Ready to Enter the Realm of Gods?
The Mysterium Newsletter for January 2024
Hello and welcome to my Mysterium faithful as well as any new readers, perhaps from a recent Shadow and Bone giveaway I was involved in or those I met at an in-person signing. Regardless of how you got here, I’m glad you’re here, and you couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Because…
The Mysterium is Expecting!
In the only way an ethereal workshop/dream factory can be: a new book is almost upon us! The Realm of Gods, the finale to the Chronicles of Chaos series is due to launch on Tuesday 2/27/24, exactly one month away. I cannot wait to reveal the work to you. It truly was a labor of love and, as I say in all my signing events, I left nothing on the table. Prepare yourself, because the next time you get one of these newsletters, it will be here!
Skookie Monster!
You may not know this, but Samantha Cook (“Skookie”) is my editor. She lives in the UK, has a real instinct for YA fantasy, and is just awesome at what she does (and is not a monster at all). I recently got my edits back from her, and I’d love to share some of her comments about the upcoming book (especially important because she’s only the third person in the world to read it).
From the cover letter:
“I had a fantastic time working on it! I think I'll be quite sad if you choose to end the series there, although at the same time, it also feels perfectly complete. You definitely have options.”
From the report:
”You have another excellent book on your hands. It’s hard to say for sure, but it might be my favourite so far. It definitely had some shocking revelations that tie the whole series together.”
“The ending is absolutely perfect. It feels good while you’re reading it, provides hope for the future of these characters, but it also provides a lot of closure, too. This makes it a very satisfying finish.”
“Lastly, I wanted to gush over how many fantastic twists are in this book, too. Each part unveiled something new about the world, again filling in some of my previous questions about the magic mechanics. What I loved the most is how a lot of the concepts are drawn together in ways that make the world feel so complete. Jesper’s story ties your world together so perfectly, and yet it’s interesting in its own right. I commend you for being able to carefully design such a complex world and magic system across three books (plus spin offs). I think you do this much, much better than most traditional authors, and I’m not just saying that.”
Last Chance for ARCs
Did that whet your appetite? Well, if you want to be one of the first to read the final manuscript, apply to become an Advance Reader Copy team member! There’s still time and a few slots open!
As an ARC reader, you’d get an early copy of the book. You’d read it by the launch date and leave a review on that day. Easy and fun!
If you want to do this, click the button to send me an email. I’ll get back to you with details shortly.
For the rest who are already on the team, don’t worry! I’ll be sending out the book soon (once I’ve finished editing and formatting)!
Catch Me if You Can!
While this year’s signing events will ramp up a lot once Realm of Gods has launched, we’ve already started 2024 with a bang at Half Price Books Dublin. The people were great, the location is fantastic, and the manager is the best ever. She made it clear we’re welcome whenever we want to return—and we will on March 23 for the launch!
There was another reason this signing event was so special. Sabrina’s mother has been visiting us for the holidays and she was really looking forward to seeing one of my signings, but was scheduled to leave last week. A snowstorm in Frankfurt, Germany cancelled her flight, so we rescheduled—which gave her the opportunity to come along today. She only speaks Italian, but claims she had a lot of fun watching me work.
And when it came to be about 7:00pm (that’s the time we normally pack up because we’ve been there since 12:30 and we’re all tired and hungry), she wanted to know why we were leaving money on the table by quitting before the store closed at 9:00! A woman after my own heart!
There’s only one event next month: an appearance at Barnes & Noble, Walnut Creek on Saturday, February 24 at 1:00pm. This was the first B&N I ever signed at and the location is incredible. Like Dublin HPB, they’re kind enough to do a pre AND post launch event.
I’m going to enjoy Feb’s light schedule while I can, because March is packed with launch events (and those are going to be awesome).
To see my full schedule, check it out at my official page.
A Banner Day
And to make those launch events even more special, I’ve asked my incredible cover art studio to come up with some stand-up banners. When playing around with some Facebook ad graphics, I experimented with some movie-poster like images. I liked them so much I asked Miblart to use the approach. Here’s their most recent version, and I’m digging it.
What do you think?
I’ll be matching this with another banner of the remaining two books and a third banner that is more of a “meet the author” sign. I will love to be able to stand in front of these for pictures—and you probably know I take a lot of those at signings!
Can’t Make a Signing? Catch me on CoCo Nation!
You may or may not know this about me, but I used to run a game studio for the Tandy Color Computer called Sundog Systems. It still has a number of fans out there that use the computer, and I love to check in with them every year to reminisce about the good old days and chat about my upcoming books. However, to make this appearance more interesting, L. Curtis Boyle asked if I might have any stuff in storage that could be fun to discuss.
I’m sure he had no idea how dangerous exploring the lower levels of the Mysterium can be. I tend to be OK at the start of such a hunt, but at the end I loathe those boxes. They’re heavy, somehow sharp, and big enough that I can’t maneuver them around to see what’s under. I always leave our storage area bruised and cranky.
But also with stuff!
I have a treasure trove of CoCo artifacts to share on Feb 3, and I’m excited enough to give you a peek. Join me live to hear what these things are and see the rest of what I uncovered!
Join me Saturday February 3 at 11:00am PST live at the CoCo Nation!
A Note from Piers Anthony
Just in time for the ramp up for the Realm of God’s launch, I received these wonderful words from NY Times Bestselling Author Piers Anthony, whose review of the Child of Chaos gave me the strength and confidence to continue writing my series. I'm so thankful for his time and kindness when I needed it the most.
If you haven’t read his review of the Child of Chaos (the second book in the series, but the first I wrote), you can find it on my blog site here.
Art Attack
Once again, our resident artist has provided a cool character to unlock this month’s newsletter. So let’s get to it!
I want to share a quick story with you about a REALLY nice way we started the New Year.
Last night, we took my wife Sabrina out for her birthday. Yes, she’s a New Year’s baby. We went to a traditional celebratory restaurant for us, so much so that I’d spoken about my books and even given out a few bookmarks to the staff there.
But I never expected this.
When we arrived, our server explained to us that a number of the staff were fans; and not just them, but their families. In fact, one of the other servers dropped by and explained that his 13-year old son was dying to come see me at my next signing. But the biggest fan of all was the manager, who insisted on buying all five of us dessert (she’d listened to all my audiobooks)—and this restaurant isn’t inexpensive (there’s a reason we only go for celebrations).
In addition, they were all really hyped for my upcoming finale.
Now, the desserts were unquestionably exquisite, but the expression of happiness of my work was worth way more. It elevated a wonderful meal into an awesome experience for all of us.
Finally, here are some links in case you’re interested in learning more.
You can always stop by the actual Mysterium blog for more info about me, my games, and big events.
For anyone who hasn’t even started the series, you can get 15% off if you purchase the entire series (signed soft or hard cover)! You can also preorder a signed copy of the upcoming book The Realm of Gods too. Find it all at my webstore.
If you want to listen to the audiobooks or read the ebooks (especially if you’re a KU member, who can read my books for free), head on over to the series page on Amazon. And leave a review!
Remember: if you reply, so will I.
