Dear Readers,

  I'm thrilled to announce that the final book in the trilogy has been released: Sea of Shadows! This long-awaited conclusion to Vina's journey is now live, with new chapters dropping every Monday and Friday.

  Join me once more as Vina faces her most harrowing challenges yet. You can jump straight into the story using the link below.

  Note: RoyalRoad won’t allow me to publish a chapter under 500 words, so here’s the book blurb instead:

  Vina Esca has lost a title she no longer believes in, is dying to a promise she never meant to make, and is bleeding from a wound that will not heal.

  Stripped of her power, shaped by death, and haunted by her choices, she now rules a city she cannot escape, caring for a people she isn’t sure she can save.

  But salvation was never part of Trina’s system, and freedom from it may well mean death.

  As the weight of her decisions bears down, Vina must choose whether to uphold a world built on control, or burn it down before it takes everyone she loves with it.

  P.S. This book took a lot out of me. Sea of Shadows clocks in around 270,000 words, which once again required me to split it across two Google Docs just to keep my browser from combusting. (Opening the first half already slows things to a crawl.) The notes alone for this series have ballooned to over 70,000 words, and the Stigandorian Lexicon now contains 1,600 words, which, as it turns out, is not nearly enough to make a real language. I'm expanding it bit by bit, even if just for flavor, to bring more cultural depth to the world and characters.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Chapter length has crept up too, 4,000 words seems to be my sweet spot these days. I guess I like to take my time. It’s fun to look back and see how my writing style and habits have changed over the course of the trilogy. I never expected world building to become such a rabbit hole, but here we are.

  Also, I’ve discovered I’ve basically Pavlovian-conditioned myself with music at this point. There are certain songs I’ve listened to so often while writing that the moment they play, anywhere, anytime, my brain instantly shifts into story mode. Even if I’m grocery shopping or doing something completely unrelated, I’ll suddenly be flooded with character moments, plot twists, or bits of dialogue. Thank goodness for my phone, because I’ve had to jot down more than a few scene ideas in the middle of the cereal aisle. It’s wild how deeply this series has embedded itself into my daily life.

  Emotionally, this book hit harder than I anticipated. I had the ending planned out ages ago, but writing toward it was more draining than I expected. I even tried, on more than one occasion, to change course just to spare myself from writing certain scenes—but in the end, I stayed true to the vision. It cost me a few days of self-doubt and late-night pacing, but I think it was worth it. Finishing the trilogy feels surreal, honestly. There’s a strange mix of pride, exhaustion, and just a touch of grief. But you’ll understand what I mean once you dive into Sea of Shadows.

  Thank you, truly, for coming along on this journey.

  Kind regards,

  Seorl