To celebrate the release of the final book in the series, The Titan Revenant, the rest of the Ranger of the Titan Wilds series is on sale!

Get the first four books for just 99¢ each - the steepest discount I’ve ever offered.

The sale is in the US and UK this time (Book 1, The Last Ranger, won’t be discounted until the 10th). Except for the UK, The Last Ranger is discounted worldwide.

May you enjoy the adventure!

Below, dear reader, you’ll find a recap of The Wilds Exile, Book 4 of Ranger of the Titan Wilds.

These summaries take longer to write than you might think! Maybe you’ll say, “Why don’t you use AI to write them?”

But those machines can lead you far astray—and can you imagine how much these books would make them hallucinate?

No, no… This is my Sisyphean burden to bear. And bear it I will, for I love you, dear reader, and share your desire to refresh your memory on previous installments.

Immerse yourself, then, in the events of The Wilds Exile. May it prepare you for the final chapter of Ranger of the Titan Wilds, The Titan Revenant, which releases on Amazon on April 5th, 2026.

SUMMARY OF THE WILDS EXILE

RANGER OF THE TITAN WILDS: BOOK 4

In the prologue, we see through the eyes of Gran Ayda di Inhoa, the Altacura of the Holy Catedrál, as she is visited by Sharo, the lyshan lord against which our heroes strive. Sharo is there for what seems to be a regular appointment, during which an odiosa is brought in, and the lyshan lord absorbs the hapless man’s spirit.

Before he departs, Sharo warns Ayda they will have “visitors” imminently, and that she should prepare to meet them. After they are taken care of, he bids Ayda to burn the Veiled Lands, then disappears. Ayda seems to harbor doubts, though none that she cannot quiet.

Returning to Leiyn, our protagonist, we find her and her companions in a jungle refuge found for them by Ata. Batu, Teya, Ketti, and Ekosa are there along with their mounts and occasionally Ata herself. Though it has been three months, both Leiyn and Batu still deeply grieve the loss of Isla, who died by Taban’s treachery.

Batu has thrown himself into investigating his newly discovered wildsoul nature. A moonbear, a spirit beast similar to Chispa, our loyal silver fox, has a den near their refuge. Though Leiyn is nervous about it, Batu has been trying to bond with the moonbear, but has not yet taken the final step.

At last, with the sorrow no more lessening, they decide they must move on and try to hunt down Sharo. Not knowing where their enemy lies, Ata not having been successful in tracking down her brother, they seek to bring him out of hiding by taking away his tools of power: the Ilberian Union. By killing the World King and Altacura, they hope to sever Sharo’s control of the nation and either provoke him into a direct confrontation, or at least neuter his threat to Unera for the time being.

Though Leiyn is eager to be off at once, her companions convince her it is prudent to first visit Qasaar and Solace to secure weapons and supplies. Batu insists on attempting to bond with the moonbear. With Ata taking his side, Leiyn has no choice but to give in.

The bonding is brutal, but Batu succeeds, tying his spirit to the moonbear’s and transforming into a fearsome hybrid. Upon returning from a frenzied nightime ramble, he declares his beast’s name to be Sarryl and that the moonbear will accompany them.

As ready as they’ll ever be, they make for Qasaar. There, they investigate the grotto barracks for more equipment, despite Acalan and Xepi telling them it is dangerous and that lyshans have picked the place clean. Sure enough, upon visiting, they are ambushed there by a mad lyshan Ata names Osmet, but who calls herself She Who Remains. No one is much injured, though Leiyn receives a curious prick to the neck in what seems to be a taunt.

Though they discover nothing useful in the barracks, Xepi gifts them a powerful artifact that can theoretically kill even a lyshan. Teya takes responsibility for it, then they move on to Solace.

Tragedy awaits them in the hidden Eteman home. Upon entering, they discover that lyshans, Osmet among them, and Suncoats have found a way in and slaughtered the ancient people. Killing the remaining soldiers and one lyshan and driving away the other Iritu, Ketti is overwrought with grief. She bonds with her great-grandfather’s tempest hawk, Mehu’Ra, and discovers Oro’s body at the seeing pool that allowed the Eteman people to survey the Veiled Lands from safety. A small part of the elder Ta’Rul has escaped into the pool of lifeforce. In a dreamlike place, Ketti gets to say goodbye to her great-grandfather. They also learn from him how the lyshans gained entrance: one masqueraded as Ketti well enough to fool Oro. Ketti takes the blame for it, as does Leiyn—for if Leiyn had not forced her way into Solace originally, and Ketti not brought her in, the village would have remained outside of lyshan awareness.

