Another month has passed and while the news this month is a bit on the short side, there are still some things that I would like to cover.
Volume 3 Has Launched!
The biggest piece of news which, if you haven’t heard by now, is that From Ashe Vol. 3 is now officially live and out in the world! Between autographed and Day 1 sales, this has been one of the more successful launches in recent time! Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy whether it was eBook, paperback, or hardcover!
Getting another book out felt great! Even though it’s been just a couple of days, I’ve already received some great personal feedback on it as those who did read it really enjoyed Ashe and Renji’s backstory! I put a little more effort into that as I normally do so I’m glad it paid off!
Volume 4
As an update on this one… I haven’t even touched it yet outside of doing a little bit of revising on the book’s outline. I already have a date in mind to release it so I know what my timeline looks like and, right now, I am opting to take some time away from writing to recharge a bit.
Plus, this will be the first time that I am going to be writing an alternate story within the book. I know I did Renji’s crow story and some snippets of some of Ashe’s stories but I am going to be dedicating one entire chapter to Ashe’s entry into the writing competition. Because as such, not only do I have an entire book to think about and plan, but I now have this extra story I need to think about and plan as well.
Also, I don’t want to go into much detail but I am taking this break due to some personal events that are happening in life right now that require my attention. It has been a bit heavy on my mind and you know as well as I do that if something is occupying your mind, there isn’t much room for anything else.
I don’t intend to miss my deadline with this volume and when I write it, it will get my full attention… it’s just that there are more important things happening right now.
Gachapon
I wanted to touch on this because, if you saw, I plastered an announcement all over my site and social media that characters from Final Hope, A.R. Dragonfly, and From Ashe were going to be apart of the Discord card-collecting bot known as Gachapon.
I was told that the cards would be released on August 11. That day came and went and nothing happened. Apparently, they were going to be part of an update that included frames that you could buy and add to any 5-star card that you pulled.
Well… three weeks of delays later, the frames launched but my cards are nowhere to be seen. I contacted the owner a few times and they kept telling me “they’ll be in the update.” Well, the update came and after my cards still weren’t in there, I reached out to the owner and was met with complete and total silence.
The entire experience has left a very sour taste in my mouth. To accept a partnership like this and then not come through and remain silent in the process… that’s just highly unprofessional.
At this point, I’m considering this deal as one that fell through and isn’t happening. Would have been nice to have that extra exposure but oh well. I’ll still continue to find ways to promote my work and get the word out.
Another Project
Since I decided to step back from writing for a little bit, I also made the decision that I am going to be doing the needful and will be embarking on a project that I have been putting off for a bit. I don’t want to announce what it is yet because I, simply, don’t know when I’m going to be done with it.
I plan to pick at it a little bit during my 3-Day holiday weekend. Maybe I’ll get so engrossed in it that I will end up finishing it… or I might save some more for a rainy day.
The internal completion date is the end of September, though. As long as I have that goal, it is something that I will work towards in order to meet it. The project, I will say, isn’t all that significant but it is something that has been needed.
Stay tuned towards the end of the month when I make the announcement after its completion!
The Other Project
Gachapon was one of the projects I was working on. The one I mentioned in the section before this one is NOT the second project that I am still aiming towards. That second project is still in the waiting stages so I don’t have any updates on it as of yet. Waiting is the worst part of anything… especially when you are excited for a potential outcome.
This one might not come for a while but I will be sure to keep you guys posted when details that I can talk about emerge. I just wanted to write this section up to let you know that it’s still out there.
Feedback
It has been a while since I asked this of my readers but I was curious as to what extra content you guys want to see?
Reason I’m asking is that I want to do more with this website. I want to offer more in relation to my books. I had cellphone wallpapers and desktop wallpapers before but they never really took off. Is that still something that is of interest to you guys? Do you want other digital goods?
Is there interest in physical goods and are you going to force me to look into creating a store and merchandise? Do you want me to leave Amazon as an exclusive source and put my books on other platforms?
Let me know what you would like to see so I can gauge where to take my series and/or content related to them.
Until Next Time
As I said, the news is pretty light and sparse this month. Once I get this little side project finished, I’ll probably pick up writing once again. My internal calendar has me penciled in for writing Volume 4 in October and doing Editing/Art Commissions in November.
That’s the plan anyway.
So until next time,
Ja ne!
Joshua J. Piedra 