>> New Item - After the Fall Series <<

  

  
• 02/21/25 - Series announced


  
• 02/20/25 - Book essentially done as per Michael - has a few changes but it's a solid read


  
• 10/28/24 - Chapter 7 - 9 finished


  
• 02/26/24 - Chapter 5 & 6 finished


  
• 09/23/23 - Chapter 4 finished


  
• 09/19/23 - Chapter 3 finished


  
• 08/23/23 - Chapter 2 finished


  
• 04/27/23 - Chapter 1 finished


  
• 01/21/23 - 1st chapter writing starts - and is rewitten, and rewitten, and rewitten


  
• 12/28/22 - First outline submitted and reworked several times


  
• 11/23/22 - Outlining begins


  
• 11/4/22 - Brainstorming session between Michael and co-author about possible plot threads (both new and old) for the series


  
• 10/25/22 - Authors of Novel House visit the cabin - "co-author" receive mac computer loaded with Scrivner, Elan bible, and instructions to being on After the Fall


  
• 12/08/20 - "co-author" joins "The Novel House" - a small group of authors that Michael mentors on writing. She's working on her own contemporary fiction tale.


  
• 02/07/20 - Email from "co-author" sent to Michael - attached is a fan fiction, upon reviewing, Michael if very impressed with the writer. They are an avid reader who consumes everything Michael writes as soon as it comes out.


  

  >> New Item - Drumindor back on Royal Road <<

  

  
• 02/27/25 - The first seven chapters are posted. Going to try to keep to 2 - 3 per week from here on out and there are 39 total


  
• 02/07/25 - We took Drumindor off Royal Road when the copy editing of the book started. Now that it is completed and fully edited we are starting to put it back up for people. Posting is a bit haphazzard as my wife is posting chapters when she has a chance. Currently there are 5 chapters posted and 39 total.


  

  ConNooga 2025 (02/21/25 - 02/23/25)

  

  
• 02/07/25 - Wanted to update everyone on the events that either I or Robin will be participating in during the convention. First I should mention we'll have a booth at W-11 in the exhibitor hall and we'll probably be there when not in sessions below. At the booth we will have free hardcover copies of the Death of Dulgath and also The Jester Comic, so stop by and pick those up. Also, if you have any books that need signing - you can catch me at the times below, or come by the booth outside of those hours.
  
    


  


  
• 06:00 PM - Feb 20 - We will be arriving at the Chattanooga Marriott Downtown


  
• 03:00 PM - Feb 21 - Robin will be on the panel: So How Much Will I Make?


  
• 06:00 PM - Feb 21 - Michael will do a world-building workshop


  
• 02:00 PM - Feb 22 - Michael will do a writing relatable characters workshop


  
• 04:00 PM - Feb 22 - Michael will do a starting your story workshop


  
• 05:00 PM - Feb 22 - Robin will be on the panel: Let's Get this Thing Started: Kickstarters


  
• 12:00 PM - Feb 23 - Michael & Robin will do an Ask Me Anything session


  
• 09:00 AM - Feb 24 - We will be leaving for our return to Virginia


  


  
• 09/17/24 -
  
    


  
• 08/26/24 - Preliminary sessions planning begins
  
    


  
• 07/17/24 - Robin added to the program as a publishing industry panelist
  
    


  
• 07/10/24 - Michael has been asked to be the Guest of Honor the Literary Track the convention will be held in Chattanooga TN 02/21/25 - 02/23/25


  

  Next series (The Cycle - byproduct of the "Exploratory Committee)

  

  
• 02/07/25 - Currently around 160,000 words written. First climax has been completed. Probably 6 - 7 chapters to go.
  
    


  
• 01/22/25 - Hiatus over - unfortunately Pat died. I've returned but writing is going to be slower than usual.
  
    


  
• 01/14/25 - Hiatus starts - got a call from Michigan that my brother has been diagnosed with leukemia - Robin and I leave for Michigan.
  
    


  
• 12/17/24 - 120,000 words into book #2 - there are "multiple climaxes and some logic problems with one of them, most of the issues have been worked out.
  
    


  
• 12/10/24 - Hiatus is over - work resumes
  
    


  
• 12/04/24 - The start of another hiatus. This one attending DragonSteel Nexus in Salt Lake City. It should be much shorter than the last hiatus. Work has been going well I wanted to get a good amount done between the work for Drumindor's release and this trade show and that has happened. I have 38 chapters outlined (although that may increase or decrease a bit as I finish things up. I'd say I'm around 2/3rds done with book #2 at this point.
  
    


  
• 10/02/24 - After a 2-month hiatus writing has begun once more. Book #2 word count stands at 45,000.
  
    


  
• 09/23/24 - With the release of Drumindor's ebook The Cycle is officially announced. It has a discord server for chatting and asking questions, etc.
  
    


  
• 08/05/24 - All work has been halted due to Worldcon 2024, a vacation to Isle of Skye in Scotland, the last pass reading edit, and proofing of Drumindor, and the review of the audio files. Work is scheduled to resume on 09/22/24.
  
    


  
• 07/07/24 - The first half of book #2 has been been turned over to Robin for a "first look" - Michael thinks this one is even better than the last. If that's then it will be really, really good - as the first one was nothing short than incredible.
  
