Two Stories, One Amazing Journey

It’s been two months since the transition to writing full-time began, and it's been a wild ride so far.

I've settled into a rhythm that I never could have imagined in my old life: writing Fate's Attendant in the mornings and editing Eight 5 in the afternoons. The ability to focus on just writing (with some job hunting thrown in sporadically) has been absolutely priceless for thinking deeply about the characters and the events in both books. As a result, I'm finding it harder and harder to imagine the return to the everyday grind of my former professional life. Writing is hard—it takes a ton of energy—but I'm starting to think I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Eight 5's progress: I'm near the end of an initial developmental-edit pass. My followers on Patreon had mentioned that the ending needed serious work, and they were right. I've been essentially rewriting the last few chapters to fix the structural issues they identified, and I'm happy with the results so far. I expect to hand the manuscript off to my developmental editor by the end of next week.

Fate's Attendant update: Hong Fei's story is finding its groove. He's navigating the treacherous politics of the Yu household while discovering what his mysterious cards can really do, and the reception has been incredible. The story made it to #15 on Royal Road's Rising Stars list with near-universal 5-star reviews. It’s also surpassed a thousand followers—a great start to the journey!

Looking ahead, I'm excited about where both stories are heading. Hong Fei has some major revelations coming up, and getting Eight's ending right feels like the perfect send-off for that series.

As always, thank you so much for your support. I've been telling folks that a book is incomplete without readers, and that's never felt truer than now.