Howdy folks!
ARC copies of SOIL are out. Here’s what’s happening.
SOIL, the next chapter of Dusk & Dawn
I am preparing to begin my last revision on SOIL for its physical release. It will be available first on BackerKit in October, then released to the public on December 22, the one-year anniversary of Ashen Rider.
The entire text in its preliminary form is available free on Arcanist Online.
A couple of early reviews have come through already!
Coy Hall, author of Devilry in Godling Wood said: “With SOIL, Mills scratches at the frozen skin of a hardscrabble land, unleashing a tale that seeps forth like lifeblood from a cold wound. Worthy of the skalds of old.”
S.E. Lindberg, author of Grave’s Daughters said: “In the highland village of the Shins, every child is born into a family or onto an Old God’s dinner plate… expect the heartfelt drama of Larkrise to Candleford with ghost hunting, child sacrifices, werewolves, and witch trials.”
This last revision is focused purely on a cosmetic and continuity related irks. I’m going to reinforce the Scottish Highland dialect in the Prologue and Part One; writing that book in a rolling release, I was admittedly a bit scared to lean so hard into a dialect and got more comfortable as I went.
Beyond that there’s some continuity things: a side character’s youngest son who later appeared as a daughter; The Old God’s Skjöld name changed from Grode/Grøde to Gørde (pronounced GURD) improve compliance with Norwegian pronunciation; and changing the Shin’s overcast days to an Arctic timeline of long nights and days where the sun never fully rises).
This is my proudest work to date, and I’m so excited for readers to get their hands on it. I have my hands on a text-only paperback proof, but I’m working commission and license some art to really amp up the visual experience, which is part of the reason I’m bringing to BackerKit.
The Arcanist’s BackerKit is Killing It!
We brought the first two issues of Mordschlag Sword and Sorcery Magazine and the next four issues of The Literary Fantasy Magazine to BackerKit this summer, which still has 18 days left in the campaign. We funded in 3 hours, 200% funded in 1 day, and smashed our $10,000 stretch goal in 2 days.
I’m blown away by this response. Crowdfunding was a format I’ve long lurked on, unsure if I could ever succeed on it. Not even a year after my first attempt, it’s helped me cultivate a vibrant community and build a real publishing business. Stuff like this wasn’t possible even 20 years ago.
Since we funded, I am now able to pay over 30 writers a per word rate who had originally agreed to publish their work for free. I’ll also have the funds to consistently compensate my team members who have donated their time and expertise largely unpaid for 2 years.
If you want to help us hit our next stretch goal at $12,500, M. Stern (whose book, Kingdoms Trembling, I wrote a glowing review for) will join Mordschlag Issue #0 with an excellent new Weird S&S novelette, called “Gnawed Bones.”
Interview with the Gung-Ho Geeks
I was interviewed by the Gung-Ho Geeks, a Sword & Sorcery podcast/blog who have talked with folks like David C. Smith and Sean C.W. Korsgaard.
I took over their blog with a massive write up about Mordschlag, Publishing/Crowdfunding, Lee Patton’s Izrak the Deathless, and my adoration for Lin Carter.
You can read that here.
What Am I Writing Next?
Before I revise SOIL, I’ve been working on a few short stories. I just finished and landed a new Tarmun the Roach story in a new anthology next year. I’ve written and polished several Tarmun stories, and he’s appeared in SOIL Part V. The only place you can read one right now is on the Arcanist Online preview of Mordschlag. I eventually plan to compile these stories into a fixup novel called Dawn of the Roach.
Right now, I’m drafting a novelette based on the life of greek tragedian Sophocles that I outlined with the help of my friend and Mordschlag contributor Jacob G, a process which I’ll soon make available as a video podcast series.
After SOIL, I plan to finally begin work on what will be the final iteration of What Lies Below. This was the first book I’ve ever written and it has been rewritten from scratch three times over. I likely would have dropped the project, except that I promised it to my friends and family who backed my Dusk and Dawn Kickstarter. I stand by my word and so the book must be written.
The story as it once was did not work, and so what I thought was a finished manuscript I can use to fulfill the campaign… ended up in the trash (lesson learned: do not kickstart a book until it is a retail-ready paperback in your hands).
I am slowly re-outlining this story from scratch, scrapping almost everything I established in the past (it was my first book, after all, and thus riddled with newbie mistakes).
I have created a new main character which I think pull together the old characters in a way that wasn’t present before and make for a much better story. It will also tie into the antagonistic “meta-narrative” running through Ashen Rider and SOIL.
I am exciting to see what shape it takes next.
Beyond that, I will write more Sword & Sorcery stories and considering a direct sequel to SOIL. I have a solid concept for such a tale, but there’s much to be done before I can even fathom another project.
Till next time folks, thanks for sticking around!
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