    


  
• 06/02/24 - "The Storm" short story released for editing. This is the first short story for the series, and will be initially published in the edited by Shawn Speakman and released by Grim Oak Press.
  
    


  
• 05/01/24 - Book #1 is finished! Michael gave it to me and I love it. Having this done is a monumental step.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - Michael is fairly "writing obsessed" right now - which means I'm giving him as much "work time" as possible - I've not seen him writing like this since his original writing of The Crown Conspiracy (first book of Riyria Revelations). He has 20 chapters done and the outline says 30 total - so 2/3 completed! Getting a book completed will be monumental as far as increasing the chances of this seeing the light of day, but as always, he'll need to finish the full series before he'll commit to that.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Shhh....don't tell Michael but...as of lunch yesterday he told me he had about 75,000 words written and was about 1/2 way through the book. He HATES when I post progress so let's keep it between you and I. But I can say he continues to "get stuck" and "unstuck" on a fairly regular basis, but he is certainly enjoying his writing because I hardly get to see him. In other words he's working all the time and I'm trying to give him room and not bother him with distractions so he can get at it.
  
    


  
• 11/16/23 - Really starting to see things come together now. The front end has been torn down and rebuilt I think three times now - but I think it's starting to look pretty solid. I'm "cautiously optimistic" that the major hurdles for book #1 has been cleared.
  
    


  
• 11/03/23 - A LOT of restructuring work need so I was gone for about a week doing nothing but conceptualization, but I completely reworked the start of the book and now I'm able to "move on to fresh ground" - I think I'm around 50,000 words at this point.
  
    


  
• 09/22/23 - I'll start to try to update this regularly, both to keep the readers informed, and to provide a record of how this all came together. So, after finding solutions (or what I thought were solutions) to some of the major hurdles of the series, I started writing. The book actually opens with a prologue. I should note that I really don't like prologues, and the only time I wrote one was for Esrahaddon because I wanted to start and end the book in the same place. But in this case the prologue was necessary because I had to "go back in time" to show a scene that everyone wanted to know more about. Then I started writing my "intro chapters" where there will obviously be several "groups" in this book - somewhat similar to Stephen King's novel The Stand, and after getting the first four chapters written (all of which I was reasonably happy with), I realized I had no idea where to go next. So I started filling out the plot and hit a brick wall. At this point I was 95% convinced the project was DOA, but Robin assured me that I've cracked some hard nuts in the past, and I would do so again. I was skeptical, and depressed, and convinced the experiment was over. And then a domino fell and hit another, then another, and the chain reaction kept going. I now have a direction, and I'm re-invigigorated - so writing is proceeding, and I'm back to a 50/50 chance of being able to complete this. I still don't know how many books yet - could be 3 could be 7, we'll see.
  
    


  
• 02/23/22 - The "exploratory committee is formed to investigate the "possibility" of a post Revelations series - it's a small committee - it has only one member.


  

  The Storm

  

  
• 02/07/25 - Waiting on copyedits from Grim Oak Press
  
    


  
• 12/27/24 - Release date for June of 2025 has been set
  
    


  
• 12/17/24 - Still waiting on edits
  
    


  
• 10/23/24 - Kickstarter over - it raises $151,349
  
    


  
• 10/02/24 - Kickstarter for Unavowed launched
  
    


  
• 07/13/24 - Story sent to Shawn at Grim Oak Press
  
    


  
• 06/02/24 - Robin gets the "first peak" read
  
    


  
• 5/07/23 - This is a short story that will be the first toehold in to the post Riyria Revelations concluding set of books to the Elan saga (which contains 20 books across 4 series). It will be initially published in the Unavowed Anthology by Grim Oak Press, but it will also be included in a compiled collection of Sullivan only short stories which will be required reading for anyone interested in the Cycle series.


  

  Drumindor Hardcovers

  

  
• 01-24-24 - The boat has set sail and expected to arrive in Baltimore March 4th and it will take about another week for unloading, clearing customs, and shipping to our factor in Virginia
  
    


  
• 01-17-24 - Books picked up from the printer and waiting at the port
  
    


  
• 12-17-24 - Books should be going to the bindary around the end of this month - tentative ship date January 10, 2025.
  
    


  
• 11-30-24 - Printing begins!
  
    


  
• 11-21-24 - Approved end sheets
  
    


  
• 11-20-24 - Digital Proof of interior received & approved
  
    


  
• 11-19-24 - 2nd proof received
  
    


  
• 11-15-24 - New interior files sent with adjusted margins - slight adjustments on final read-through
  
    


  
• 11-13-24 - 2nd proof ready
  
    


  
• 11-08-24 - Enter "print queue" (even without approval of second proof)
  
    


  
• 11-05-24 - New interior file - adjusted margins - also incorporates gamma chagnes
  
    


  
• 11-04-24 - Proofs arrive - creme end sheets instead of colored ones
  
    


  
• 10-29-24 - Proofs finished
  
    


  
• 10-15-24 - Adjustments needed for foil stamping on dust jacket
  
    


  
• 10-13-24 - Printer found a problem with the header - new files sent
  
    


  
• 10-07-24 - Print Ready Files sent to printer
  
    


  
• 10/02/24 - Files sent to printer proofs being made
  
    


  
• 09/07/24 - layout formatting begins
  
    


  

  Riyria Chronicles Hardcovers (Riyria Chronicle #1-4)

  

  
• 02/10/25 - Hiatus will end - unfortunately Pat died. I'm still working on issues regarding his esate to help his sister out with the probate process.
  