Though they should not linger, they take the time to honor the dead in an Eteman ritual where spirit animals consume the precious stones Etemans fuse to their bodies. Then, with necessity pushing them along, they set to taking what they can.

One discovery is particularly notable: the last Motherseed, from which can grow one of the Iritu Mothertrees that would bring back their race. Ata takes the Motherseed into herself for safekeeping, new hope animating her. She does not abandon their mission as Leiyn fears, but continues on with them to Breakbay, where they aim to secure a titan on which to cross the Ocula Ocean.

At Breakbay, the titans sleep less soundly than expected, for they rampage upon their arrival. Making a narrow escape, they leash a reef whale such as Ketti commanded at Southport and sail off across the sea.

On titanback, they cross the Ocula Ocean. It is a strange journey with unique challenges. With few supplies, they must gather food and water in novel ways. Mehu’Ra and their mahia help them overcome these challenges.

After several weeks, as they near the shores of the Ancestral Lands, they’re attacked by a squid-like lyshan. They succeed in killing it, but Leiyn loses her titanbone falchions to the bottom of the sea.

At last, they reach Ilberia. There, Ata brings them to a wildsoul who hails from one of the native peoples of the Ancestral Lands, the Asraicheans. This wildsoul, Rhun, lives with his bonded boar, Bristle, in isolation. Once part of a commune, his home and people were destroyed by Suncoats, leaving him with an impotent desire for revenge.

After a contentious arrival, Rhun warms to them. He reveals to Leiyn that she herself is part Asraichean, a heritage passed down to her by her mother. That connection helps form a bond between them and, along with Rhun’s shared wildsoul nature with Batu, convinces Rhun to aid in their mission to kill the World King.

Under Rhun’s advisement, Leiyn, Ekosa, and Teya enter Vasara, the City of Saints. The others remain behind to attract as little attention as possible. The trio scouts the streets in the days leading up to the Procession of Masks, when World King Baltesar will process and be vulnerable outside of his castle. The Altacura, too, is supposed to show up, though it later becomes apparent that she will not.

With the aid of a mask seller named Nava, who is also Asraichean, they position themselves for an ambush. The others join them as the parade is underway. But as they attempt their assassination, lyshans appear, prompting a chaotic fight.

Rhun, transformed with Bristle, chases down and kills the World King, but more lyshans appear and cut Leiyn off from the wildsoul and his boar. They are forced to leave them behind and flee the city, Ata whisking them away with her Iritu magic.

Their party awakens to a rough landing on the shores of Refugio, an island on the north end of Ilberia that acts as the seat of the Holy Catedrál. Since the Altacura did not appear for the Procession of Masks, they are going to attempt to reach her in the basilica where she resides. But an invasion comes with many more complications than a street assassination.

They scout the town grown around the Catedrál, Bayo Sol, and investigate ways to infiltrate the campus. There, they come across a familiar ex-Suncoat, Arias. Leiyn had cut off his arm, but they had reconciled before Arias fled back to Ilberia. 

Far from holding onto grievances, the devout former soldier views their arrival as a sign that their mission is sanctified, for they aim to rid the devils from the Catedrál. He tells them that people have been disappearing from Bayo Sol, too many to ignore, and never returning. With Arias’s aid, they hunt down a priestess known to Leiyn: Adelina, who imprisoned Leiyn before Ilberia’s treachery was fully revealed.

Using Adelina, they gain access to the Catedrál campus, then use their mahia to sneak into the basilica where the Altacura should be sleeping. The defenses seem suspiciously light. Making it to the Altacura’s chambers, they discover them to be empty. They head instead for where they suspect she awaits them: the audience chamber.

Upon entering the room, they find it is far more populated than they first believed. Their lifefires hidden by mahia, dozens of paladins, priestesses, and odiosas line the room. The Altacura is also there, and so is Osmet, transformed into a horrific spider-like creature.

And, at last, they find Sharo.

