Reading · On The Cobblestone Road

Welcome to the monthly newsletter with all of the latest updates about my books, projects, blog, art, news, and more!

About the photograph featured in the heading: I took this photo in my backyard in 2013. The redbuds are so beautiful in spring!

It’s been… an interesting month. I had the misfortune of a kidney stone sending me to the ER in the middle of the night and knocking me down for a few days, although I did manage to tough it out for a loooong day at a convention that included five hours in the car to travel out of state. I did my best to put on a smile when talking to visitors, but needless to say, I was not operating at 100%!

I’ve been pretty quiet on social media but busy behind the scenes working on tedious projects. Event applications, final book formatting updates, testing out a new ebook distributor… I swear, the to-do list never ends!!

I don’t know why, but I’ve had more problems publishing Lab Rat than I have with any of the other books in the Chronicles of Avilésor.

It’s been hard to truly celebrate the book’s official publication in December when trying to navigate all the challenges surrounding the release for all three formats. A printing issue with the hardcover’s title pages forced me to release a second edition less than a month after publication. Then, communication issues with my formatter delayed the ebook by more than two months.

And mostly recently with the paperback, after I’d reviewed the proof copy and made all of the edits, I noticed the margins weren’t right when I received the final electronic proof. Somehow, an issue with the file settings caused an error with the page size/margins, which meant I had to reformat the entire document page by page all over again. (I worked a solid 15-hour day trying to get the files submitted in time for an order to arrive before a signing… and somehow, miraculously, the books did actually show up in time!)

In March, I had to update all three versions once again… but this time, for a much more positive reason! Lab Rat took home the gold with a Literary Titan Book Award!!!

This means the Chronicles of Avilésor is OFFICIALLY a four-time award-winning series!

The cover wasn’t the only update that occurred. Since I had to submit new files anyway, I made some minor interior adjustments and added a couple of extra terms to the glossary.

The copyright page also received a rather unexpected update. After having a serious conversation with a local bookstore owner, I decided to certify Book IV in the human-authored database created by the Authors Guild to increase transparency for readers and retailers who are actively seeking non-AI books.

(Does it feel completely backwards labeling books as “human-authored” instead of “AI-generated”? Absolutely!!! I have a lot to say about the subject, so if you’re interested, check out my recent blog post.)

Current word count: 90,627

I am more than ready to finally move on from Lab Rat. However… I’m not quite ready to dive into The Demikan with gusto quite yet. I’m feeling burned out after all the tedious rounds of editing and formatting, so although I’ll type out scenes that pop into my head, I won’t be sitting down to really focus on this next phase quite yet.

Current word count: 2,886

Current word count: 1,040 (15 poems)
Drawings: 30
Photographs: 20

Current word count: 416 (5 poems)

If you visit The Press bookstore and coffee shop in Valparaiso, IN… you might spot a familiar book on the shelf!

I dropped off autographed copies of A Fallen Hero for the bookstore’s local author section. The Press isn’t carrying the full series yet while they test out the reception of Book I. So… if you’re local and happen to pop in, it wouldn’t hurt to ask about the series!

(I’ll be returning to The Press in a few months for a local author fair.)

Speaking of visiting local small businesses, have you been to Apothica Teas in Niles, MI yet? If you pop in, you’ll recognize the display currently on the shelf!

ICYMI, Apothica created three custom tea blends inspired by my books last year, and they’re now carrying the full series along with mini versions of the Ghost Realm candle by Old Soul Artisan (also inspired by the CoA series as a collaboration).

My assistant and I made several trips to Apothica last month to make some adjustments to the tenebryst elixir due to some of the ingredients in the original blend no longer being available. We eliminated a few minor ingredients and substituted the OG lapsang for a milder version. Personally, I like tenebryst 2.0 even better! The smoke is less intense, which allows the spices to come through stronger.

SHOP THE TEA

At the end of March, Apothica hosted a delightful book signing and brewed pots of our custom CoA “witch’s elixir” teas for fans to sample while we ate scones and talked about books. It was definitely a signing to remember!

I’m excited to test out these new bookmarks at upcoming events! We’ll be handing them out for free, so if you’re a returning fan and would like one for your collection, just stop by the booth and ask!

When Flourish Books & Plants hosted me for a book signing in New Buffalo, MI last month, I chatted with news editor David Johnson from Harbor Country News. You can read my interview online.

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Without getting too deep into the nitty-gritty details of independent publishing, I’m testing out a new ebook distributor with Book IV.

Long story short, KDP (Amazon’s company) is maintaining control over the Kindle version, which will remain unaffected by any of these changes. In the past, Ingram (which manages my print versions) has also distributed my ebook to other platforms such as Apple, Nook, etc.

