It starts! (Patreon)

Okay everyone, time for a little explanation of what is about to happen.  For those of you that don't know, I recently signed a contract with Dakota Krout to write ten books for a coauthored series called Year of the Sword.  This is an incredible opportunity for me and my family, and it allows me to take the next big step in my career.  Dakota is considered one of the 'Big Three' in the progression fantasy genre, and he is also pretty much my boss.  Getting to work directly with him is never a bad thing for future contract deals.
Not only that, but with these books I get a cash advance on the royalties I will earn, allowing me to get to a place financially where my wife will no longer have to stay in the military.  I was on track to do that within the next two or three years, but now I can do it immediately.  It is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I can't turn it down.  That means I will be alternating between Threads of Fate and Year of the Sword.  Since I have to write ten Sword books in the next eleven months, that ratio will probably be somewhere around three or four to one.  At that pace, I will have six Threads books, (already have the three, and the fourth is close to finished), and ten Sword books out by December of next year.  Which is insane.  My fingers might actually fall off after this.  ;)
This also presents you with a fun opportunity.  I have no doubt that Year of the Sword will be another best-seller, and you get to see the first version, before Dakota makes it more 'family-friendly.'  It will be more raw - and have far fewer puns - than the final version.  A year from now, hopefully all of you will be excited to know what the differences between the two versions look like.

I am fully aware that some readers absolutely hate it when authors don't focus 100% of their time on one series, and instead spread out their attention between multiple projects.  Until recently, I was one of those myself.  If you are one too, I apologize.  Now, I understand that being an author is a business, and your product is your words.  Having a single product on the shelf is a very poor business plan, and it's why Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors.  (And even those change all the time!)  If I want to do this job long-term, I have to diversify my product.  Ultimately, that's exactly what this is.  Diversification.  I'm branching out into the LitRPG world, with a cultivation flavor.  This 'bridge' series will open the door for many more projects to come.  I plan on writing for at least the next twenty to thirty years, and I am still at the very start of my journey.  Opening these pathways now will help me far into the future.

I truly hope you stick around for the ride.
Michael