Ata appeals to her brother, hoping some kindly part of him remains. Revealing the Motherseed, she begs him to forgo his mad conquest and content himself with resurrecting the Iritu race.

But Sharo speaks now as Man’nah did, using “we” instead of “I.” His spirit has been corrupted by all the souls he carries. Still, he remains in control, not maddened and suicidal like the former lyshan lord. And he holds on to his need for vengeance against humanity and its enslavement.

They engage in battle, but the Altacura uses an artifact that brings most people present—except herself, Sharo, most of his lyshans, and Ata—into a grotto.

There, Leiyn sees the island for what it truly is: the body of a dead world titan. They first learned of world titans while crossing the Ocula Ocean, discovering that the Veil separating the two continents of Unera was in truth a world titan. Called “Vast Mothers” by the Iritu, they are the progenitors of new titans and encompass a scale that boggles the mind.

This world titan, however, appears to be dead. The island in the grotto is a fiery, lava-blasted landscape and makes for a challenging battlefield. Still, for a time, the contest seems even. Though the lyshans and servants of the Catedrál have greater numbers and titans, Leiyn and her party hold their own.

Leiyn takes on Osmet, but the devious lyshan reveals that, back in the barracks of Qasaar, she had not merely pricked her neck, but implanted in her a seed. This seed, she uses to snap Leiyn’s neck, paralyzing her.

Only at this point do we get a flashback to the night before. Leiyn, afraid of losing more of the people she loves, had begged Ata to flee with her friends if things look like they’re going south. Ata reluctantly agreed.

Back in the present, Leiyn tries to heal, but mastery over her mahia is blocked just as her faculties over her body are. But Teya wields the Iritu artifact provided them by Xepi and kills Osmet with it, then helps Leiyn mend.

While she lay prone, Clouded Fang faced his own troubles. Beset by two other ash dragons, he is losing. For a moment, it seems the tide will shift, though as Ata reappears.

Yet Sharo and the other lyshans follow her. The battle has grown more uneven still.

Leiyn, exhausted, lacking her titanbone weapons, still tries to fight the lyshan lord. But with Clouded Fang endangered, she has no reserves to draw upon.

Sharo incapacitates her as the other ash dragons overcome her bonded titan. Paladins wielding Iritu greataxes chop off his head, killing Clouded Fang.

As promised, when hope appears lost, Ata whisks their companions away, leaving Leiyn alone with her captors. Overcome, Leiyn falls unconscious.

To conclude the book, we return to Gran Ayda as she looks down on the defeated Leiyn. The Altacura commands her to be confined to a place she calls the “Crypt of the Six.” Though she again has doubts as to her mission, knowing Sharo is likely to consume Leiyn’s soul, she does not waver in ordering the imprisonment.

That should catch you up to where we start in The Titan Revenant! If you haven’t already picked up a copy through its recent Kickstarter, you can get it in ebook or through Kindle Unlimited over on Amazon.

It will soon be available in paperback, hardcover, and audiobook as well.

May you enjoy the end of the Ranger of the Titan Wilds series!

The third Legend of Tal deluxe edition is here!

After a brief hitch this morning, I’m pleased to announce we’re alive and kicking over on Kickstarter.

An Emperor’s Gamble has already funded in a less than a hour thanks to its wonderful backers!

If you’d like to join and reserve your own copy, head over to the campaign page through the button below. Books 1 & 2 are also available!

The Wilds Exile is officially launched on Amazon!

In Exile, we pick up Leiyn's story just a few months after the events of The Hidden Guardian, then race across Unera in pursuit of our immortal enemies—with much wonder and tragedy discovered along the way.

I hope you'll pick it up (if you haven't already) and enjoy continuing Ranger of the Titan Wilds!

I've launched an online bookshop!

In it, you’ll be able to get signed paperbacks and hardcovers, including the recent first deluxe edition of Legend of Tal - for which we’ve already made a sale!

There are also a few ebooks, though most of those - as well as my audiobooks - remain exclusive to Amazon & Audible.

For the grand opening, I'm running a $5 off discount for the ebook and paperback of The Famine Cycle omnibus!

Also, shipping is free, so the prices you see are what you're paying.

Longtime readers of mine will know I've made a couple attempts at starting up an online store, but I think this one will stick. I have my wife helping out with fulfillment now, so there it looks to be sustainable in the longterm.

