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That's right, I can confirm that the ebook for Of Empires and Dust will release on the 31st of March. This book will be ready for your eyeballs in 30 days!
I genuinely cannot begin to explain how excited I am to finally have this book out in the world. It's been a crazy couple of years for me. From getting married, going on our honeymoon, having my family visit for months at a time, going on two six week tours (which were some of the most special weeks of my life), having Ella enter our lives, and so on, and so on.
I've poured every bit of myself into making sure I could get this book to you in a reasonable time without compromising quality. I don't remember a night in the last six months where I've gone to bed before 3am and I definitely don't remember a day with more than five hours of sleep.
This book is the longest book in the series, and I genuinely feel that every bit of that is justified. The initial draft came in at 495,000 words, which is mindblowing. Half a million words. That's actually longer than Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth (491,000 words). But don't worry, I've already shaved 8,000 words off that through the edits of the first third of the book. So I'm anticipating a finishing count of around 475,000 words.
That will set Of Empires and Dust at about 35,000 words longer than Of War and Ruin (Or about 7 chapters longer). Don't ask me about pages because I won't know that until the formatting is done (more about that later).
This all brings me to a point I think is important: I don't think that the bigger a book is, the better it is. Absolutely not. I believe there are different types of stories, that are told in different ways. Sure, I could split these books into smaller books or several series... but then they wouldn't be these books. It wouldn't be this series. It wouldn't be my story.
I'm not the biggest fan of the modern concept that stories need to be told with hyper efficiency, moving from plot point A to plot point B with lightning pace, never allowing a spare word or meandering thought.
I want to meander. I want to spend a few paragraphs pondering on the complexities of morality. I want to describe that beautiful scenic mountain so my readers can melt into the world I've created. I want to give each and every character a life of their own, a beating heart, a yearning soul. Because that is the type of story I want to tell. At the end of the day, The Bound and The Broken isn't really about the story itself. It's about the characters.
The Bound and The Broken is about coping with loss and fighting for the ones you love – not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. It's a series about hope, always picking yourself up when you fall, and standing for what you believe in.
I want this story to feel like the epics of old. I want to wander in the beauty of a world carved from my imagination, and I want to linger a little bit and show you all the pieces below the surface. And I hope, in that, I will succeed.
My job, as described by me, is to create a world for you to become lost in, characters that feel truly real, and a moment in time that you never want to leave.
I'll write shorter books after this series (although the novellas and short stories count), but that will be a different type of story.
Wow. In my talk about meandering and wandering, I have both meandered and wandered. Sorry, guys, I feel passionately about this!
Now, back to what I was originally talking about – Of Empires and Dust.
This book is where everything starts to really come together, where all the little details begin to show. I am extremely proud of it, and I hope you love every second. I will absolutely be taking a few weeks' break when this launches as my soul is genuinely tired (in a good way, just need to regenerate).
Over the next few months (before and after release), I will start once again doing live interviews, podcasts, and all the little bits and pieces. If you want to keep up with them, it's probably best to follow me on my social media (twitter, facebook, instagram, etc – all linked below). I'll keep you updated via email, but I never want to send out fifty emails a month so my socials are a better place to stay in touch for the immediate things.
**Important note**
I would highly advise reading the novellas – and The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow – before you read Of Empires and Dust. The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow isn't necessary at all, but it will add a few nice bits for you. The novellas though, while not strictly necessary to understand what's going on, were created to be interwoven with the main novels and I would highly recommend reading them before Of Empires and Dust.
Here are a few points, and also some answers to some questions I know I'll be asked.
- The ebook will launch on the 31st of March.
- The hardbacks and paperbacks might be a couple of weeks behind due to the logistics of actually trying to fit this book into my printer's capabilities. Unfortunately, I don't have the same level of clout as Sanderson, so this is a bit tricker for me.
- The audiobook is set to start recording in April with Derek Perkins and Podium Audio are aiming for a September release date. I know this sucks for audio readers, but unfortunately it can just take time to get the narrator pinned down in a studio to record these behemoths. I am planning to try and align the release dates for the final book so that every format will come out on the same day.
- There will be signed hardbacks available through the Broken Binding, as there have been for every other book. Once the hardbacks are ready to go I will absolutely send an email out to let you all know so you don't miss out.
- There will be a recap for Of War and Ruin. Though it will likely be on my website only as I'll need to save space in the physical book.
- These hardbacks and paperbacks are still my indie launch hardbacks. As most of you know, The Broken Binding Publishing bought the worldwide print rights to my series in a six figure deal in late 2024. So the way that will work is these hardbacks and paperbacks will be the original indie hardbacks and paperbacks with the covers in the original style (as seen in the graphic above).
- Starting in 2026, The Broken Binding Publishing will start to republishing the physical books (about 3-6 months apart, including novellas) with the new covers designed by the amazing Tom Roberts. I've been granted the ability to Art Direct these covers and they are stunning. When it comes to the fifth book in the series – Of Gods and Ashes – that book will launch with both the original Indie covers and the new Traditional covers simultaneously. We're doing this to allow all of those readers who have supported my career thus far to finish out their collections with complete sets of covers. I'd never let you support me this passionately, then leave you one book short of a collection.
- Yes, I have seen the slew of emails that have come in over the past few months. My email backlog is a well known thing at this stage and it's been one of the things that has taken a hit while I've been writing this book. One of my key priorities once this book is out in the world is to clear that whole damn inbox and make sure I reply to you all!
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