three hundred passengers, watching as the living ship that would carry them through space to Primus approached. He hadn’t seen the thing land, for it had done it far out to sea, and now it was “swimming” into the Westview bay. Even though he knew it was alive,...
2025-01-20 21:45:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter :)
-Plum
40 – Captive
Tony leaned on the concrete railing, watching Addie walk toward Bert’s. She had her hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat, and her path was more of an amble than a hurried beeline toward home. Was she drunk, or was she just enjoying the air? The night had gone differently than he’d expected. He’d thought she’d be freaked out about the throwdown at ...
2025-01-19 20:17:42 +0000 UTC View PostHere we go! Love to hear your thoughts :)
Plum
39 – Warmth
Addie looked at Tony for several long seconds. Was he serious? Could she ask him anything? She didn’t want to send him into a moody sulk, as often happened when she brought up his life before the Blast, but if she were going to work with him, really work with him, she wanted to know what she was getting into. “Tell me abou...
2025-01-18 22:04:38 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy! Had some extra time, and we'll be doing two ND chapters today. Look for 1.39 in an hour or so. Love to hear if you all think this sort of stuff is engaging or boring. I know the relationship stuff and conversations aren't for everyone, but I hope we're starting to like these two enough that we're interested. Maybe I'm wrong? :)
-Plum
38 – To Our Success
When Tony and Addie climbed out of the...
2025-01-18 21:25:33 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy, Victor fans! Things will continue to heat up :D
-Plum
11 – A Yellow Rose
Victor stood in his ready room, stewing. His mind was troubled because he wasn’t eager to slaughter a couple of iron-rankers whose only crime against him was a desire to defend their queen and their homeland. He knew he was being prideful with such thoughts; any decent advisor—and he had more than a few—would tell...
2025-01-16 21:25:18 +0000 UTC View PostWell, folks, I knew I was coming to the end of book two, but in my mind, I still had three chapters or so to go. Today, when I was writing the end of this battle, it sort of just came together, and I finished up the book in one juicy, 5500-word chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you've enjoyed Book 2. I'll take Friday off, and then begin Book 3 on Monday.
I'm kind of eager to get done with Book 3 because at that point I'm going to take a break from Vainglo...
2025-01-15 21:02:16 +0000 UTC View PostWell, here's today's chapter! A rundown on equipment and a bit of flavor and long-term foreshadowing. :)
Enjoy!
Plum
10 – Let Doubt Enter Their Hearts
Despite an underlying feeling of dread, almost like he’d done something wrong, Victor’s return to Ruhn was uneventful and on schedule. In fact, it almost felt as though nobody noticed his absence. He supposed it he...
2025-01-14 19:33:43 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! Sorry for the cliff, but it's a big scene.
Cheers,
Plum
44 – Ritual
Ward felt True tug one of the grenades off his belt, snapping the bit of cord holding it in place. At the same time, Lisa’s voice cracked through the air, “Vrakkun khorvek!” He looked toward the sound and saw her staff held aloft, the point crackling with ghostly whi...
2025-01-13 21:20:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! Hope you're having a relaxing day :)
-Plum
37 – Terriers
Mr. Valdez looked from Addie to Tony, then back again. “What? Bangers? You said you forgot something!”
Tony pushed past him, looking around the meager living space. A plastic-covered couch, a coffee table, a small dinette, and a tiny kitchen, complete with a Mrs. Protein, an appliance designed to mix nutrient pack...
2025-01-12 22:48:06 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy :)
36 – Door-to-Door
By the time Addie and Tony made their way through the second, third, and fourth floors of Building C of the Royal Breeze Apartments, she’d collected seventeen data points, and every one of the people she’d interviewed had a Luminal Index reading between 2.5 and 3.1. Several residents had invited them in, but she and Tony were currently standing in the hallway outside apartment 412C, where the reside...
2025-01-11 21:44:56 +0000 UTC View PostThe assault on Dame Ruby's manor continues! Enjoy :D
-Plum
43 – The Sable Hall
The guard at the end of the tunnel seemed to be telling the truth; when Ward and the others climbed the stairs into the cellars of Dame Ruby’s estate, there was a gas light flickering on the wall, but nobody seemed to be watching the heavy wooden door from which they emerged. As the party filed out, climbing a short fl...
2025-01-10 20:29:17 +0000 UTC View PostHere's today's chapter. Hope you enjoy it :)
-Plum
9 – Glacial Wrath
Victor and Tes spent their last night on Fanwath back at his estate. He hadn’t wanted to say goodbye to Thayla, Tellen, and the girls, but he was thankful for the pleasant visit, and he thought it had been good for Cora and Deyni, in particular. They’d gotten to see that he still thought of Fanwath as home and meant it when he...
2025-01-09 18:55:18 +0000 UTC View PostHere's another action-packed chapter :)
Enjoy,
Plum
42 – A Bad Feeling
Ward watched True walk over to observe Haley’s efforts with the gate but didn’t immediately follow. He turned back to the body of the demonic guardian he’d killed and grasped the back of his collar, hoisting him up until his head lolled to the side. Ward studied his face; he certainly se...
2025-01-08 21:42:22 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, here we go! So far, I know this book feels slow, but I think these intro chapters will do nicely to remind people about all the little things going on with the places and people that haven't been featured in a while. Meanwhile, even though not much action is taking place, Victor's making progress with some new magic, and I think that's kind of fun. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)
-Plum
8 – Good Things
Victor and Te...
2025-01-07 20:35:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everyone! I got the final cover art for Fate's Reckoning. I think it's pretty good. I went back and forth with the artist on this one, and it never quite matched up to what I was picturing in my mind, but it gets really hard to put things into words when you're not an artist, yourself, you know? I finally had to accept that it was "good enough" and conveyed the scene pretty well.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it :)
Here's the art as a book cover:
2025-01-07 14:30:15 +0000 UTC
View Post
Here we go! Hope everyone has a great weekend :)
-Plum
41 – What Horrors Await
Ward fidgeted in his new armor—a thick leather shirt with metal plates and scales sewn over his vitals. It would be great armor to avoid getting chopped in the kidney, but it would only stop piercing attacks that hit one of the plates; there were plenty of areas where a well-placed arrow, bolt, or knife could do some d...
2025-01-06 21:59:53 +0000 UTC View PostEnjoy the chapter! :)
-Plum
35 – Gathering Data
Addie looked at Tony as they walked. He wore faded jeans with holes in the knees and thighs, some black, grungy work boots she hadn’t seen before, a blue track jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, and, of course, his sunglasses. He had a spring in his step, and it looked to her like he’d freshly shampooed his wavy black hair. She bumped him w...
2025-01-05 21:04:29 +0000 UTC View PostHere's some cyberpunk - enjoy :)
-Plum
34 – Bank on It
Addie stepped into Madeline’s Used Books, rubbing her hands together as she absorbed the warmth. It was starting to get cold in the evenings, and she hadn’t dressed very warmly when she left her dad’s shop. A couple of days had passed since her lunch with Beef, and she and Tony had both begun to relax a little; Zane had kept his distance...
2025-01-04 20:49:34 +0000 UTC View Post