Anyway, check it out if you're interested in getting signed books directly from me!

(US only for the moment, but I hope to expand it internationally soon.)

The Wilds Exile is releasing on April 3rd, 2025, so you may want to refresh your memory on what came before it!

What follows is a recap of the events in The Hidden Guardian, Book 3 in the Ranger of the Titan Wilds series. It won’t cover everything that happens in the book, nor every character we meet, but it should at least get you up to speed on the major plot points.

I hope you find it helpful!

SUMMARY OF THE HIDDEN GUARDIAN

RANGER OF THE TITAN WILDS: BOOK 3

Leiyn of Orille, one of the two remaining rangers from the Wilds Lodge, travels south with her ornery horse Feral after spending half a year in Qasaar, the arid city belonging to the Gasts and other indigenous tribes of the Veiled Lands. There, she had encountered a new deadly enemy to both the Many Tribes and all of humanity: the lyshans, a malevolent group of shapeshifters that stood in opposition to the dryvans like Ata (also known as Rowan and Foxfur). With the Gasts and dryvans, they drove back the devils into the Barren, the wastelands beyond Qasaar, where they hope they will remain.

In the course of the battles, Leiyn forged a bond with a titan, an ash dragon she’s come to call Clouded Fang, after the mountain from which he first erupted. In the aftermath, however, she has become uncertain of their bond and fears it will break if she cannot mend it soon.

Now Leiyn must return to her duty to her homeland. Having secured the Gasts as allies in Baltesia’s war for independence from Ilberia, she goes to deliver the news to her governor, Mauricio di Siveña. On her way south, however, she comes upon a fresh conflict between two groups of potential enemies: the Suncoats of Ilberia and the plainsriders of Altan Gaz, the Gazian counterparts to the rangers. Opting for the lesser enemy, Leiyn joins the plainsriders in routing the Ilberian soldiers, but with the promise that she will tell of their incursion onto Baltesian lands.

That is not the only surprise she suffers during her journey south. In the borderland town of Folly, Leiyn discovers the former mayor, Itzel, has been promoted to a new position of “premier,” giving her power over the whole of the Frontier. Uncertain what these changing dynamics in power mean, Leiyn presses on for Southport, where she finds the people of Baltesia are not united in their allegiances. Communities have become divided in their loyalties, and atrocities are committed on both sides.

Upon reaching Southport, Leiyn discovers yet more unwelcome changes. Ilberia has not been idle and has sent its famed Armada to embargo Baltesia’s capital from the sea. Additionally, the stories about Leiyn have grown in her absence so that a new flag flies in her honor, and she carries an aggrandized title: “Tideraiser.” What is more, when she arrives before Mauricio, the governor bestows a new position upon her: that of Prima Maha, placing her at the head of the freshly established Order of Mahia. 

The Order of Mahia is to be Baltesia’s source of “mahas,” or those who can wield magic, in the absence of the odiosas of Ilberia or shamans from the Gasts. Leiyn finds a dozen pupils under her tutelage and struggles to teach them as best as she knows how. All the while, she chafes at the responsibility and being trapped within the bounds of the city.

Her only relief comes in reuniting with her old companions, Isla and Batu. It’s not the only reunion she has, to her misfortune. Taban Khyan, the plainsrider who betrayed the old moorwarden of the Gazian Greathouse and hunted them, has become the new leader of the plainsriders and wormed his way into Mauricio’s good graces. For now, he only casts barbed words at Leiyn, but it’s a reminder that not every ally is to be trusted.

Bit by bit, Leiyn makes progress with her pupils and coordinates with the other efforts against the Armada’s oppression. She also has a breakthrough with rescuing an odiosa from his brainwashing, which she manages by breaking through a magical lock upon his mind.

But the very night of this discovery, an assassin infiltrates her room while she sleeps. Stabbed in the chest, she only survives thanks to Batu’s intervention. Though she uses magic to heal, Leiyn is still weakened, so much so that when the same kraken as first assaulted Southport rises in the bay, she cannot drive it back. It is left to Baltesia’s allies in the Gazian wisdoms, the magic wielders of Altan Gaz, to save the city from utter destruction. Yet they cannot stop the freed odiosa from being lost in the chaos, robbing Leiyn of further revelations he might have provided.