    


  
• 01/14/25 - Hiatus starts - got a call from Michigan that my brother has been diagnosed with leukemia - Michael and I leave for Michigan.
  
    


  
• 12/31/24 - Layout for all 4 books is completed.


  
• 12/19/24 - Layout for the Rose and Thorn started
  
    


  
• 12/18/24 - Layout for The Crown Tower finished
  
    


  
• 12/17/24 - Afterword for The Crown Tower written
  
    


  
• 12/16/24 - Due to changes in margins found during Drumindor proof, new layout has to be done to match this and other books up - restarted process.
  
    


  
• 10/12/24 - 75% of book #1 layout finished - still needs afterword written.
  
    


  
• 09/07/24 - Interior Layout begins
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - The slipcase design is completed, and we have submitted the foil stamp files to the printer for all 5 book covers. We also did a "back design for these books - which will add $5,000 to the print run, but they look really good - so we'll make that as a stretch goal.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Sarah has started the design for a slipcase that will house all 5 Riyria Chronicles. She is also working on finalizing the designs for the limited edition versions. She also is attempting a spine design for the regular hardcovers which will have a "picture" similar to how the spines on the Riyria Revelations form a picture. Robin has started a preliminary layout of the book to get a page count so proofs can be made.
  
    


  
• 12/04/23 - We have decided to combine this with the Drumindor Kickstarter so we can get all the printing done at once. James has preveiously done the interior deisgn layout for books 1 - 4, and Robin is checking over them to get page counts to the printer.


  

  Unavowed Kickstarter

  

  
• 02/07/2025 - No new updates posted on the Kicksstarter, but you can
  
    


  
• 12/17/2024 - Waiting on edits from Shawn, and signature sheets which are being passed from author to author.
  
    


  
• 10/23/2024 - The project finished out with 1,706 backers who raised $151,349 in funding. A nice success indeed. If you missed the Kickstarter and want to pick up a copy of the book, you can


  
• 10/12/2024 -
  
    


  
• 10/02/2024 - Kickstarter launched and brought in more than $92,000 in it's first day
  
    


  
• 07/17/24 - Grim Oak announced anthology -
  
    


  
• 06/02/24 - Robin receives story
  
    


  
• 07/13/23 - Short story "The Storm" sent to Shawn Speakman
  
    


  
• 07/04/23 - Shawn Speakman at Grim Oak Press Reaches out with the idea - this will be an anthology of some of the leading self-published indie authors. We reached out to many of our self-published friends to see if they would be interested in participating).


  

  Indie Author Documentary and Elan Unveiled Documentary

  

  
• 02/07/25 - Premier date has been set July 18th in Luray Virignia
  
    


  
• 02/03/25 - editor will have Final Cut finished 02/08/25, then music and sound will do their thing. After that, maybe some cleanup editing and then it’s off to the races!
  
    


  
• 10/01/24 - All filming is done and editing is underway.
  
    


  
• 07/20/24 - Film crew recording Lydia Sherrer
  
    


  
• 06/20/24 - Film crew was in Orlando with Will Wight
  
    


  
• 05/19/24 - Principle filming ends in Virginia
  
    


  
• 05/14/24 - Principle filming starts in Virginia
  
    


  
• 04/12/24 - Film crew was in Ontario for filming with Emilie
  
    


  
• 03/18/24 - Film crew was in Chicago for "mystery author" filming
  
    


  
• 01/22/24 - Film crew was in Virginia for filming session #2
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - We may be doing some filming in the Virginia in the next few weeks if the Esrahaddon books do arrive. When it looked like the books would arrive over Christmas - this was put on hold, but now that they have been delayed some, we might be doing some filming after all. We'll see if we can make the schedules align.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - The funds have transferred to Adam, so now we can setup the pre-order store for him. That will fall on Robin to do and given she is still working on DragonSteel stuff, it will proably be a week before it's up and running, in the meantime you can stil use
  
    


  
• 11/16/23 - Had a great meeting last night with Adam and we mapped out some recording dates and packaging for the boxset and blu-ray discs. No money has transferred from Kickstarter to him yet, but it should in a few days. In the process of setting up the survey information now.
  
    


  
• 11/05/23 -Kickstarter ends - 717 backers, $58,445 funded. If you missed the Kickstarter, you can "late back" it from this link.
  
