THE WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL

by **Paul** Sat 10 Aug 2024, 9:18 am

FROM THE FORUM THE ROAD TO MIURAG

[size=36][size=36]Major Announcement: "Surfacing" to Bridge the Gap[/size][/size]

A.S.Etaski * Major Announcement: "Surfacing" to Bridge the Gap * 1

Hi, Everyone!
I wanted to announce a major change coming to my Patreon Tiers this month. My team set-up begins as soon as we're awaiting on the first print proof copy of Sister Seeker 10. Smile

We've reached the halfway point of the Sister Seekers rewrite.

This establishes the new foundation I want to move forward with (at last!).
That's kinda what happened with the "Surfacing" epic on Literotica back in late 2014, 10 years ago. Right here, after the second battle of Manalar, is when the lore really started opening up and the "naughty serial" became more story-driven overall.
I didn't know it would be the midway point at the time, but I'd made a decision to take a major left-turn in my original plan for the story, which led us off into the horizon, levelling up the world-building and epic overall by the time I returned to that original plot point.
Much of what came from that decision had to be brought back around and integrated into the first half of Sister Seekers where it never existed before.

Now, I've done it! Woo! ^_^

We've got the second half of Sister Seekers still to come, and while the entire Sivaraus plot is still being revamped from the old version, and while I will still be writing the text of Sister Seekers fresh to update my style and the nuances and characterizations I want to do, there is less divergence in the world exploration and events for the characters compared to the first half.

More than a handful of patrons have asked to be able to continue the story...

And to also read the God Wars books, which do not stand on their own, you need to know how "Surfacing" went. I've resisted up until now because there was so much I needed to prove in the rewrite.

Now, after hearing from old and new readers alike after Book 10, I'm revisiting this option for patrons.

I am more comfortable sharing the second half of "Surfacing" with patrons who really want to read God Wars and may not be able to wait another 5 years to do so.

One important caveat:

Because Sister Seekers isn't complete, I will only share the ending of "Surfacing" on BookFunnel.

This means patrons who want to read it can only read it in their web browser while online or download it to the Bookfunnel app to read offline.
To make reading easier, Kangar00 and I will be creating "quick and dirty" ebook versions which have never existed before. Part of the set-up work. Smile

There will be chapter titles and headings and some light organization and author's notes so it's not just 4,000 pages of PDF.

4,000 pages?! Just the Second Half??

Yup,. Or more. It was a rough estimate. I just looked at what I have remaining to work with: 8 Word docs each containing 450-600 pages (i.e. 150,000-200,000 words) of text. I want to create 9 basic ebooks for ease of navigation. These are some long-ass "chapters" I was posting back in the day! XD
Similar to my "finished" patron rewards, each ebook can be used as a monthly reward for different tiers for those interested (this is completely optional).

The Tier distribution will be as follows:

FREE Tier Members: Opt-in to set up a BookFunnel Library if you don't have one (it's easy and quick), and receive 1 rough ebook of "Surfacing" each quarter (4 ebooks per year, 1 every 3 months), starting with the events just after the second battle of Manalar.
$3 Seeker Tier: Opt-in to receive 1 rough ebook of "Surfacing" each month, starting with the events just after the second battle of Manalar.
$5 God Warrior Tier: Opt-in to receive 2 rough ebooks of "Surfacing" each month, starting with the events just after the second battle of Manalar, and the God Wars Prelude as the second ebook when you hit the Surfacing Finale.
$10 Archivist Tier: Opt-in to receive 4 rough ebooks of "Surfacing" each month, starting with the events just after the second battle of Manalar, and the God Wars Prelude plus God Wars 1 when you hit the Surfacing Finale.
$25 Hoard and $50 Champion Tier: Opt-in to receive all 9 rough ebooks of "Surfacing" each month, starting with the events just after the second battle of Manalar, and the God Wars Prelude plus God Wars 1-3 when you hit the Surfacing Finale.

This is an additional, optional reward

Taking this option does not effect your other rewards (private Discord access, exclusive content on World Anvil, your name in the Acknowledgments, signed paperbacks.) It's merely a way to help my readers bridge the gap to my other books for the next 5 years as I continue working on Sister Seekers.
Please keep in mind, this text was originally written for Literotica and is 7-10 years old. Smile

My style has changed and my storytelling focus has developed over the years, but if it doesn't cause you tremendous dissonance reading my older stuff before reading the polished rewrites, you're welcome to finish the story sooner with my thanks for sticking with it! <3

Goals: Finish Sister Seekers asap, add Tales of Miurag anthologies, BUT ALSO...

I have an unfinished God Wars book: Book 7: Legacy. I only got about 25% into it last year when I had to put it on hiatus and get a day job again.
Depending on overall growth of my Patreon and readership and if it can be justified, I am leaving it open to continuing God Wars 7 sooner than "when Book 20 of Sister Seekers is out," which is where things stand now.
However, the Champion Tier can still request "God Wars era" stories if that is their desire. Smile

Alriiiight! ^_^ That's my biggest bit of news for August!

I'll be completing the paperback of Shadows and Hounds first, then working on setting up "Surfacing" in BookFunnel. Opt-in Polls for each Tier will be coming when we're closer to distribution, so be sure to watch for that!
After that, we're looking at Tales of Miurag: Death as another imminent release, and then Sister Seekers 11! :D
Thank you, everyone!