A busy year and awkward scheduling (Patreon)

G'day all. This is a very lengthy post about what scheduling is going to look like this year and why.

TL;DR:

• Book 13 finishes with chapter 1024, the upcoming release for silver & above patrons.

• After that release, the series will go on break until June.

• Patreon payments will be paused while chapters are not being released.

• Expect technical hitches patrons have seen when payments have paused in the past.

• There will be many interruptions in scheduling over the next six months especially.

• Most of the interruptions will be for touring and convention appearances in the USA.

• Tentative schedule for the year at the bottom of the post.

First, I'd like to confirm that chapter 1024 will be the final chapter of book 13. Following it going live for silver and higher patrons, releases will be paused for a decent while. As more plans have been settled, there have been some updates on what the rest of the year is going to look like for me. Much of what's going on is a product of the story's success, as bookstore releases and other projects require work and promotion to become successes as well. I hope.

I'm not quite done with writing this month, as my plan is to write the bonus content for the book 2 hardcover this week, before I go on holiday this weekend. The hardcovers for books 2 and 3 will both be released later this year.

At the end of this week, I'm taking my brother and his family on vacation. I got to spend very little time with my nieces and nephew in the last year, and most of that was them having to fly across the country to stare at me in a coma, unsure if I would ever wake up. This trip was planned well before that, but it will be a great chance to reassure them of my recovery. Luckily, they're great travellers, as we'll need to go through some US airports at a fairly trying time.

Almost as soon as I get back, writers will once more be descending upon my home, which I am very much looking forward to. We'll play some board games, have a couple of barbecues and maybe even spread some managed democracy. Once they're gone, I need to write the bonus content for book 3 and then get started on book 14.

Being back to work sadly won't always mean back to writing this year. There are a lot of projects going on, a couple of which are yet to be announced, and I need to do some work around those. I'll also be doing book tours and making convention appearances. I'll be in the USA from early July through early August doing a book tour and attending conventions. I'll be doing some more of that later in the year as well.

In addition to being exhausting, all of this means that the chapter schedule is going to be a mess, especially over the next six months, and I've had to make a few decisions on how to handle that. I am very cognisant of the fact that last year was pretty much a write-off due to illness, and my patrons were amazing in the astonishing support they gave me during the most challenging period of my entire life.

What I don't want to do is vanish again while people continue paying for releases that are sporadic at best. The first decision I've made is that I am going to be suspending payments for large portions of the year, when I am not releasing chapters. I know that this has been a technical mess in the past, and I fully expect it to be again. I also know that many of you are more than generous about supporting me even when the chapters aren't coming.

For those unfamiliar with the process, the way it works (when it works) is that if I pause payments for a month, any time left on your subscription is likewise paused, and the remaining time resumes when payments (and chapters) resume. You do not lose access to any chapters you already had access to when the pause began.

What really works about this for me is that when people aren't paying, I don't feel the pressure to be writing when I have other things going on in my life, whether it's being ill, taking a holiday or being out on the road. You can trust that I would rather be at home knocking out chapters than waiting in line at airport security, which is going to be a lot of my life this year.

By relieving myself of that pressure, it gives me some more flexibility about when I will be releasing chapters, as I don't want the schedule to be too stop-and-start, although some of that will be inevitable. I'm going to take what time I can in may to get a start on book 14, but I won't start releasing until June. Then I will take July off for conventions (currently looking like LitRPG Con, SDCC and Gen Con) and the book tour.

After that, releases should resume for most of the year. There will be some big things revealed during this time, but they shouldn't prevent me from getting the writing done. Much of my part in the work should have been done. I will likely take a week off here and there, for mental health, other appearances and hanging out with writers every few months. I will probably be at PAX Australia in October again, for example. There will probably be about a month off in Nov-Dec for another book tour, which will be in the wake of the book 3 hardcover release.

With this schedule, it is most likely that book 14 (and the series) will be completed in the early-to-mid stages of next year. I currently don't know where things will go after that, although I definitely intend to change things up for my next series. I've learned a lot over my years writing HWFWM, and I tend to make the most of those lessons. I can say that I will certainly be taking some kind of break after the series is done, while I gear up for the next one. What that means logistically and for the Patreon, I have no idea at this stage.

I don't intend to go completely dark while the story is not being released and payments are paused. I do intend to check in with what I'm up to and where people can meet me as I roam around, mostly in the USA. I know that many readers would like to see me in other parts of the world, but that's sadly not on the table for this year. I'll see what I can do as hardcovers start landing elsewhere.

Just for clarity, here is a tentative schedule for the year. It is very much subject to change, especially the later in the year we go:

SCHEDULE FOR 2026

April-May

• Book 13 complete, go on hiatus. Pause Patreon payments.

• Write book 2 hardcover bonus story.

• Family vacation.

• Hosting writers.

• Write book 3 hardcover bonus story.

• Begin book 14.

• Resume releases in June.

June

• Release chapters throughout the month.

July

• Book tour and conventions, chapter hiatus, Patreon pause.

• LitRPG Con (confirmed).

• San Diego Comic Con (will appear, but probably not a lot).

• Gen Con (pretty much confirmed).

August-November

• Regular chapter releases.

• Occasional short breaks.

Late November-December

• Book tour, release hiatus, Patreon pause.

• Potential appearance at Dragonsteel Nexus (very much not confirmed).

• Time off for seasonal holidays at the end of the year.