    


  
• 11/05/23 - While not a "writing project" - and also not something I'm doing - it's probably worth noting here. Adam Grandy (an independent filmmaker) is making a documentary about independent publishing and Robin and I are being profiled in it. Well, it needed $40,000 to fund and was about $5,000 short as of yesterday, so we added to the project another documentary (this was targeted toward readers) which will be Elan Unveiled: A behind the scenes look at the 19 books in my 4-series, 19-book epic. That put the project over the top. It'll end in a few hours and is now at more than $16,000 over the goal. If you missed the project but want to become a "after the fact backer," you can use
  
    


  
• 10/10/23 - Kickstarter launches


  

  The Plaza Prices for Fantasy Fiction

  

  
• 02/07/25 - scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "enter now." Full details are below:


  


  
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize money - $3,750 | $375 | $125


  
• 1st place also receives a one-on-one workshop from author in Dordogne France (or online) 3rd week of October


  
• 2nd and 3rd place winners receive a writing workshop in Dordogne France (or online) 3rd week of October


  
• Deadline July 31st 2025


  
• First, second, third, and two honorable mentions awarded on September 1st


  
• Entry fee: $37.50 for first entry | additional entries: $25.00


  
• Judge: Michael J. Sullivan


  
• First 5,0000 words of novel length work + 300 word synopsis


  
• Self-published or works posted on websites are allowed, but no books traditionally published


  
• Genres: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Speculative, LitRPG, Xianxia, Wuxia, Isekai. Genre hybrids (like Crime/Fantasy) are also eligible for entry.


  
• Entries must be in English


  


  
• 09/02/24 - Robin added to the list of preliminary judges
  
    


  
• 08/28/24 - Michael asked to judge 2025 Plaza Prize for First Chapters for Fantasy. The entry fees will be minimal ($25) and the prize winner will receive $1,750 in prize winning


  

  Rise and Fall Deluxe Hardcover Reprints

  

  
• 12/17/24 - We have been moving through these sets at a pretty quick pace - I'd like to get them out the warehouse before the Riyria Chronicle books arrive (probably in early March - so I'm going to be ramping up my announcement about their availability - probably in a newsletter posting in early January.
  
    


  
• 08/25/24 - Rise and Fall Deluxe Sale sale starts.
  
    


  
• 07/19/24 - Books received
  
    


  
• 06/13/24 - Books boxed and shipped
  
    


  
• 05/30/24 - Nolyn reprint complete
  
    


  
• 05/28/24 - Esrahaddon reprint complete
  
    


  
• 05/11/24 - Interior pages printed & sewn - foil stamping to begin soon
  
    


  
• 03/25/24 - Due to being sold of out Nolyn and Esrahaddon for the Deluxe editon a new limited print run has been ordered (500 for book #1 and 300 for book #2


  

  Drumindor Audio

  

  
• 12/17/24 - Moving this to completed - the audio book is now released. It has 621 ratiings and is at a 4.8/5.0 - Gotta be happy with those results. we're so glad that everyone is liking the listen.


  
• 10/21/24 - Official audio release date
  
    


  
• 09/24/24 - All chapters reviewed - corrections re-recorded and reproofed - now on to mastering!
  
    


  
• 09/16/24 - 18 chapters recored and reviewed (51%)
  
    


  
• 09/10/24 - 7 chapters recorded (21%) | 4 chapters reviewed
  
    


  
• 09/04/24 - Scheduled start of recording


  

  Drumindor eBook

  

  
• 12/17/24 - 1,500 copies sold
  
    


  
• 11/10/24 - book live on retailer sites
  
    


  
• 11/08/24 - final ebook formats created, tested, and sent to retailers
  
    


  
• 11/05/24 - all gamma changes input
  
    


  
• 10/15/24 - "mini-gamma" offiicially ends
  
    


  
• 10/01/24 - "mini-gamma" started to find/fix typos in final printed version - a release of the ebook will be posted once all the changes are in.
  
    


  
• 09/23/24 - ebook released for KS backers and
  
    


  
• 09/07/24 - ebook formatting begins


  

  Drumindor Book: (Riyria Chronicle #5)

  

  
• 12/17/24 - ebook and audiobook are live - for status on printed copies see Hardcover project above
  
    


  
• 09/10/24 - Final read through and all copyedits made
  
    


  
• 09/07/24 - Copyediting complete - final read through begins
  
    


  
• 08/21/24 - Copyediting resumed
  
    


  
• 06/29/24 - Copyediting suspended due to pre-arranged travel and Will Wight's Cradle fulfillment
  
    


  
• 05/12/24 - Edits back from Audrey
  
    


  
• 05/06/24 - Edits back from Linda
  
    


  
• 03/20/24 - Manuscript sent to copy editors (Linda and Audrey)
  
    


  
• 02/18/24 - Last pass edit (and incorporation of Alpha feedback is almost done - another 10 chapters to go.
  
    


  
• 02/12/24 - Started last-pass editorial editing and incorporation of alpha feedback.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - We are now in the process of removing this book from Royal road. Chapters 1 - 4 have been taken down and the dates for content removal of all other chapters have been posted. If you were "in process" of reading Drumindor you still have until the middle of this month go finish up. If you get caught by surprise by chapters being removed, we'll email them to you - just send us a message.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Today at 12:00 Noon the sixth to last chapter of Drumindor will go live. The book will probably come down at the end of the year, while we work on the copy editing and beta, so if you want to read the rough draft, .
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - In order for Drumindor's hardcover to match the hardcovers for RC #1 - #4 we have enlisted the design team that did the Riyria Revelation Dust jackets (and books 1 - 4 Dust Jackets) to do the design for this as well. Unfortunately they can't start on it until January 22nd, but they tend to work pretty fast. Here's hoping.
  
    


  
• 12/04/23 - We have decided to combine the Kickstarter for the first 4 Riyria Chronicle hardcovers along with the Drumindor Hardcovers. This may delay the launch of the Kickstarter - but currently we are still looking at February for this. Also, beuse of this, we have added a new section below for the Riyria Hardcovers.
  
