Greetings, Travelers!
I hope this post finds you well. It's been some time since I've written here on the blog and checked in with you all, and I know I should be doing a whole lot better about this stuff.
The past few months have been hard and lonely for me. The daily grind of 'professional life' has taken a much bigger chunk of my mindspace than I would like and I've been letting a lot of little things get to me. It has taken a pretty big toll, but I've resolved myself to focus on moving forward.
Denton hikes through the snow of the Frostwind Mountains in search of Pristine Snowthistles.
This means getting back to the heart of why I enjoy writing and doing my best to let go of the things that have been dragging me down lately. I mean, let's face it... I have a pretty awesome wife and five amazing kids. I'm surrounded by mountains and beautiful views. And even through the chaos associated with the Covid-19 craziness, the world has kept spinning.
I can't write full time yet and sales of Second Chance have been winding down. It's even looking like the audiobook will take quite some time to pay back the production costs, but I've just got to keep at it. Keep writing stories. Keep finding a way to make time for the fans who care about Denton's journey. If you're one of those people, thank you. Every person you tell about my books is another potential fan, another reason to keep writing books in this series. I have plans for 12, but that can only happen with your help!
So, without further delay...
The Broken Blade
The Broken Blade is the second book in the A Battle Mage Reborn series and picks up after the bonus chapter of Second Chance. (I hope you kept reading after the Author Notes!) The opening scene is set with Denton trekking through the snow. Alone. With the lands surrounding Fort Morrow at his back.
His friends will be waiting for him at an inn at the end of his journey. Rosie's Respite doesn't hold a candle to Harold's Tavern, but it isn't without its own little charm. It does beg the question, though... Why set out alone in the first place?
Denton's climb, this attempt at finding the Pristine Snowthistles Margaret sent him searching for... He already feels weak and vulnerable. The Second Chance buff is gone and his soul has been weakened by the wound caused by the Necromancer's forbidden blade. Setting out on his own isn't a requirement the quest, it's just something he feels he needs to do after facing defeat in Duskmorrow Swamp.
The higher he climbs, the colder it gets. Skeletal trees stand out like phantasms in the fog and ice, and there is danger lurking in the mist. Still, he trudges onward.
It isn't until Denton has a chance encounter with an old man who reminds him that he needn't face the darkness of EndWorld Everlasting alone that he begins to understand. The meeting provides him with a new quest. Another purpose.
The man takes the next step in his journey and Denton continues onward. His friends are waiting.
Writing Progress
Part of me wonders why this book has been harder on me than Second Chance was. Some of it is certainly tied to my relationship with the 'professional gig', but I suspect that isn't all.
Truthseeker is gone. In its place, Denton now wields the reworked remains, a short sword named Seeker. As anyone versed in the workings of real weapons would probably tell you, a broken hand-and-a-half bastard sword would likely make a pitiful short sword.
And they wouldn't be wrong.
EndWorld Everlasting is a Fantasy world, so there is some wiggle room in this, but that person wouldn't be far off even in this scenario. It should be no real surprise that Seeker is not a permanent weapon. It just has to be good enough for now.
Denton has a lot on his plate. The budding enterprise with Kenneth back at Fort Morrow is certainly something that will keep his coin low if he wants to build a thriving business. A new sword just isn't in the cards quite yet. Sometimes you have to make do with what you've got.
But the Broken Blade isn't just about a sword. If it was, the resolution to the plot of this book would be far too simple. Just give the poor guy a new blade already! Boom! Done. Sorry, not that simple.
You see, the title is also a reference to Denton, himself. To me that means this book requires a lot of me looking at my own broken parts, my insecurities, the things that make me feel sad and hopeless. If I don't look at those elements of who I am and face down my own demons, how is Denton supposed to?
Sometimes it feels like I bit off more than I can chew, but I really do think I can do this.
What can you do to help?
Well, as I mentioned above, Second Chance is starting to slide down the rankings on Amazon pretty drastically. I'm learning that the GameLit/LitRPG fanbase is a very segmented bunch. Instead of being happy about new books bringing in new readers, there is a subset of very vocal fans who only want books written the way they like them, which is fine, but those reviews seems to have much more impact.
For outsiders to the genre, that might mean never picking up a book that could have introduced them to a whole new genre of books they never knew they would have loved. How do we fix this? If you liked Second Chance but didn't leave a review, you can do so now and help show potential readers that this is a book worth investing their time in.
The audiobook has only moved a total of 137 copies as of this writing and that's with the promo codes I was able to give out. On top of that, the reviews for the audiobook edition are very low.
If you have spare Audible credits and would like to spend more time in EndWorld Everlasting and see how Adam Verner did with his narration, I encourage you to give it a listen. I think he did an amazing job!
Don't have an Audible subscription? You can click here to start a free trial and if Second Chance is the first book you listen to, Audible might just kick a few bucks my way. This, along with your honest review, would help a ton!
But what if you do have an Audible subscription and are all out of credits? I'll tell you what, I'll give free promo codes to the first three people who comment on this post. Just let me know you have an Audible sub and are out of credits and would like a code. It's that simple. We'll take it from there!