Impatient and angry, Leiyn is eager to leave the city and seek those whom she sees as her true enemy: Sharo and the other lyshans. She seizes on the first opportunity to leave the city in a diplomatic mission to the last of the Tricolonies, Ore-Ofe, to see if they can requisition aid and soldiers from them. Isla and Batu go with, along with the Baltesian captain Belen of Wharfhaven, with whom Leiyn was once flirtatious, and a host of soldiers to provide protection.

Their journey to the third colony is rife with trouble. First, they discover Ilberia has seized a Baltesian fortress. After fleeing the ambush, Leiyn takes captive and keeps alive a soldier whose arm she chopped off, a young Suncoat named Arias di Carille. Using the information he provides, they cross into Ore-Ofe and bypass the fortress that stood in their way, while Arias takes the opportunity to escape.

But their trials do not stop there. In the jungle, they come across a titan, a vine jaguar, that nearly lulls their party to a savage death. Leiyn leashes it long enough that they escape unharmed.

On the overgrown road beyond it, they are ambushed once more, this time by an enemy Leiyn cannot ward off. A lyshan, armored and armed, leads a group of Suncoats and odiosas. Unable to summon Clouded Fang to help, Leiyn cannot kill the lyshan. As their party is slaughtered or captured, including Captain Belen, she leads Isla and Batu and their mounts into the castle ruins above. There, a tempest hawk appears, which Leiyn attempts to leash to send against their enemies. To her shock, however, another seems to command the titan, if from afar. In an attempt to wrest away control of the titan, Leiyn brings out someone from hiding: a young woman who begs Leiyn not to hurt the one behind the titan. The lyshan being nearly upon them, the young woman spirits them all away, similar to how Ata and other dryvans have transported them in the past.

Whisked from danger, Leiyn and her companions find the ruined castle transformed into a village. A strange people surrounds them, all wielding powerful mahia, with precious stones embedded in their skin and wearing clothes of odd materials and in colors Leiyn finds garish. They identify themselves as Etemans, their village as being named Solace, and the young woman who had appeared being Ketti Ta’Rul.

Leiyn remains defensive, suspicious of this hidden people. But when Batu appears to be dying from wounds acquired during the battle, Isla compels Leiyn to let one of the Etemans heal him where Leiyn would fail. With that act of goodwill, Leiyn agrees to meet with their leader, an ancient man named Oro Ta’Rul. He is the great-grandfather of Ketti and also commands the tempest hawk Leiyn tried to take control of.

They are allowed to remain at Oro’s command, though Leiyn is unsure if they are being imprisoned or not. Without Clouded Fang, she and her friends cannot escape the grotto in which Solace exists, and she is still unable to wield the titan properly. Only with the help of Ketti or another Eteman can they get out of Solace.

But she discovers much during their short time there. The Etemans, she learns, are related to the ancestors of the Gasts. Long ago, they parted ways over the war with the Iritu, for whom they still harbor great ire. While the Iritu pruned the Gasts of much of their magic, the Etemans maintained their strength, though they have lost their martial ways after centuries of peace.

Yet they have not lost their vigilance. When Chispa, the silver fox who has long watched over Leiyn, appears and allows Leiyn to communicate with Ata, who lurks in the ruins on the other side of the grotto, Oro Ta’Rul summons them and his fellow Eteman elders to a gathering. There, he accuses Leiyn, Isla, and Batu of being allies of the Iritu, citing not only this communication with Ata and Isla’s leg healed under dryvan intervention, but also revealing a fact unbeknownst to all: Batu contains Iritu blood himself. This makes him one of the “beastfolk” of legend, who are said to have been able to transform into animals.

Their fates uncertain, Ketti provides them with further aid, helping Leiyn figure out why she cannot command Clouded Fang and allowing her to summon him should she master some basic skills. When Oro Ta’Rul discovers this, Ketti calls for another meeting, at which she declares Etemans cannot hide forever, and that they must heal the world, a task which Leiyn only vaguely understands.

