Hello, denizens of Royal Road. Thank you for taking the time to read my novel, "The Hollowing." As a decades-long hobbyist, this has been the first time where I put my writing out there for the world to see, so I can only hope that you have enjoyed reading it to even a fraction of how much I loved writing it. This is my passion and I give it my all in the hopes of one day going pro.
Sadly, if my metrics are to be believed, my dastardly scheme of drumming up enough interest to make this transition was unsuccessful for now, which has led to good and bad news. The bad news is that I won't be able to leave my day job anytime soon, and therefore cannot commit to resources like Patreon or daily chapter uploads. The good news is that I have enjoyed this process enough to usher forth another installment in this series.
So it is here that I will announce that one adventure may have ended, but another is about to begin in…
[https://i.imgur.com/zVDdsxU.png]
Faith has become infectious.
Two and a half years after the events of The Hollowing, Liam Fenix spends his days in the comfort of Cheyenne Mountain, and Leah has returned to Pandemonium to claim it as her own. Both live under the tenuous peace that has been established.
…Until a mysterious cult known only as “the Beholders” attacks Liam’s sanctuary, convinced that his healthy body can be used to usher in the end of days.
Now, Liam and Leah must once again work together to defeat this new threat. Though the two are not alone for this fight, the Beholders prove more dangerous than they first appear. Their charismatic leader bends others to his will with a mind-altering power seemingly guided by divinity itself. Allies and enemies alike soon fall under his spell, and the very fabric of their post-Hollowing society begins to break down, paving the way for the Beholders’ dream to transform their world into true Armageddon.
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Scheduling updates:
* Posts for The Beholding will come out as further chapters from here. No need to lurk my profile for a new fiction.
* I'm posting the prologue on Friday as a tease, but I'm otherwise taking next week off for last minute continuity revisions, and my own general sanity.
* I’m ramping up pressure on myself and will begin posting 4x per week instead of twice, on Monday/Tuesday, Thursday/Friday.
* Chapters are still split in two when able, but can be read in advance early on my personal site. Yes, I am man enough to admit that this is part of the shameless marketing that us unpaid writers have to take. Sorry!
* I will try to be more on point in leaving links to my site at the bottom of each chaplet, and I hope the one day delay is less jarring for folks who don't like making the hike across the internet.
* This faster posting speed may lead to a pause at the end of The Beholding as I work on another sequel from there (if I can afford to make that commitment at all). I don’t begin posting anything until I'm 100% certain that it will be finished while meeting my personal standards for quality control, and I've got other projects in mind that could gain more traction on this site.
* The Hollowing will forever remain free on RR, Wattpad, and my personal website: martin-neue.com. The same cannot be said for The Beholding and onward as I consider alternative routes to publication. Just as an example, I may be forced to scrub it eventually if it ever goes to Kindle Unlimited. I pride myself on my transparency, so I will do my absolute best to give as much advance warning as possible if this occurs, most likely through my blog.
Story updates:
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
* There are more consistent POVs, and no one-offs (prologue excluded). If you weren't a fan of the head hopping before, I only double-down from here.
* Longer chapters on average at about ~3-4k words a pop.
* More consistent chapter lengths, though there are still exceptions. Where they get split may end up wonky at times.
* All loose ends tied again. The Beholding is just as self-contained as The Hollowing.
* While this is intended as another fun adventure in a fictional setting, I can see how some might consider certain story elements as promoting anti-religious views. For those who may take offense to this type of content, you have been warned.
Other (spoiler) elements of what to expect:
* More gratuitous violence.
* More pseudoscientific gibberish hidden behind a veil of vaguely plausible bullshit.
* More Hunters and their crews getting fleshed out (pun intended).
* Religious zombies.
* Mexican zombies.
* Religious, Mexican zombies.
* Leah wears a sombrero for a bit.
* Liam shaves his beard.
One last thing before I go:
[https://i.imgur.com/wvxZ5mn.png]
Seriously, for those who want to support me, the best that anyone can do is to send me a follow, a favorite, and/or a rating (obviously, don't feel compelled to rate me higher than you think I deserve). I don't have a Patreon because it'd be running unsustainably, and I'd rather not use Paypal as a tin can. From my point of view, it is better to have my early books be read for free than to earn pennies trickling in, so boosting my visibility in the interim will only strengthen the path forward. Please help if able.
Of course, any and all discussion is encouraged. I love engaging with my readers where I find them.
See you all Friday!