Status Update: Chapter 1 and 2 have received sweeping changes for pacing and the like. Should be going live this week. Edits have been made to chapter four, and eight. Working on 12-16 today/tomorrow.
Status Update 2: Chapter 1 and 2 are being posted fully updated today. Next chapter slated for Friday.
Hey everyone!
First of all, thank you so much for supporting tomebound through 2024! As we gear up for 2025, one of the big changes I'll be making is taking plotting more seriously. As a result, I have to make some serous edits to up the pacing of the book (recently the chapters have felt a bit too magic-academy esque for my liking, and I feel the need to up the tension).
Here are the changes that will be rolling out tomorrow and next week.
Starting with chapter 12-16. The worst placing unbound will be send straight to auction. This will up the stakes. Similarly, it will be better described that those who place in the top five are the only ones who have a chance of binding a four star grimoire. (This won't matter to Callam much, as his motivations at the time are just to get enough money to help himself/maybe the orphans).
In chapter 24-25, we will mention that the young girl who is being taken to the gallows is a sootskin, and have that be the reason why Callam goes to deal with Marra. It will be made clear that the elders did not detect his seedling, and his tome will explain why. this is a big narrative change, but neccessary to allow other, more important elements of the story to shine under the immense time constraints created by having an academy-esque tower setting.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Chapter 30: After Callam gets his spell around chapter 30, the spell will be more detailed in what it does, and describe that greater mastery will give him a better understanding of its powers.
Merra will hint at some of the going ons that she is worried about, hints that will be resolved in act III of the book.
Certain elements of the book will get darker. I won't spoil it all, for those of you who want to reread old chapters, but the distinctions between the life of Ruddites and Tomebound is going to be more reinforced. Especially the scenes in town, and those involving Niles.
For pacing reasons:
Chapter 33: Callam's first encounter with the prarieplights around chapter 33 will be expanded, allowing us to see more magic at work from other students and to reinforce his struggles. A low level student will get hurt, to demonstrate how dangerous the tower is.
Chapter 38ish: Callam will be asked to spar against the other four-star tomebounds (with and without magic) during his first conditioning practice. This should help make Irem's words more impactful, while also upping the action.
I hate to spend so much time editing, but I have a pretty good direction of where I want the story to go now, and given podium is going to be doing a full dev edit, I know I'll have to make these changes eventually, and the dread of it hanging over my head is impacting the speed with which I write new chapters.. Might as well get started this week.
In terms of story progression, I should have a chapter out next week, as well as a summary of changes made to keep the story moving.
Have any other suggestions? i'd love to hear them!