Phew. I’m proud to finally say that Cradle of Sea and Soil is finally on its final sprint to completion. Getting there hasn’t been the easiest journey, but I immensely enjoyed writing the book and find myself very satisfied with the results.

It’s not over yet though; the novel is currently with my editor, so it still has to go through another final polish after she’s done with it. I’ll be working on it in bits throughout May. Everything else is ready to go, though. The cover is done and all the front and back matter has been prepared. Once I finalize the manuscript, I’ll slap it all together, format the novel (never thought my extensive familiarity with CSS and HTML would help me as an author), and then get it up on Amazon.

Okay, then. Let’s talk a bit about how that sprint looks like and where I’m heading.

First of all, my tentative release date right now is somewhere in the first half of June. Probably between the 8th and the 15th. I’m also planning on submitting the novel to SPFBO 6, which seems to be happening if all the buzz from the judges can be believed. Submissions need to be released before it begins, so that’s really the only reason why I’m not more specific about my release date. If the contest opens on the 15th of June like last year, then that’s probably when I’ll release my novel too. The preorder for it should be up in advance though, and, whatever happens, I’ll make an announcement about the release near the end of May.

Yeah, I know I’m cutting it close, but I don’t want to rush-rush, so I’ll take all the time I can get. The final step really is just the editing, which, if nothing horrible happens (knock-knock), should all get back to me before the start of the contest and leave me with plenty of time to work through both a final pass and formatting.

The Sword of Kaigen won 2019’s SPFBO by the way, and though I haven’t gotten to it yet boy have I heard great things. The books just get better every year, and I really feel like 2020’s contest is going to be brutal. I’ve already scoped a few indie fantasy novels I highly suspect will be entered (and I’m sure Rob Hayes will enter again with Along the Razor’s Edge, lol), but we’ll see how things pan out.

Unfortunately, the contest involves as much luck as the rest of the industry (which, as Mark pointed out, is why a book like Senlin Ascends can sometimes slip through the cracks), so I’m not going to throw all my eggs in the basket. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, hope for the best, and then try to focus on the next book in the Isandborn Trilogy, which is tentatively named Stormbringers.

I’m also going to try to post more regularly again and try to get some more background lore involving the series up. Most of it is stuff I couldn’t explicitly squeeze into the book, but are tidbits that might still be interesting to read anyway.

There’s also a cover reveal in the works (and damn does the cover look fantastic), which should happen sometime before June.

Alright, that’s all for now. I’m going to try and have a relaxing weekend; the sprint starts on Monday with the first of my final edits and will end with the start of SPFBO 6, so I need to go mentally prepare myself. XD