Welcome to the Chinese Democracy of newsletters. Ridiculously late, but finally here.
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Just so you know, this is probably going to be the last newsletter that looks like this. Once I get story number 12 out the door (probably tomorrow) along with the accompanying bonus content (hopefully Wednesday), we’re going to start doing new, different, awesome stuff here on this page. Year two is going to rock hard. Like granite. No, no, no, no. Like straight up quartz.
QUARTZ, Y’ALL!
But that’s for next week. For now, newsletter number last. Ready? All right, let’s go!
1. Deciders vote
So this month, you all are picking the title of my upcoming anthology. That’s right, I’m collecting all 12 stories of the month from my first year on Patreon, along with bonus content for each story. Plus, maybe a couple of other surprises. It’s going to be a totally rad book. And you all get to name it!
I deeply regret this decision already.
2. Story of the month
The twelfth and final story of the month for my first year here on Patreon is an epic fantasy novelette called “The Life Price.” It is set in the same world as four previous stories of the month, and features Elke as one of the main characters.
They got away clean– or so they thought. But when three adventurers try to sell off their prize, things start to go wrong. Dead wrong. What price will they pay for a life, taken?
I have had a lot of fun picking out stories to share with you here on Patreon, and I’m proud to end our first year together on this one. This story has everything. Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles . . .
Actually, no fencing. And no torture, probably. But it does have baking! Which I will take over torture any day of the week.
3. Updates
In March, I went to a writing retreat hosted by authors Dave and Emily Butler. Twelve writers gathered in the memory of the once and future king, Edward M. Kovel, to write and game and write and eat and write and talk and write.
The creative energy in that place was amazing. For most of the day, it was very quiet. No sound but tapping fingers and clicking keys, like cats dancing with castanets, or a distant battle conducted entirely with silencers. But at mealtimes conversations would erupt into brainstorming sessions spinning out stories left and right. I witnessed the birth of some amazing stories late at night, stories that I am still thinking about, still waiting for a chance to see (and pay for) in print.
Some of the writers there were old friends, some I knew only from the internet, and some were people I had never even heard of before the retreat. But all of them were great writers and terrific people. It’s like Bender always says: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other’s gold.
I should also say that these were some of the biggest writers I have ever met. Like, in terms of size. I’m not quite six feet and substantially over 100 kilos, and I was clearly one of the puny ones. The median height was probably six-three. I honestly tried hard to organize us into a gang and have a rumble. Because I can’t think of more physically imposing group of authors. (That sounds like a tallest-building-in-Wichita kind of thing, but seriously this crowd looked like the menacing lumberjacks from every episode of the A-Team. Also, the Incredible Hulk. Hey, maybe those were the same guys?)
Anyway, it was an incredible opportunity. Made some important connections, got a lot of words on the page, won a major literary award (pictured above), and really stretched myself creatively. I even got to record a song. Pretty awesome.
I’m very grateful my wife and family (including my amazing in-laws), who moved heaven and earth so I could attend this retreat. Thank you, and I love you, and I hope you will forgive me for wanting to go again next year.
4. Accountability
This was my best writing month in probably five or six years, thanks largely to the retreat. In total, I wrote about 15,000 new words, surpassing my previous recent best (last November). Got to say, that felt good.
This also meant finishing four new chapters of The Mundanes. (Plus lots of other writing and revising on other chapters.) In fact, I made as much progress on this novel as I had in the previous five or six months. Yay!
Also wrote and submitted about a dozen pitches for some RPG writing. Which was serious fun, and great for generating new ideas.
All in all, an outstanding month!
Mange Tak
I wasn’t sure what would happen when I launched this Patreon page last may, but it’s been a really fantastic year. I’ve learned a lot, written a ton, and I feel like this next year is going to be even better. (You’ll start noticing some big changes to my page this month.)
None of this would have happened without you, my patrons. Thank you, friends, for helping me to accomplish my goals and pursue my dreams. I’m grateful every day that I get to walk this path, and your support and encouragement make that possible.
A million thank yous to all of you.
–JDP