For those of us in the U.S., today is Thanksgiving - a holiday about celebrating what we're thankful for. So, I wanted to take this moment to express my gratitude and thankfulness to you: the readers who have chosen to support a new story on Royal Road.
I, like many authors, write my story out of passion - I need to write these stories in my head and won't be satisfied until they're done. However, the amount of joy each and every comment brings is immeasurable (even if only an edit suggestion). From an author's perspective, taking the dive and publishing your story in a public forum is . . . terrifying. You're opening up the universe that was once only existed in your mind and declaring, "Here I am, world." You're inviting people to scrutinize and evaluate a creation that is, in many ways, reflections of various aspects of yourself as a person. To have folks willing to not only explore that world , but choose to interact with it in a meaningful manner makes any and all fears, doubts, and imposter syndrome utterly and absolutely worth it.
So, again, I wanted to express my gratitude for all the readers who have joined me on this journey. Thank you.
I am working hard in the background on continuing A Crucible of Light and making it the best version of itself that I can offer. I am wrapping up Arc 2 (on Patreon) and am finalizing revisions on the outline for Arc 3. Arc 2 will be around 100,000 words in total. Arc 3 is shaping up to be even longer than that - my outline, which is usually more conservative than the ultimate end product, would estimate it at approximately 150,000 words. So, as of today (looking ahead), Volume 1 of A Crucible of Light would be in the ballpark of 320,000 words long once we get there. A certified door stopper!
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I am also working on several other projects. The first is set in the same world as A Crucible of Light. The other two are even further removed: one a System Integration LitRPG, and the other a Slice of Life LitRPG (which I would describe as Succession meets What They Do in the Shadows meets Arrested Development). In any case, there is a real possibility that I have four projects running on Royal Road at some point in 2025. I think this is a testament to how much I was fueled by the early warm reception to A Crucible of Light.
I'll leave it there. A Crucible of Light will be back on Tuesday, December 2nd.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about my writing, A Crucible of Light (story, characters, world), or anything else, please feel free to drop it below in the comments and I'll answer it to the best of my abilities! Note that any answers related to the story or world will be spoiler-free and should only be considered quasi-canon (not canon until it makes it into a published chapter).
Cheers!
RM
image [https://i.imgur.com/B98Upjr_d.png?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high]