As a result, Ketti accompanies Leiyn and her small company into the outside world. After overcoming the Suncoats and odiosa lying in ambush, they continue on to the capital of Ore-Ofe, Kunu, and finally reach it. Their reception, however, is not entirely friendly. After a tense conversation with Cloud Awera, the chancellor and leader of the colony, they are permitted to speak with the Ofean magic wielders, the eesuwé of the Coterie Tower. While initial talks stall, the eesuwé betray interest in Ketti, making all suspicious that they know of her true identity as an Eteman.

Once more kept as uncertain captives, Leiyn finds an ally within the Coterie, an eesu by the name of Ekosa Siza. Ekosa reveals they do, indeed, know of the Etemans, and that his leaders do not intend to help her. But Ekosa feels differently and wants to aid them, for he wants the Tricolonies to be free.

But even as Leiyn meets with Ekosa, the Coterie Tower receives an unexpected visitor. Leiyn returns to the room she shares with her friends to find Ata there, utterly devastated. The dryvan reveals that the lyshans have attacked the home of the dryvans, Glade, and all are dead—all but for her.

No sooner does she reveal this than a less welcome visitor appears. Khamo, the armored lyshan who ambushed them before, has come to finish the job. Ata, grief-stricken, throws herself at him in battle. Seeing no other way to fight a lyshan, Leiyn manages to summon Clouded Fang with Chispa’s help. With her tenuous connection, she tries to aid the dryvan in the tight quarters.

They drive off Khamo, but not without Ata taking a terrible fall from the tower. With Chispa’s help, they reach the grotto where Ata has taken shelter and lies dying. Leiyn saves her, however, using the power from her bonded ash dragon, though she nearly kills herself doing it. Upon awakening, she finds Ata whole once more, if still weakened, and grateful for her intervention. Ata swears herself to Leiyn and her cause, ensuring they have a powerful ally in the dryvan.

Fearing for Southport after their long absence, they first secure future aid from the eesuwé in the form of providing mentors for the students of the Order of Mahia, then bring along Ekosa, who has been banished from his home for all he did to help them, and make back for Baltesia. Ata accomplishes this in a moment by her strange form of teleportation.

It is not without its costs, however. Leiyn and her party appear in the bay of Southport, devoid of their animals and many belongings. To make matters worse, the kraken is once more awakened and wreaking havoc upon the city at the behest of the odiosas. Ata swims them to safety, then Leiyn, aided by Ketti and Ekosa, attacks the odiosas by mahia. It is enough to keep Southport safe for the moment, and the kraken subsides once more.

Returning to Mauricio to report their varied success—and discovering the governor has solidified his power by becoming the “Elected Consul” and uncontested leader of Baltesia—they find they’re not the only ones to have arrived in Southport. Gast warriors led by war chieftain Acalan Tikau and Teya, Leiyn’s lover, have come to the aid of their new allies. After reuniting, the decision is made that they cannot endure the siege any longer. The time has come to break Ilberia’s hold on the Tricolonies—and end the war.

With Ata’s aid, they make a plan to attack the odiosas who have been besetting them for so long. Without odiosas, Baltesia can send its own titans against the Armada and complete their destruction. Ketti and Ata first go off to fetch a titan not in the bay, assuming they will find one in the ruined city of Breakbay.

Upon their return, Leiyn and her friends commit to the assault along with Taban and his plainsriders. Ata transports them to several ships, where they kill the odiosas in a frenzied battle. Meanwhile, Ketti drives a new variety of titan into their midst, a giant one known as a reef whale.

The Ilberians do not stand alone, however. Midway through the assault, the lyshan Khamo comes to their defense. Amid the battle, Leiyn is pitched overboard and, grievously wounded, it looks as if she’ll drown. At the last moment, she manages to finally summon Clouded Fang on her own, thanks in part to the discovery that she carries a piece of Tadeo, the deceased lodgemaster and father-figure, with her in the fox figurine he carved for her. Rescued by the ash dragon, she finds herself revitalized, and with the dragon’s aid, she and her companions take down Khamo and win the battle.

But victory comes at a high price. Though Taban fought beside them, it’s revealed after the dust settles that he shot Isla in the melee and killed her. Overcome with grief, Leiyn appears before Mauricio to demand Taban’s life. When the moorwarden is brought before her, she ignores the Elected Consul’s orders to leave him to the rule of law and kills him then and there. His hands tied, Mauricio orders her exiled from Baltesia, and at Leiyn’s behest, Ata whisks her and her companions away to the Titan Wilds.