    


  
• 12/02/23 - Copyediting in preparation for the beta read has begun. Release date and Kickstarter date are yet to be determined. We are juggling some dates for the audio recording. Originally we thought Summer but it may be moving to the fall.
  
    


  
• 11/16/23 - Alpha reading is done, and no major issues have been found. Also the early feedback the first fifteen chapters (about 40% of the book) have been posted.
  
    


  
• 11/04/23 - Reading is about 75% complete. Since we finished out posts on WInter's Daughter, we started posting a chapter a day of Drumindor on Royal Road, .
  
    


  
• 09/23/23 - Reading is about 50% complete. So far it's a ton of fun, and no major changes or issues for me to pass on to Michael (which is quite unusual).
  
    


  
• 08/30/23 - Alpha reading has started!
  
    


  
• 08/27/23 - I finished this book about 2 months ago (06/12/23 to be exact). Robin is planning on starting her alpha read during the week of Dragoncon - so I should have feedback from her on 09/05/2023. The book is set to launch in the summer of 2024, with a pre-order Kickstarter in February.


  

  Esrahaddon Hardcovers (Rise and Fall #3)

  

  
• 01/17/24 - The rest of the books and slipcases have arrived!
  
    


  
• 12/29/23 - Some books have arrived - Regular versions of Esrahaddon. Shipping has begun while we wait on the slipcases and limited edition versions.
  
    


  
• 12/26/23 - Still no books in hand but they are oh-so close. I'm hoping to have them in hand during the second week of January - fingers crossed. Having them arrive in the middle of Christmas and New Years holidays with the Ingeram Warehouse has been an issue. Here's a full rundown on what has happened since the last update
  
    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
  
    
  
  
    
  • 12/09 - Ship arrives in Los Angeles
  
  
    
  • 12/11 - Container offloaded from ship
  
  
    
  • 12/13 - Container on train headed for Memphis
  
  
    
  • 12/18 - Container arrives in Memphis
  
  
    
  • 12/19 - Container unloaded from train customs processing starts
  
  
    
  • 12/21 - Container picked up by trucking company
  
  
    
  • 12/22 - 12/26 - No available appointments for delivery to Ingram so container stored
  
  
    
  • 12/26 - Container delivered to Ingram
  
  
    
  • 12/27 - "Check-in" progress completes and "check-out" process commences
  
  
    
  • ??/?? - Checkout process completes and pickup by trucking company
  
  
    
  • ??/?? - Delivery in Stanley
    
      
  
  
    
  
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Wow, didn't realize I hadn't updated this in awhile - though I have written several update posts on Kickstarter. In any case. The books set sail right on schedule. If you want to track the shipment by typing in the container number: TGBU5073509. In any case. The ship sailed on scheudle on 11/24, and is due to arrive in Los Angeles in three days. Current tracking has it arriving by train in Memphis by December 15th, and I'm not sure if any of that includes customs processing or not - in other words is customs cleared in LA or Memphis? Right now my BEST guess is the books will arrive to us somewhere between 12/20 and 12/27. Anyone want to take some bets? Oh, and now would be a great time to update your shipping address - James posted an update about this a few days ago.
  
    


  
• 11/03/23 - Still on track for shipping in a few weeks. We are going to do 1 40' containter (about 35 pallets of books) and ship them to Ingram's Jackson warehouse, then we'll have to arrange a LTL transfer of the Limited Edition and slipcases to us for Kickstarter fulfillment.
  
    


  
• 09/22/23 - The hardcover books are "on the press" and they are expected to be finished and ready for shipping in mid-November.
  
    


  
• 08/27/23 - The ebook and audiobook released 08/15/2023. The hardcover is in production. The printer has all the files, and they have shipped proofs to us. They are expected to arrive 08/29/2023. If they are "good to go" - we'll start the presses rolling. We hope to have books in hand by the middle to late October and the retail sales are set for December 06,2023. Pre-order pages are up now.


  

  Nolyn Paperbacks (Rise and Fall #1)

  

  
• 09/07/24 - Ability to purchase the paperback was added to our on-line store site.
  
    


  
• 11/03/23 - I wanted to launch a little (and simple) Kickstarter for this by the end of October, but that didn't happen. Let's see if I can do one for the middle of November.
  
    


  
• 08/27/23 - While we "could" do this through POD (print-on-demand) I like offset print books better. I have 2 of 3 printer quotes in, and the layout is done. I'm thinking of launching a Kickstarter for this as offset printing is expensive. I hope to have books in hand by early November, and retail sales are set for December 15, 2023 Pre-order pages are up now.


  

  DragonSteel Nexus 2024 (12/05/24 - 12/07/24)

  

  
• 12/17/24 - Books from show received.
  
    


  
• 12/16/24 - All paid orders with paid invoices sent to post office. A few more will come in as stragglers and shipped as received.
  
    


  
• 12/13/24 - All orders input start packaging orders
  
    


  
• 12/10/24 - Start invoicing orders
  
    


  
• 12/08/24 - Packup books and delivery to convention staff for UPS pickup, flight home
  
    


  
• 12/07/24 - Breakfast meetup, rest of time manning booth offsite lunch with fan (missed), Breakdown booth, Dinner with Audrey Hammer
  
    


  
• 12/06/24 - Breakfast meetup, two off-site meetups, rest of time manning booth. Dinner with Grim Oak Press, Matt Dinniman, and Kickstarter program manager.
  
