WE'RE BAAAAAAACK!
Yes, that's right. Updates will be resuming. Thank you all for your patience during this time. I know how difficult it is to trust that a story will make it back from hiatus. For every one that does, there are a dozen more that never rise from the ashes -- some of them very big names, too, far bigger than mine. But you've kept with me, and that's been a real source of strength for me in the last several months.
I'm not going to detail everything that's happened right here. One, it would take too long; two, I found out that multiple websites are scraping my story and I don't feel like airing my medical issues via pirates. There's a recap on the Discord (in the Author Updates channel) for those who are interested. Short version: I quit Job #3 to be there for Mrs. Ninja; she's still dealing with a lot of pain and limitations. My heart is doing much better on the new medication. Munchkin, Rascal, and Hooligan are now used to the change. Mrs. Ninja is very grateful for your past and continuing support.
(And by the way, if you're reading this on any site other than Royal Road or Reddit, stop supporting theft, mkay?)
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Schedule!
Chapter 21 will be out on March 3rd; Chapter 22 will come out on March 17th. The schedule will continue with every other Monday until the last chapter of One Giant Leap on May 26th. I'll be skipping an update on June 23rd, or rather it won't be a chapter update; it'll be a cover reveal and blurb for book two, Let It Begin Here. Chapter 1 of Let It Begin Here will start on July 7th. Whether it will remain every other week at that point is something I'll reevaluate as we get closer.
There is a full schedule posted on the Discord in the Author Updates channel, including POVs for each upcoming chapter (though the latter may be subject to change before posting).
Writing is coming along . . . well, faster than before. Low bar, I know. Before my heart started giving out, my schedule should have had us in book three already, while simultaneously starting a second start in a different genre. But for now, I'm pacing myself, not just to have a healthy buffer again but also to build up a backlog for Patreon.
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The Patreon
I will probably launch the Patreon when I have a minimum of five chapters to offer. I plan on increasing that via setting milestone goals based on the number of patrons -- and that means $1 patrons count just as much as the highest tier, and will get their own incentives. I don't like it when Patreon campaigns neglect the lower tiers. Having been broke myself, I want to make certain there's value on the low end.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
You may recall Mrs. Ninja is a traditionally published sci-fi author (who married her editor). She's been very hesitant where it comes to web novels; but you guys, especially in the wake of the accident, have been so kind, supportive, and patient, you've quite literally changed her mind. She's now thinking of writing for Royal Road herself once she recovers more. At minimum, she's looking at dropping her trad-pub work on the Patreon for feedback, as well as extra value for patrons; and if she does go the web novel route, we'll share the Patreon like it's all from one author. No jumping through hoops for you guys.
And if you can't afford to donate, you still matter to me. Many of you still spread the word about this story. I've seen some of those posts, mostly on Reddit but also on other sites, and I'm happy to see every single one. And I love having such an active comment section and will continue to interact there.
Though, that does bring me to another issue regarding comments . . .
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NO POLITICS OR RELIGIOUS COMMENTARY ON ROYAL ROAD
While Mrs. Ninja was in the hospital, a flame war erupted in the comments. This resulted in a site mod coming through with a machete and, as well as a (friendly) warning that I've been too permissive with comments. I would prefer lively, honest debate (as long as it remains calm and polite), but this isn't my site.
So from here on out, all discussion on Earth politics and religion, no matter how calm, should go over to the Discord server. This is also reflected in the initial author note on Chapter 1.
My server follows the philosophy of “don't be the one to make Mr. Ninja make a new rule.” I genuinely hate adding rules and tend to get surly at those who force my hand. Please do your part to not make me surly. Surly ninjas are uncool.
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The Novel Ninja Media Discord Server
Discord is primarily how I'm communicating with people. There are some very interesting topics that go on in there. As I mentioned, there's the Heated Topics channel; but there's also (currently) a specific channel for The Best Defense, a Library channel for discussing other stories, and a Knowledge Base channel where we have, variously, discussed the real physics of the speed of light, Neolithic cultures, growing moon bases out of mushrooms, and Egyptian mythology. I'm open to more channels as the server grows.
Patrons will have roles to reflect their tiers, and there will be tier-specific discussion channels as well once the Patreon gets going. That way you can discuss things with other people who have read the same chapters; and those of higher tiers can still join in on lower ones as well.
Anyone who joins before the next chapter also gets a special role as a thank-you for sticking with me, regardless of whether you ever become a patron.
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Thank you all again. The outpouring of support in the previous announcement's comments section was the only reason I didn't start feeling guilty about taking so long to come back.
I'm really looking forward to seeing this community grow. If you have any requests or suggestions, please let me know in the comments.