Now that you’re ready to continue Ranger of the Titan Wilds, pick up the latest installment in the series, The Wilds Exile, through the button below!

This week is my Hobbit coming of age - I'm turning 33!

So, in the Hobbit tradition of giving rather than receiving gifts, here's mine to you:

An entire novel for FREE!

Enjoy Whispers of Ruin, the first book in The Famine Cycle trilogy, for absolutely nothing.

All you have to do to get it is sign up for my email newsletter, the Fellowship.

Nab your copy through the button below. May you enjoy it!

There are just 24 hours left in The Wilds Exile Kickstarter!

Since its launch on January 2nd, the campaign has been chugging along. Here’s everything that’s been going on with it:

• Funded in 4 minutes - easily the fastest of any of my projects!

• Designated a Kickstarter "Project We Love"

• Surpassed three stretch goals, so we're getting four more interior artworks, a new short story, and art postcards

• Featured on the "New & Trending" Kickstarter newsletter

But it’s all ending soon. If you want seven bonus stories, dozens of interior illustrations, and four gorgeous books, check out the Kickstarter through the button below!

~ Josiah

The Wilds Exile just launched on Kickstarter!

If you’re a fan of Ranger of the Titan Wilds, you won’t want to miss this campaign for Book 4.

And if you haven’t started in on Ranger, you can sweep up all four books at once!

Like the previous installments, it’s getting a bunch of interior illustrations and will be available in ebook, trade paperback, and jacketed hardcover.

And under that jacket, if you didn’t know, we have the full spread of the cover illustration sans text!

Learn more about the book, series, and campaign through the button below. Thanks for the interest in this series near and dear to my heart!

~ Josiah

There are hundreds of sci-fi, fantasy, and LitRPG titles part of this year’s MegaSale, all discounted to free or 99¢ (at minimum in the US & UK) for the next two days.

For every book sold or given away, authors are donating 2¢ (with a minimum of $10) to the Mary Cariola Center. They're a great organization you can check out here: marycariola.org.

As for the sale, check it out through the page linked below!

I've included all of my first-in-series novels in the sale at 99¢. And the entire Godslayer Rising trilogy is utterly free!

If you just want my books, check out the link for them below:

https://geni.us/holidaysale24

Enjoy filling up your Kindles & e-readers, and Happy Holidays to you all!

~Josiah

I finished another short story recently! Titled "The Dying Heart of Hope," it came in right around 11k words - so more of a novelette than a short story, really.

It takes place in Unera, the world of Ranger of the Titan Wilds, and follows a historical character who receives mention in The Wilds Exile.

You'll recognize more than him, though, as a couple other familiar figures will also appear from the series...I'll leave you to guess who.

I'm proud of how it's shaped up and I’m excited to share it in the coming months!

Where can you read it? You’ll have to pick it up through an upcoming anthology I'm part of.

REIGN OF DRAGONS is exactly what its name implies: stories about dragons of every variety.

Among the many awesome authors contributing to it, we have the one and only Todd McCaffrey!

Here are the other authors in it:

• Tim Akers

• Melanie Ansley

• Richard Fierce

• Helen Garraway

• Alexis D. Johnson

• R.M. Krogman

• Rocco Levitas

• A.L. Lorenson

• Todd McCaffrey

• Andy Peloquin

• Corey Ratliff

• Robert Ryan

• R.M. Schultz

• Matthew Wolf

• M.H. Woodscourt

• Jasmine Young

• Dan & Robert Zangari

Follow the campaign through the button below so you don’t miss it! We’re presently planning to launch it in March.

If you'll allow a lead-up to today's news, let me bring you behind the scenes to catch a glimpse of the business side of being an independently published author.

You may know that my ebooks are mostly locked up in exclusivity on Amazon. There's one major reason for this: Kindle Unlimited.

Kindle Unlimited (KU) is a great program. In exchange for each page read, the authors get paid a fraction of a cent. That doesn't sound like a lot, but over the entirety of a book, it amounts to about the same payout as a sale.

The one drawback to KU is that it requires authors to be exclusive with their ebooks on Amazon. That's always rankled me, to be honest! After all, I'd vastly prefer that people can pick up my books wherever they like.

