A busy week as I reach the end of Sand and Bone being serialzied on my website. There are giveaway, decisions, and a call for patrons. Not to mention a short chapter of Rutejìmo night time run.

Goodreads and Second Run Reviews

I've started up a Goodreads giveaway for Sand and Bone. There is also one on Second Run Reviews for my spotlight there last week.

Patrons and Future Decisions

I'm at a crux in a few short weeks. I have two novels that are “almost” done and one of them is going to be the one that I'm going to be serializing after this one. This is one of the few benefits of being a patron, the ability to vote on my next project so here is the choice:

Flight of the Scions: A YA start for a four-book series about Kaneko, a young girl without any magic who is trying to prove herself to her earth knight father who dismisses her after he learns that she will never follow in his footsteps. During this time, a mercenary group attempts to kidnap her and only her ingenuity and creativity, along with her new friends, can save her from becoming a pawn. This has an adorable dog girl with elemental magic and a telepathic boy with raw information in his mind. It also has an eighty foot telepathic toad and the mercenaries' air ship. The end of this series dovetails into Sand and Bone. The above link has the first two chapters as sample.

Second-Hand Dresses: A Regency-inspired high fantasy romance about a young woman who lost her chance at marriage after her debutante ball was interrupted by a duel going wrong. Nine years later, she is on the cusp of becoming a spinster when both men enter her life and throw it into chaos once again. This is a polyamorous and bisexual piece that is naughtier than my usual fare. This will be a stand-alone novel set in the same universe. The link has three sample chapters.

The poll is both at the Patreon site and my forum. As a reminder, patrons (even the $1/month) can read all my novels including the WIP of the two above.

Sorrow Rides A Fast Horse

I've talked about Fast Trip by James White as one of the major stories that has influenced my life. This chapter is inspired by another one, Sorrow Rides a Fast Horse by Dorothy Gilman Butters. I remember reading this story in the Writing Workshop at Prospect High School back when I was a junior. For some reason, the events in the story really resonated by me.

It is a shorter story, one that doesn't have action, but the looming despair of “Sorrow” chasing after the mother was a beautiful imagery. If I get around to it, you'll see that Sorrow is a horseman in one of potential future stories. It is the same images I saw all those years ago.

How does this relate to the story? Well, death is riding after our protagonist and he knows it.

Sand and Bone 32: Limits

With poison flowing through his veins and death chasing after him, Rutejìmo is desperate to make it home before darkness when he loses all power. As the slowest of the runners, he knows he won't make it but he can't stop, not even for the night.

Read the chapter at https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-32/. If you like it, please become a patron or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my next series and my high-society romance novel.