Aside from all that, recommending Second Chance to other fans of the genre would be a great help. You can also sign up for my mailing list here for more EndWorld Everlasting updates if you haven't already. And I love getting emails from my fans, so if you would like to reach me you can do so at Brady at rbradyfrost.com -- no link because, like you, I don't enjoy getting loads of spam from bots. 😉
14 Comments on “The Broken Blade and Other News”
This doesnt say when the new book will be out.
Give the guy a break, Dennis. Clearly he’s working on the next book and will release it as soon as he can.
I don’t know when the new book will be coming out, but I know that it will be worth the wait. I know this because he always does his best at everything that he does, so you can be sure that you’ll be just as wowed and maybe even more reading the next book!
Dennis,
I appreciate your comment. I have to admit, it stung at first. I had to step away for a bit and think about how I would address things.
You are right. My post does not say when the new book will be out. When I reflected on this, I realized that you may have signed up for updates in hopes of hearing of upcoming release dates — and for that reason alone. If that is the case, I’m afraid you might want to unsubscribe from my blog updates. You might choose to remain a subscriber of my core newsletter, but the better option might be to just follow me on Amazon.com.
I just wanted to let you know that I do appreciate you as a reader. I can’t make all my blog posts center only on release dates, and I have to consider what the average subscriber of my newsletter might want access to. I will freely admit that I’m learning all this as I go. I’m not perfect. If you can be patient with me, I promise that I’ll continue to try to learn what it means to be a published author and to determine what it is my readers want to see from me. And I won’t fault you if you choose not to stay with me for that journey.
Thank you so much for your comment, and for taking the time to read my book.
-Brady
Writing is tough when other things are preying on your mind. Glad to hear you’re hanging in there.
I remember reading somewhere that audiobook sales crashed when everyone was told to shelter at home because most people listen to them on their commutes. I don’t know what that means for the potential for future sales, but it is something to bear in mind as people start heading back to work.
A.S.,
I think you and I have become good writing friends over the years, and I can’t tell you just how much your support means to me. Since writing this post, I decided to take a good, long look at how I’ve been approaching my process this time around and I was able to see a big part of the problem I ran into with writing this book. I’ve since made some changes and finished up Act I. Part of the takeaway from this struggle was identifying the importance of laying out the structure for each act before I begin. (It makes it easier for me to identify which parts of the story require the most emphasis.)
So, before I begin writing Act II, I’m going to take a few hours and line up the sequence of events. Once that’s set, I’ll start writing.
I can honestly say that it would have been much harder to find my way without your kind words and support. And for that I thank you, most sincerely.
-Brady
It’s fantastic to hear you’re refining your process in a way that’s helped you become a happier and more productive writer. I don’t know that I deserve any credit, but supposing I do I’m just glad I could help. I’m honoured to have you as a friend.
It’s good to hear that you have kept at it. I really enjoyed the first book and I think that you really have something here. Your an up and coming author. Take your time writing your books, make them how you want not how others want them to be. Make them perfect in the way you envision, that is the beauty of writing after all.
There is so much potential for growth with these books and as an author in general. Keep writing and everything will work out fine.
It’s also good to hear that even in this time of chaos and uncertainty you are taking the time to better yourself and pushing yourself to work harder.
Jaden,
So good to hear from you! I can’t express just how much your words mean to me. I hope you’ll be happy to hear that I’m back to working on the story and I think I’ve made some serious improvements to the initial draft chapters I had. I’ve just finished Act I and I’m planning out Act II. I’ll keep you updated!
-Brady
Jaden, I just wanted to thank you again for your kind comment.
I’m not sure if you have subscribed to my newsletter or not, but in case you missed the news, The Broken Blade has been published and is available on Amazon.
Here’s the link:
http://rbradyfrost.com/TheBrokenBladeLink
Been looking forward to the second book for a while now really enjoyed the first keep it up I keep checking to see if the new one is on the way I read a lot especially of what’s included in Kindle unlimited and this book was one of my favorites I’ve read ( out of hundreds seriously I read a lot)
Peter,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve made some great progress on Book 2 over the past week or so and I feel like I’m getting back on track. It’s comments like yours that really helped me see that I’m not alone in this. Thank you for taking the time to let me know you care.
-Brady
Good morning Brady,
finished Second Chance this morning and appreciated the journey. The intro prior to immersion into the gane world had me a bit of an emotional wreck, to be honest. As a father of teens with my own health issues, it revealed some suppressed anxiety and fears of my own mortality.
I particularly appreciated your character development in this story. It brings the reader into more of an immersive experience. Im looking firward to seeing where future chapters go and look forward to Denton and crew’s adventures.
Lyle! Thanks again for stopping by and leaving me a comment. I just wanted to let you know that The Broken Blade has been released and is available on Amazon, just in case you aren’t subscribed to my newsletter.
Here’s the link:
http://rbradyfrost.com/TheBrokenBladeLink