I am aware of the Discord run by Blaise (Under the Radar) and am profoundly thankful for it. He’s done more to grow this series from the ground than just about anyone, right after AP Canavan announced his readalong with Philip Chase and Johanna reads.
I will not join, though he sent me an invite - discord wanted WAAAAY to much personal information/that I consider too easy to open the gate to ID theft, and more: the workings behind what Discord does with data - yours - runs way beyond the egregious behavior of certain other platforms people frequent. I didn’t like the actors behind the site, not a bit, which reinforced my gut reaction when I stalled in the sign up.
By all means, have your fun, wherever it can be found. I know some folks don’t feel as free when they know there is an author presence.
This forum - was nearly dead when this release hit…some of you came back to respond. Many haven’t. What people choose to do is OK and fine.
This said: the years of labor going into this work - it would have been nice to know what made you exhilarated, what made you laugh, if you cried, what you felt as Arithon met his destiny - whether you managed to keep faith, or whether you were challenged to react to provocation…the lack of feedback feels like a void, after earlier volumes - though looking back, responses have been quieter and quieter with each successive book.
I don’t use a phone. I’ve worked with the careful curating of my trusted and tried test readers. They’ve been the star I steered by, given the ‘edit’ I was promised from the publisher - never happened. My copy editor, Bob Schwager, stuck with this book to the last, even as personal tragedy tore apart his life. That is the lasting tribute that mattered - the people with me behind the scenes stuck it out to the end.
I am left (mostly) to look at reviews, and they can be a minefield at times best avoided.
This forum takes time to curate and run (Thank you Brian!!!) not to mention space to host it…in the past, you have had Verrain’s story The Gallant, directly as a result of a reader wanting to know more about him. You have had various shorts, filling in what commenters here thought happened in simplistic terms - and I wrote the story to shed light on the complexities involved in the back histories. Sometimes questions show me what needs to be illuminated, or comments show me where assumptions run quite contrary to the historic events.
I have a TON of material here to work with, so no worries - I don’t need anyone’s feedback to sort it and pick the next event, past or future, to write in expanded form. The stories will come to you - but at my discretion, oddly detached from the community forum that spot lit which areas to bring forward.
I am appreciative of EVERY one of you who has posted, who has reviewed, who is in that discord - as more people will see the series as a result.This is a great space, but mostly frequented by people who already know. Outreach beyond is absolutely critical during the next weeks and months to come.
Keep doing your thing, while I do mine.
But if you care to share your experience and thoughts - despite the inconvenience of the interface not being simple for a cell phone - know that it is not wasted. I will see what is posted here, and there is a certain alehemy to sharing thoughts on this page. I doubt I’d have written The Gallant without the one person here beating the drum for Verrain. There are more cataclysmic moments in history - far wider tapestries to bring to light beyond the notes and scribblings in boxes in my studio. I am really truly glad interaction here sparked The Gallant - no matter that it took a decade to write/since any one story from any one period requires knowing ALL of the threads in play, all over the rest of the world in that picture window of the moment.
I’d hire Sethvir to work up those timelines, but he’s probably overseeing the Discord to keep y’all in line.
let her find redemption through grace and then work as a healer.