    


  
• 12/05/24 - Setup booth, man booth, offsite lunch with fan, dinner with Michael R. Miller and J. A. Andrew
  
    


  
• 12/04/24 - Pack, drive to airport, fly to SLC, arrive 2:00 AM our time
  
    


  
• 12/03/24 - Sample books received at trade show
  
    


  
• 12/02/24 - Order form/brochure received
  
    


  
• 11/27/24 - Order form/brochure printing completed
  
    


  
• 11/23/24 - Sample books packaged and delivered to UPS


  
• 11/15/24 - Order form/brochure sent to printing
  
    


  
• 11/13/24 - Order form/brochure layout begins
  
    


  
• 09/07/24 - Hotel and airline booked
  
    


  
• 09/06/24 - Copyedits for Traditions recieved
  
    


  
• 08/12/24 - Submitted "Traditions" for the Grimiore anthology
  
    


  
• 06/17/24 - Shawn Speakman got a booth for Grim Oak Press - he agreed to share it with us. - so yeah! we'll be there.
  
    


  
• 06/05/24 - No booths available - guess we won't be going this year ;-(


  

  Untitled (Riyria Chronicle #6)

  

  
• 12/07/23 - Due to work on the "exploratory" committee it has been determined that there will be a total of 8 Chronicle books. Yes, there were 10 years since the forming of Riyria but two of the books will cover a span of 2 years.
  
    


  

  Castle Blythium (Riyria Chronicle #7)

  

  
• 12/07/23 - Determined this book will span two years
  
    


  
• 11/03/23 - A few things have been added to the notes of this book based on work exploratory commission work. I really don't expect any series movement on this until I get a good deal of EC is done.
  
    


  
• 08/27/23 - Nothing much started on this except some general notes. Whether this will be Riyria Chronicle #6 or #7 is not yet determined. For those who are familiar with the Riyria titles, this book will cover a job that Royce and Hadrian took which ended up with them in Jail for more than a year.


  

  Untitled (Riyria Chronicle #8)

  

  
• 12/07/23 - Determined this book will span two years and it wil be the last book in the Riyria Chronicle series.


  

  Hollow World Sequel

  

  
• 11/12/23 - Just got an email from a fan indicating they were looking forward to a sequel to Hollow World, which reminded me, I should put this on the list. Don't expect any updates on this for at least a year or so, as the Exploratory Commission project is likely to consume all of my time. But I do have an outline of this done and when I feel like I have enough of the Elan stories down that I want a pallet cleanser, I'll be turing my attention to this.


  

  German Edition of Age of Empyre

  

  
• 12/05/23 - This has been on Robin's list for a long, long time - too long - but if you knew how many hours she works you would understand why she hasn't gotten to this yet. Here's the deal. (a) the translation is done (b) so is the copyediting. She needs to do the layout and the ebook translation and she's hoping to have that done before the end of January - we'll see if she can make that plan - a lot will do with how quickly the Esrhahaddon Kickstarter goes, but she definitely wants this done before the Drumindor Kickstarter
  
    


  

  Riyria Revelation Hardcovers (Riyria Revelations #1 - #6)

  

  
• 12/17/24 - REALLY, REALLY, SOLD OUT - So, back in June we took down all our order pages with these books because we were essentially sold out. But there were still some stragglers shipping, and we held back a few dozen books for people who came to us personally, but now we are absolutely sold out. We only have one copy each and we're not getting rid of those!
  
    


  
• 06/30/24 - SOLD OUT - We are now officially sold out of these books - they were beautiful while they lasted. I hope everyone who got a set is loving them.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - We are continuing to see a steady stream of orders ( for these amazing books. And they are being shipped as they come in. There may be a slight "shipping moratorium when the Esrahaddon books land (as shipping Kickstarters is an all-consuming process), and we will let people know if that does happen. As for prior shipments - we are having problems with 19 orders (all to Germany) - and our freight forwarding partners is working on getting these resolved.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Now taking new orders: - Now that all the orders are fullfiled and mostly delivered we are taking new orders for the "excess" we purchased to account for (a) hurt books (either out of the box or due to shipping to reader), (b) lost in the mail copies or (c) wrong book shipped. We are fortunate in that our printer does such a good job with their quality control that we had only a few books that weren't usable. Plus the shipping team (Sarah, James, and Robin) did a great job protecting the books so the damages were minimal. That said, quantities remain limited, and we still have to hold a few in reserve until ALL of the foreign orders are in readers hands. So if you are interested in either the regular hardcovers (which will match with the Riyria Regular Hardcovers) or the limited editions - order sooner rather than later.
  
    


  
• 12/04/23 - update (shipping)


  


  
• 92.4% of all orders have been delivered 7.6% (almost all overseas) are still in transit.
  
    


  
• All the US shipments have been delivered except for 2 - one that has forwarding set the other which has moved with no forwarding address and whose emails are bouncing. I'll try to contact that guy via the phone.
  