I started playing with this idea of wider access through my Kickstarters for Ranger of the Titan Wilds.

While the previous books are in KU, each new release is available to be picked up on Kickstarter for the duration of the campaign.

But that still isn't a true solution. It helps with one series, to be certain, but I'm still looking to expand my reach.

That's why I'm publishing the entirety of The Famine Cycle beyond Amazon!

What does that mean? Online ebook stores like Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, and Google Play - just to name the major players - will now have these ebooks available.

It also means library lending services can access my ebooks. So if you request The Famine Cycle from your library, you should be able to read the books for free!

I'll be publishing the series in stages (as part of a publishing strategy), but for today...

The first book, Whispers of Ruin, just released!

The sequels - Echoes of Chaos and Requiem of Silence - will release each subsequent month. The omnibus edition will follow some months after that.

The novellas, however, are already available! You can even nab the official prequel, Secret Seller, for free.

If you read outside of Amazon, I hope you'll pick up The Famine Cycle at your favorite store through the button below!

P.S. As always, all of my books are widely available in print. My audiobooks are primarily stuck in Audible, but I just learned that they distribute to Apple Books, so my fellow Apple enjoyers can pick them up as well!

I couldn't help myself. Even though I’m still buttoning up the final details on The Wilds Exile, I had to dive right into the final book of Ranger of the Titan Wilds!

Titled The Titan Revenant, it will bring to a head all the trials and tribulations Leiyn has endured in her double war against Ilberia and the lyshans. Buckle up - you’re in for a lot more trauma still!

I'm just 10,000 words in and poor Leiyn has already had to endure so much misery…

But I’ll stop teasing you about that! Keep an eye out for future updates going into the new year. I’ll see you with the complete book on the other side!

Coming on the tail of the cover reveal, I’m pleased to say the book itself is coming along well for The Wilds Exile!

I’ve completed most of the writing on it. All that remains are some fine-tuning of the prose and story. Then it’s off to the races!

With things coming together, the Kickstarter is up in prelaunch now and set to launch in January.

If you prefer reading off Amazon, the ebook is also up for preorder there.

Stay tuned for the next installment in Leiyn & company’s adventures! If you were traumatized by the last book, just wait until you get a load of this one…

…But that’s enough teasing for today. Until next time!

~ Josiah

It’s time to unveil a new cover!

Introducing The Wilds Exile, Book 4 of Ranger of the Titan Wilds. This time, the cover art is done by Joe Requeza with the usual design from Shawn T. King.

Pretty pretty, no?

This is the second-to-last book in the series, so we’re closing in on the final stretch in Leiyn’s struggle against the lyshans.

I hope you’ll stick with me through the rest of her trials and tribulations!

You can preorder the book from Amazon. Or, if you want it earlier and with bonus stories, get it from Kickstarter! Follow the campaign through the button below.

Thanks for reading and following along!

The deluxe edition of A Queen’s Command, Book 2 of Legend of Tal, has funded and ended on Kickstarter!

I’m so grateful for all the support the backers have given in picking up both this book and the first one, A King’s Bargain.

Now it’s time to get to work so I can make this book as good as it gets!

If you missed the campaign, by the way, it’s not too late - late pledges are still available over on Kickstarter.

Today is the final day of A Queen’s Command’s deluxe edition Kickstarter!

I’m so grateful for all the support the backers have given in picking up both this book and the first one, A King’s Bargain.

We’re pushing for the final two stretch goals, but even if we don’t get them, it’s already been a win in my book!

You can help us reach those goals to add in new art and a shinier book cover by backing through the button below. Thanks in advance!

Since its launch on September 26th, there’s been a lot happening for the 2nd Legend of Tal deluxe edition!

First, it funded in just under 2 hours. Many thanks to the wonderful backers who made it happen!

Second, it’s surpassed a bunch of stretch goals as well as $30,000 funding.

That means there will be two more pieces of art are being added in along with a new city map of Elendol. Check out the first of the new art pieces here on the post.

We’re also printing two bonus short stories in the deluxe edition and I’ll be narrating a short story audiobook to accompany it.

Today, the final stretch goal has been revealed: a shinier, upgraded version of the cover. Just check out those leaves!

The campaign ends within a week, so if you’re excited about it, do check it out and make a pledge! Any amount of support is helpful.