Oblus ina’ti Sepan Eti.

I’ve switched gears for this month and been focused on a few things: blogs, audiobooks, and Substack tweaks. This was an intentional shift. Don’t worry, I’m not going to blow up your inbox every 48 hours with nonsense. We’ll stick to the current schedule unless you tell me otherwise: 15th and 30th.

But there have been some changes on the back-end of my Substack, and I want to bring it to your attention. The first six months’ worth or so of posts that used to be behind a paywall are now unlocked for your perusal. Not every single post, but about 97% of them are. The dates range from July 2025 to December of that year. There are a few I’ve selected to bring to the forefront. You can check them out down below.

Town Herald:
Before we get too deep, the 3rd Maro book is now out! For those of you who preordered, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Getting a damn good story in your hands is what makes it worth it. For those of you who haven’t picked it up, you can find it here!

The evil have come to play, one bloody card at a time.

Man of Fury

Man of Fury: Amazon

Sabel:
The first is a character deep dive for the upcoming Volume IV. Her name is Sabel (Sah-bell), and she plays a vital role. She becomes both catalyst and foil for progression for another character. We also get into her character sheet and a little of her set-up / history. It’s a great appetizer since Volume IV was delayed. You can find her post here:

The Dark Legacy Series:
If you can’t get enough of this series and would like to explore it more, or if you haven’t read it and you want to know about it before going in blind, I strongly recommend this next post. You will get a deeper look at some of the iconic characters of the series, the locales, and a closer look at the brimstones (rohg’heras). Dive into the world of Ermaeyth.

Movie Influence:
We’re all influenced by things in our lives and Ermaeyth, Atar, and the Spacestation Olympus are no exception! Check out this post where I go over ten movies that helped shape my worlds and my method of storytelling. Some you’ll guess, and others will be a shock to you. And yet, you may find things on this list that you didn’t even know existed.

Books of the Dire Universe

Maro:
Let us not forget the one-man army. He’s full of vengeance, piss, and either a touch of madness or arrogance. Or maybe he just doesn’t care. Either way, Maro is one of my more conflicted characters, and he’s got a grim job ahead of him, cleansing Atar of the filth and sending them to the Almighty Autarch. If you need something done, he’s your man, just don’t quibble over how he goes about it.

Audiobooks:
The audiobook journey has been long and arduous, and this post was the first deep dive into the first steps. It’s overdue for an update, and I might get around to doing it soon. That said, this is a step by step of exactly what I did to create my booth, and the equipment I purchased (at the time). But things change. Anyway, this is a great first look.

Wanted Poster: Hand it to someone who should’ve been here.

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Battle Formations:

Audiobooks:
I’ve shifted focus and started to really lean into getting this first audiobook done. I’ve got more recording under my belt, but as each chapter comes to a close, and I’m headed into the post-production, I’m finding new gremlins and arising problems, and I have to go through by hand and really finesse what’s there. In the RX-12 software, sometimes the De-Ess (makes your S sounds softer), it hits other words unintentionally, and I’ve got to go through and fix those flubs.

It’s very time-consuming, but it’s the only way to ensure a quality product. As the Marine Corps used to say: one shot, one kill. If I shit the bed on this, no one’s going to bother to pick up any other book I produce. Early on, I had the ignorance to say this wouldn’t take long. Boy, was I wrong. Maybe a publishing house could churn it out faster, but I’m a one-man show: the narrator, the editor, the technician, and the sound engineer, and all of those are drastically different hats.

That said, I’m full steam ahead, and I really just want to get this first book done. It’s kind of like writing your first book, you can finally have that sense of release. “Ah, I’m finally done!” But that’s usually when you find out that was the easy part, and what comes next is so much harder.

Maro 4 | Draft 4:
Okay, I’ve started on this draft, and while the progress is slow (mentioned above), I’ve made some headway. When I sat down, I really gutted the first chapter, made sure it was streamlined, and cut all the tangents and frills. It had one job to do, and I think it now does that. In the chapters afterward, I’ve added in some sections. I’m really focused on cutting echoes of internal thoughts and emotions this go-around. Maybe I’m too hard on myself and my personal standard, but it makes me wonder how much better mainstream books would be if they had editors that crunch like I do. I can guarantee you that Sanderson novels would be cut by one-third.

What’s new in Maro 4? Actually, something old. We’re headed back to Tepress, and with good reason, it’s just bad news when Maro gets there. Don’t want to give too much away right now, but it comes full circle back to Red Creek. That’s all I’m going to say at the moment. Let’s take a look at the details.

Start Date: 9/30/26
Finish Date:

Chapters: 6/10
Epilogues: 0/1

Starting Word Count: 27,721 (story only)
Current Word Count: 27,937
Mood: Grabbing Wanted Posters

Doesn’t look like the needle moved too much, but as I stated, I cut a lot from the first chapter—over three hundred words. Each subsequent chapter either gets a minor shave or only a handful of words added back. Still got some chapters to go, but I like where this tale leaves us.

Vote Now: Which title do you like for the next Maro book? Hateful Heart, Wayward Son, The Crooked Stump.

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Vol. V | Draft 4:
The one standalone novel inside the entire series. This book doesn’t progress the overall series narrative much, but what little it does, it’s in a meaningful way. That said, if a reader were to go straight from Vol. IV to VI, they’d be like, “Wait, what happened? Who are these people?” It’s a set-up novel, kind of like how the first novel initiates the overall series; this one does it for the back half. The timeline for this novel takes place near the end of Volume IV, and it ends right where VI begins.

Here are a few things I learned in the final draft of Vol. IV. One: I needed to break up the jobs of compressing, line editing, and grammar checking. I’m no longer doing all of that on the fifth draft. Compression and line editing are now 4^th draft only, and grammar and polish are 5^th draft only. It breaks up the heavy duties, and hopefully I’ll get through both much faster. Two: burnout is real, and I’ve got to pace myself, and not take it for granted, which is why I’ve been switching gears and doing other things while on this revision journey. Blogs, audiobooks, and reading help break up the monotony.

Let’s take a look at the brass tacks.

Start Date: 9/30/26
Finish Date:

Prologue: 1/1
Chapters: 6/25
Epilogues: 0/3

Starting Word Count: 95,911
Current Word Count: 94,720
Mood: Cautious

One thing that I’m doing in this revision besides compressing, is that I’m adding small things, details, foreshadowing that has lasting ramifications all the way into Vol. VIII. Since the final book is written, I know where the overall story is going, and I can add texture here that will give re-reads a new level of appreciation.

Unlike previous books, the cast of Vol. V is small, focusing on 5 total POVs, with only 4 of them seen regularly. Since book IV hasn’t come out yet, I can’t really comment on anything without spoilers, but I do enjoy this book. You start to see echoes, rhymes, and mirrored moments throughout the series. Ripples in the water have lasting effects…

The story’s been told, but the journey’s far from over. That’s all I have for this round—short, sharp, and sweet. I shall return…

Oblus ina’ti Sepan Eti.

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