    


  
• For overseas people who have not yet received their packages you should have received an email from robin from our email address. With tracking information and whether you package is stuck in customs etc. Please look for it in case it has gone to your spam folder. If customs aren't paid, or if your local shipper has problems deliverying, they WILL BE RETURNED TO US. She is doing all she can so that doesn't happen including spending several hours each day sending out emails to people about the status of their delivery. So far we have had NO forign packages RTS - let's see if we can keep that record going! This is important as re-shipping is (a) more work for us and (b) more expense for you - especially since we already subsidized the shipping on the first package and a resend will have to be at "full postage price."
  
    


  
• We've processed any "wrong order" or "damaged in shipping" orders except 1 which wants there replacement sent with the Esrahaddon hardcovers. If you have problems with your books - contact my son at and he'll get you on a special page he has for Robin to do a resend/return label process.
  
    


  


  
• 11/14/23 - All orders are out (15 pallets total 12 for the US and 3 for overseas). The only ones left are for those who purchased through layaway and still have open balances. As those orders get paid off we'll send them out a bit at a time. We are seeing very few "hurt in the mail" - and so we are opening up orders for the extras. We need to get the warehouse clear in order to have room for the Esrahaddon copies.
  
    


  
• 11/12/23 - We've done the shipping in two major sessions. The first one had around 800 orders (8 pallets) and the next one about 600 (spread across 7 pallets). We are just waiting for the post office truck to pickup the pallets. There are maybe 20 or so stragglers that we needed clarifications from, and those should be going out on Tuesday when my son returns for the pallet shipment loading. Now that all the orders are shipped we can start taking new orders. We ordered extras to account for damaged or lost in the mail, but even with those buffers we have left overs. So if you want to get a copy of the books,
  
    


  
• 11/03/23 - I realized I had my ships mixed up and some of this was previously posted under the Esrahaddon section. Sorry about that. The ship arrived a bit late to Baltimore (10/24 rather than 10/17. It got through customs without a problem and was due to be picked-up and delivered 10/30/23. There were issues with the trucking company from port to our location, and the truck finally showed up the moring of the 11/01/23. As of this update Michael has signed about 1,700 books and we have 5 pallets (about 544 orders) of books waiting on USPS pickup. We will be taking the weekend off because it's really heavy labor and we are old. But we're going to try to get another 260 orders out with today's shipment.
  
    


  
• 09/22/23 - The ship is in the pacific ocean heading for the Panama Canal. It's scheduled to reach there 10/17/2023
  
    


  
• 09/12/23 - The container with the books was loaded on the TOKYO TRIUMPH 1217-030E and it set sail.


  

  DragonSteel Convention (11/20/23 - 11/21/23)

  

  
• 02/16/24 - Remaining orders (those needed Esrahaddon) were shipped
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - All orders except for those that require Esrahaddon have shipped.
  
    


  
• 12/05/23 - Order updates - Hey all, Robin here. Please bear with me while I get all the orders in. We have added - and shipped a number of them but the process is tedious and labor intensive and I was swamped with issues to deal with after 5 days on the road and then "the kids" stayed with us for a few days for Thanksgiving so I only got back to work last Monday. My hope is to have everythign entered by the end of tomorrow - here's hoping!
  
    


  
• 11/23/23 - Home again - So, once more traveling on one of the worst travel days - Why Brandon - Why did you schedule your convention to end the day before the day before Thanksgiving? Even so, things went well. We had an afternoon flight (in case we had to break down the booth during the day. But Sarah was a tropper and did all the break down while I went back to the hotel to soak and relax. We had a connecting flight - but no problems with that. The only issue is we arrived in Baltimore past midnight and got in the "front door" past 2:30 AM.
  
    


  
• 11/21/23 - Wrap up - It was a busy two days but we had a blast with talking to the much higher than expected number of people who stopped by the both. We have a ton of paper orders to put in for them and we'll be working on that once we are home and past Thanksgiving. It was too bad that Michael wasn't there as I think he would have got a kick out of how many people said they loved his work.
  
    


  
• 11/19/23 - Touch down - despite this being one of the busiest travel days our arrival to Salt Lake City couldn't have gone better. The flight was on-time and direct (and even landed a bit early). Uber to the hotel was effortless and the nice folks even let us have our room even though checkin wasn't for several more hours. We took a walk, had a great lunch, and got back and "setup the booth.
  
    


  
• 11/18/23 Travel begins - So while the intention was for three of us to go Michael got sick yesterday and when it came time to head to the hotel near the airport today, he still wasn't feeling good. Because it "could" be Covid he'll be left behind and Sarah and I will "muddle through." We will bring some signed bookplates for people who were planning on stopping by the booth to get their books signed.
  
    


  
• 11/01/23 First Entry - Also not a writing project but something that is going on. Myself, Robin, and our daughter Sarah will be heading out to Salt Lake City for Brandon Sanderson's DragonSteel convention. We'll be in the exhibitor hall and I'll sign book and we'll be selling copies of my books as well. Rather than shipping a ton of books and not knowing which ones people will want, we're going to be bringing "samples" and have an on-line ordering form with free US shiping so the books will arrive when they are done with the convention.


