Things Are Changing, But Not In A Bad Way (Mostly)
Cover art, interior art, and the future - oh my!
Sup, you magnificent narrative-rollers.
First up, and not a misery story (because people need those in this economy like they need a case of late-stage syphilis), this Substack (Roll for Narrative, in case the branding’s been filed off by your email client) has and continues to be dope. I’ve met cool people, had a great time, and (extra credit) even seen some of you pick up my books. Thank you! It’s been a solid #winning situation all around.
But… before we get to the news, let’s first see the people we’ve met in our serial, The Well of Lethe.
Meet the Dynamic Duo
No, not Batman & Robin: I’m talking Korvus and Verity.
You know how every good story needs heroes? Well, allow me to introduce you to a couple of mine, fresh off the pencil.
They’re the muscle (and brains - you can work out which is which) behind The Well of Lethe. Speaking of which…
COVER REVEAL: The Well of Lethe
Prepare your eyeballs. This is the cover for The Well of Lethe. It’s got vibes. It’s got pulp. It’s got... well, you tell me.
Now that your eyes have been sufficiently blessed, let’s talk about the less glamorous, but equally important, reality check.
Time: The Undefeatable Boss Battle
Here’s the rub: I’ve started new work. It’s great, but it’s also a greedy little goblin that’s been eating my time like it’s a buffet and time is... well, time, man. My available writing/reviewing/showering cycles are nearing “zero” on the gauge.
What does this mean for you, dear reader?
Weekly Reviews? More like “Whenever I Can Reviews.” The weekly deep-dives into games, movies, and books are going to be less frequent. Some of you might cheer for less spam in your inbox; some might miss my profound insights. There will even be some who can’t work out how they got here in the first place. It is what it is. My brain can only handle so much, and I’d rather deliver quality over quantity and avoid the inevitable burnout. I’m aiming for monthly, but sometimes you realise it’s nice to want things.
The Well of Lethe is moving to the finish line, for free! My serial fiction, The Well of Lethe, is a time vampire when it comes to formatting and posting everywhere, and ref: time, I don’t have it. So, to ensure you can finish the story without waiting for me to clone myself (still working on that tech), I’ve made it available on BookSprout for free ARCs, going live November 1st! You can snag your copy here from the start of next month: https://booksprout.co/reviewer/review-copy/view/239592/the-well-of-lethe - I want everyone who started it for free to be able to finish it for the same price, and BookSprout lets me do that.
For those who prefer their books retail-style (or just really hate BookSprout for some reason), it hits all major retailers on December 1st: https://www.books2read.com/TheWellofLethe.You want games? You got games! Here’s a fun fact I did NOT expect: you lot far prefer my videogame reviews to my movie or book rants. By a factor of 5 to 10, no less! Not that I’m a coin-operated shill, but if the data says “People love the pixels!”, then who am I to argue? You’ve given me a pretty strong engagement-related hint about where I should focus my remaining review time. If you didn’t expect this outcome… neither did I.
Early reviews on The Fury of the Betrayed (out next month!) are positive. I always hope to make you feel something about the cool, messy, amazing thing we humans are in these stories. This reviewer quote really struck me: “It made me appreciate a lot of things - selflessness at its best, the heavy price of redemption, the enduring power of love, the price of progress, the cyclicality of the world and the mysterious fabric of Creation.” Hell, yeah.
Roll for Narrative isn’t going anywhere. Let’s be clear: this Substack isn’t dissolving into the digital ether. It’s just evolving. I need to look after myself, avoid turning into a stressed-out mutant, and focus on what matters: producing fiction that rocks, delivering the review content you actually want, and doing it all on a schedule that doesn’t make my brain spontaneously combust.
So, in summary: less frequent reviews (and probably more game-focused), The Well of Lethe is available for free completion soon, and my brain is still mostly intact. Win-win-win? I think so.
Thanks for rolling with me on this journey. Let’s keep doing it, but… slower.
R