Hi, everyone. Last month, I got a message from a publisher potentially interested in producing Nowhere Stars as an audiobook. Which is wild, super flattering, and would do a lot to help me get this story to as many of the people who’d like it if they knew it existed as possible!

That deal isn’t happening yet. For reasons to do with algorithm promotion and the ebook being linked to the audiobook through Amazon’s horrifying monopoly on the book market, the publisher didn’t want to go through with it unless I’d move the first book to Kindle Unlimited. But the offer and the reasons to make the switch are credible. Access to an additional giant pool of voracious readers and a publisher wanting to do things with my strange little nightmare-book that would help it reach even further would both mean a lot to me as a baby author!

Honestly, I'm still kind of shocked that we've made it this far. I make Nowhere Stars for myself, based on the sort of stories I personally want to see. I had no idea if there was a market niche or an established audience for it — I just hoped other people would respond to that sort of passion for the very specific thing I’m making and come to love some of the things I love. And here you all are! I’m really, really grateful to everyone who’s enjoyed the story enough to help me keep making it.

But I'm doing my best to make a career of the one thing I can actually do, and KU is currently where the reach is. So on May 24th, I'll be moving Phase 1 there. Past that point, it'll only be available on that platform. If you're at all close to caught up, nothing will change for you. KU's rules call for exclusivity for books on the platform, not the series itself, so the current chapters from 5-1 on won't be going anywhere for a good long time. They’ll only be removed when they’re bundled into ebooks, and I’ll give as much early warning as I can leading up to the dates when they have to be pulled. I’m writing pretty big books and taking my time with them, so that won’t be a super frequent event!

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I'm really sorry to anyone this inconveniences! I know this makes it harder for new readers to jump in on webfiction platforms and less convenient for current readers who don't already have the ebook. If I could, I'd love to leave the old chapters up like they do in the Japanese web novel - light novel pipeline and just hope that people who enjoy Nowhere Stars and want to see more of it would support me through that process, but the systems we have over here don't support that option. So at least for now, for the sake of the story's future, I think I need to accept any advantages I can to make sure that I can keep telling it without compromising on its content or quality, and this is the best path forward I’ve found.

All of you reading this post were among this story's first supporters, the ones who convinced me that my work could mean something to other people. That you're here at all means more to me than I can say, so I have a special present for you. It's available on the Discord until the 24th. Go to #announcements there to find it!

As for the current release, I'm working on a tough chapter to get right while having a bit of a hard mental health time and occasionally lapsing into screaming existential terror about whether these complicated business decisions will work out for the best. I'm no good with business — I just want to hide in my nest, write forever, and hope it works out — so I need some space to keep myself from exploding under the pressure.

Sorry about the delay! If all goes well, I'll be back this time next week with more story.

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Hey, future Anemone here! I just moved this post to the place in the chapter listing where the book 1 sample will end. I figured that'd be easier than making a whole new post, but apparently it's caused a couple people issues where they come here, to their last read chapter, and then the newly-available 'next chapter' button sends them to the start of book 2.

If you're here to read chapter 7-4, don't use the next chapter button! Go here instead!