  

  Worldcon Convention - Glasgow (08/08/24 - 08/12/24)

  

  
• 08/20/24 - We are back from Scotland, exhausted but amazed by all that we saw and did. Spent a few nights in a castle, took the "Harry Potter" train to the seashore, hiked AMAZING places like Glencoe's three sisters and The Old Man of Storr in Isle of Sky. Ate at several Michelin starred restaurnts including a "chef's table" in the kitchen of 3 chimneys. It was an intimate 8-person affair - and one of the people there had actually read Michael's books!
  
    


  
• 08/12/24 - Once the convention ends Robin and I will be zipping over to Isle of Skye to see all the sites there and doing some hiking.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - It's official, Robin and Michael will be attending the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention ( WorldCon) in Glasgow. The convention runs from August 8 - 12, 2024.


  

  Dragoncon Convention - Atlanta

  

  
• 09/02/24 - Unfortunately, we were not able to attend Dragoncon. By the time we got back from Scotland (8/20) there were only a few days from the start of audio recording for Drumindor, and every second of that time was devoted to finaly copy edit accept/rejects and a final readthrough of the book.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - Because part of Indie the Movie will be filmed at Dragoncon, Robin and Michael will be attending it as well. The convention runs from Aug. 29 – Sep. 2, 2024 in Atlanta, GA


  

  Kickstarter Sale

  

  
• 07/31/24 - The sale was supposed to end at the end of May, but we kept it open a bit longer (mainly because we were too busy to shut it down. When all was said and done we earned more than $96,000 from the sale - thanks everyone for the amazing support and I hope you were able to save a bit of coin as part of it.
  
    


  
• 02/19/24 - We have sold out of Riyria Revelation Slipcases - we do have some with a very minor flaw to the foil stamp which we will be selling with deluxe books for a $10 discount. We are also sold out of Hurt Farilane books.
  
    


  
• 02/13/24 - As part of the Kickstarter, we are offering a Sale page here the majority of my books are discotned from 10% - 50%). You can , to shop the sale. If you are non-US - your postage will be set at $0.01 and I'll calculate what your shipping needs to be based on what is in your cart. This allows me to subsidize the shipping (usually up to 50%). After seeing the postage, you can cancel or proceed with the order.


  

  Drumindor Kickstarter

  

  
• 09/07/24 - The project went really well. We earned $134,361 from 2,940 backers. I'm moving the "Kickstarter" down to the finished area and I'm adding three new "working on" projects above for the production of the ebook, audio, and print copies. Technically speaking, the audio isn't part of the Kickstarter, but it's something that is being worked on so it should be listed.
  
    


  
• 02/13/24 - The launch went really well. We funded in 15 minutes 45 second, become the #1 most-funded live fiction Kickstarter in about 3 hours, hit the $100,000 mark in about 12 hours, and we are nearing our first stretch goal - $120,000.
  
    


  
• 01/19/24 - The pre-launch page is live , use the "Notify on Launch" button to get an email once this project is live (which will be on 2/13/2024 @ 12:00 noon EST).
  
    


  
• 01/18/24 - Originally, I was going to combine the Kickstarter for Riyria Chronicles #1 - #4 with the Drumindor Kickstarter, but when fleshing out the reward levels, it got rather complicated, so I have now split these into two projects. Drumindor will launch 2/13/2024 as was always planned, and the Chronicle Kickstarter will launch a month later on 3/12/2024.
  
    


  
• 01/01/24 - The "bones" of the Kickstarter are starting to take shape - we'd like to have the "prelaunch" page posted by the middle of the month. That might be a stretch,but we'll see what we can do.
  
    


  
• 12/07/23 - We are starting to put the next Kickstarter together. The project will launch 2/13/2024 at 12:00 noon Eastern Standard Time. It will launch the first Riyria tale in more than 5 years . . .


  

  Riyria Chronicle Kickstarter

  

  
• 09/07/24 - Since the Kickstarter itself is over, I'm moving this to the completed section at the bottom. I will, however be adding a Riyria Chronicle Hardcover printing up above.


  


  
• 04/04/24 - And it's over. Final tally is $248,591 but that is misleading as A LOT of money is going to come through during the survey process when people upgrade to higher levels. Total number of backers was 1,217. For those who missed the Kickstarter, you can
  
    


  
• 03/15/24 - Best first day ever, we reached $100,000 in right about 42 minutes and the first day's reporting was $228,922. That beat Esrahaddon's first day total of $178,465
  
    


  
• 03/12/24 - Funded in 8 minutes!
  
    


  
• 02/18/24 - Coming together - hoping to have it ready for approval by the end of today.
  
    


  
• 01/18/24 - As mentioned in the Drumindor Kickstarter, Originally, I was going to combine the Kickstarter for Riyria Chronicles #1 - #4 with it, but when fleshing out the reward levels, it got rather complicated, so I have now split these into two projects. Drumindor will launch 2/13/2024 as was always planned, and the Chronicle Kickstarter will launch a month later on 3/12/2024.
  
    


  

  *NOTE: Pricing for Book #1 and #2 was set by Orbit at $50 for regular and $75 for deluxe. We price our regular hardcovers between $28 - $33 based on page count, and deluxe copies at $75.

  The Riyria Chronicles you can so do here. — no need to pay for them. And if you HAVE READ the books, you can help other readers find them by keeping it on the Rising Star list. Just jump over to and follow, favorite, and rate it. The novels are currently at the very bottom, and keeping it on this list will help others find the tales.