Hello. Hi. Hello. Ah, wait, I said hello twice. I’m checking in for another afterword.

Thanks for reading The Homeseeker Book 3: A Bargain With Fate. I’m really happy with it, and hope the sea-faring wasn’t too long-winded for you (pun partially intended). Three books with no delays, I’m pretty confident I can do the next two with no delays as well! As always, thank you for the response to each and every chapter. Comments, reviews, criticisms even as simple as liking a post means a ton. It all makes a huge difference in my author experience. Every single one of your comments means so much to me. I read them all, even if I don’t respond to them. And reminder that I’ve got a Discord with some fun theory crafters.

Below here will be filled with Book 3 spoilers, so you better not have jumped to this chapter on a whim.

Originally, there was a tentative plan to include a confrontation between Zalan, Morloch, and a former student of “Nold.” I couldn’t justify why anyone else lived through Morloch, so I decided to scrap it. Plus, at that point I couldn’t have Zalan really go through with not understanding Nold was Morloch.

Originally, I was really going to play into the “mob boss” role for Ma. She was going to have the accent and everything. I probably wouldn’t have had any reason to justify it, but I would have lived with it. The bigger problem was that I couldn’t pull it off, so I just went with the no-nonsense Ma.

Three of my favorite non-main cast members are definitely Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick, Ma, and Oshrad. Captain Buttonwillow is as stellar as he is incredible and I feel like he toes the line of serious adventurer and silly lead just perfect to sit well with me. Oshrad and his obsession with wanting to break toes, while never being outspoken about it is fun. It’s just the first thing to come to mind, it’s no big deal, break some toes, they’ll heal! And Ma, I’ve considered writing a prequel story in this world about how she gets to be where she is. It would be a more intelligent, hardline protagonist, but I’m not certain I’m actually going to pick that up. (Certainly not in the next series I work on).

I had six different blocks of notes for all the stuff leading up to the sea, and then the time on the water took a few lines, then it was back to thick outlines for the island. But as soon as Buttonwillow entered the picture, there needed to be a journey. It couldn’t be a simple trip, not for such an unsimple man!

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Almost every instance of me mentioning “Nold” in my notes is “Coach Nold” instead of “Instructor.” I wonder if I had a different idea of him in my head before I started writing out the manuscript. Coach feels very different.

I fully intended that chapters 40, 41, and 42 would tell a short story “Morloch Takes Power.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about “Takes” as a title until I finished the chapter and felt okay about it. Morloch has some hot takes on power and what it means to be willing!

Captain Buttonwillow McKittrick and Captain Lexington Winchester are intended to be silly foils that aren’t even foils. Buttonwillow and McKittrick are both located on the West Coast of the US and Lexington Winchester is located on the East Coast. And people compare the two all the time, but the people act pretty similarly between the two ends. The culture isn’t that different. So I had played them up with that idea in mind. In fact, even their ships have the same name. The Aegeusson and the Abuacamas both are the same ship. In Greek mythology, Aegeus’s son is named Theseus. Abu (father of) Acamas is also Thesues. They both have the Ship of Theseus. Implying from the beginning that Buttonwillow’s ship is constantly cracked, broken, and rebuilt by Rosemary.

As a very ahead of time reminder, this series will eventually be edited and released on Amazon as a physical copy and ebook. And yes, this series will eventually be made into an Audiobook on Audible. That’ll take some time though, so no stubbing yet.

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you all continue into The Homeseeker Book 4: The Depths of Despair. It sounds bad, but it honestly is what I consider the most cathartic book of the series.

If you’re really enjoying my work, consider supporting me on Patreon. Sincerely, nothing is more motivating than having backers offering consistent support. You can get up to 10 Advanced Chapters. Yes, by the time this post goes up, Patreon is already a few chapters into Book 4.

I also want to add a sincere thanks for the ratings and reviews. Last time I wrote an afterword, I asked for honest ratings/reviews and I got some! Thank you, seriously. It helps so much. Consider updating an existing review or leaving a rating if you haven’t already. Makes a huge difference for me as an author.

That’s all! Thanks! Still taking the next few days off then book 4 starts. See you soon!

N.T. Lazer