Although I initially uploaded LR’s ebook to Ingram, I ended up pulling the plug and switching it over to Draft2Digital. So far, it’s been a successful test run, which means I will most likely be moving the other ebooks over to D2D one at a time in the near future to minimize disruptions.

By moving to D2D, not only do I earn higher royalties for those digital purchases, but my book is also listed on Books2Read. This platform automatically shows all of the retail links for the ebook, and I can add links for the paperback, hardcover, and audiobook as well. As I add the other novels, I’ll be updating my WordPress website to redirect readers here for the retail links all conveniently located in one place. D2D/B2R also makes it easy for me to incorporate my affiliate partnerships into the links so I receive credit for valid clicks/purchases.

The transition will be an ongoing process over the next few weeks/months. The ebooks will likely be temporarily unavailable on non-Amazon retailers during the change from Ingram to D2D, even though the ISBNs will not change. I’ll be updating the copyright pages in the other books to include the disclaimer expressly forbidding my books being used to train AI, and I will likely also be certifying them with the Authors Guild as I did with Book IV.

This week is crunch time for both taxes and prepping for the three-day Kalamazoo Comic-Con. I have several projects on the backburner, including working on a challenging new online quiz for superfans to prove themselves; adding the glossary, pronunciation guide, and character list to the CoA website (which is overdue for some major updates anyway), and… a really cool, fun new activity coming soon to the event booth (but I don’t want to spoil the surprise)!

I played around with Wes’s transition and what he might look like in limbo between his human and wolf forms. Eventually, I’ll take a stab at doing a more detailed character sketch, but I needed to experiment a bit first. Patreon members can learn more about Wes and watch the timelapse video in an exclusive post.

Subscribers get exclusive content emailed straight to their inbox every time I publish a new post! I offer three membership tiers with varying perks: Human ($5), Kálos ($10), and Alpha ($15). New patrons, depending on their tier, can unlock over 500 posts! Here are the latest posts since the last newsletter:

• Upcoming event announcements
• Double discount opportunity during the Ghost Realm candle sale while it was the featured scent of the month on Old Soul Artisan’s website
• Behind the scenes: the steps to upload an ebook into KDP (Amazon/Kindle)
• Poll results: are patrons are ready for potential spoilers?
• Details about the Apothica collab update for the tenebryst elixir + “tea with the author” early announcement
• Early access: first look at Lab Rat’s updated cover with the award + the new “human-authored” certification (a couple of weeks before the blog post)
• News, projects, and publication updates
• Timelapse video to watch me draw this month’s featured artwork

JOIN MY PATREON COMMUNITY

$5 a month isn’t much, but these small subscriptions really do add up and help me cover the publishing costs for upcoming books in the series along with other business expenses such as vendor fees, website costs, and more. Thank you to my subscribers for your support!! 🖤

For more information about the membership tiers and how subscriptions/donations support my business, check out this FAQ page on my website.

I decided to participate in a new initiative to help authors combat the surge of AI-generated books flooding the market. In this post, I explain the goals of the program and address some of the biggest concerns about it in the indie author community.

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March 21: MuskeCon in Muskegon, MI

March 28: Book Signing & Tea with the Author at Apothica in Niles, MI

I added a LOT of events to the calendar over the last few weeks, so be sure to check my website for the most up-to-date list! To receive event reminders, you can join my Discord server, follow me on Facebook or Buy Me a Coffee, or become a Patreon subscriber.

Watch my website for potential pop-up book signings this month! Here's the current schedule of events:

KALAMAZOO COMIC-CON
April 10-12, 2026
Kalamazoo, MI

VIKING FEST
April 24-26, 2026
Whitestown, IN

ROYAL STAGG RENAISSANCE FAIRE
May 9, 2026
Marshall, MI

MAY FAIRY ARTISAN MARKET
May 17, 2026
Villa Park, IL

CHESTERTON EUROPEAN MARKET
May 30, 2026
Chesterton, IN

REBEL ART FEST
June 7, 2026
South Bend, IN

MICHIGAN CITY PRIDE FEST
June 13, 2026
Michigan City, IN

SLAY THE LAKE CHICAGO PRIDE BOOK FEST
June 27, 2026
Tinley Park, IL

LOCAL AUTHOR FAIR @ THE PRESS
July 11, 2026
Valparaiso, IN

ARTS IN THE STREET FESTIVAL
July 25, 2026
Plymouth, IN

CHESTERTON EUROPEAN MARKET
August 1, 2026
Chesterton, IN