First let me begin by acknowledging a few fans who''ve really helped me through with comments and a heartfelt review. Without you guys, I''m sure continuing writing would have been a much darker experience.


    Elm, your comments and support have been super encouraging. Thank you for being there. It is carried me through at times.


    Darkoneko, your engagement is awesome. Your comments are always encouraging, and you still manage to ask questions and bring up points that make me see where I need to revisit and edit my work. That is invaluable. Thank you.


    Zazooki, that amazing review brought me out of a dark place when I really, really needed it. Thank you.


    And more of you have really helped me stay positive and encouraged, but I really had to name these few because they''ve really stood out.


    ____


    Another thing is that I''m going to start working on another project. I guess this is a self-shoutout.


    But no worries, it will sit on the back burner as I work on The Beast and the Sage. It has waited almost 20 years to come to life, so coming to life slowly isn''t going to hurt. It is just something I''ll work on when I have the extra time.


    Still, check it out:


    <table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; overflow: hidden; background-color: rgba(52, 73, 94, 1)" border="1">


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>


    Ivan the Black Bard - The Fall, The Rise, and The Conquest</a>If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ivan was born with talent. A voice that could touch the very soul inside of man. He was also born kind hearted.


    To make the most out of his talent, his father mutilated his body. His kindness remained.


    A necromancer promising safety and a better life only tried to turn Ivan to darkness. Still Ivan would not break.


    Serving in the Empire''s combat forces and seeing death without end was not enough to steal the goodness from his heart.


    But betrayal that takes his brothers from him? When is a man allowed to finally break?


    Some villains are born. But the best are always made.


    This is something I''ve been working on for a long time. The prologue has been written for years. Don''t expect my full devotion to this while I am working on The Beast and The Sage. I will continue to make The Beast and the Sage my main priority until it is concluded. But I will be working on this project as I can. Especially when I''m feeling particularly frustrated.


    Also... this is gritty, dark fantasy. So if you''re coming here from The Beast and The Sage, expect something different.


    </td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ______


    And last, I finally got my Patreon set up. And I am proud of that, but...


    Currently, there''s only one chapter in the backlog, available on Patreon. (It is a nice, fat 4k word chapter, though. Good content, too.) But it drops on RR for free on Friday at 7:00am CST.


    However, chapters will be released for free on Patreon 12hours before they are posted on Royal Road, so it is worth checking out and subscribing for free if you want to get free content just a little earlier than it is available here.


    So, unless you''re just wanting to be super supportive, plus have the disposable income, don''t go spending money for benefits I can''t deliver quite yet.


    That being said, against Patreon''s advice I did put a $1 option to read a single chapter ahead and participate in all of the Patreon polls.


    But, times are tough for many of us. If you don''t have the extra disposable income, please don''t purchase a subscription that won''t bring you benefits quite yet. Trust me, I''m about to start stacking a backlog, now that Writathon is over. You can always buy it later, when I make it worth it.


    Thank you all for hanging in there with me this far. I''m going to keep writing and getting better.


    -JDH