Autumn has arrived, and we have quite a bit to talk about this month! So, let’s not waste more time staring at the leaves as they change colors and jump right into it!
And the Results Are In – My Girlfriend Was Delivered by 2-Day Shipping
The finalists have been announced for the Honeyfeed x MyAnimeList contest and my fate is as follows:
I am not a finalist.
The natural reaction of any author would be disappointment; however, my mentality going into this hasn’t changed. Whatever the results are, that’s what they are and I cannot change them. It doesn’t detract from the fact that I had fun creating this story and I’m very thankful to everyone who checked it out and enjoyed it.
So, the big question is ‘where do we go from here?’
I cannot do anything with the novel until December 12, 2022, when the contest officially ends and the winner is announced. By that, I mean that I cannot remove it from Honeyfeed or publish it elsewhere. I CAN work on the novel, edit it, and so forth and that’s what I plan to do.
I plan to expand the book, add details that I cut to keep it within the expectations of a web novel, do some revisions to help with the cohesiveness of the story, upgrade the cover, add bonus content, and get some artwork created. Once I do that, I will release the book in ebook and physical formats.
Once I am allowed to do so, the book will be removed from Honeyfeed as with my intention to sell it commercially, it should not be available as a free option any longer. That honor will belong to Final Hope.
Hold onto that thought as I am going to circle back to it.
From Ashe & Planned Hiatus
On the From Ashe front, the good news is that I finished the first draft of Volume 7! I still need to determine what I want to do for the bonus chapter as I have a few ideas I can run with. It just all depends on what I am in the mood for.
This means that I will be entering the editing phase for that book soon as well. Volume 7, along with My Girlfriend… are both targeted for an early 2023 release date. I previously had planned to release Volume 7 in December; however, the ongoing cover remake project puts a December release into a tight window. I do not want to release this book before the first six covers are remade as going from great-looking covers, to not-so-great-looking covers, back to a great-looking cover looks a bit sloppy and my OCD won’t allow me to do that.
This means that we will be kicking off the new year with a lot of content. I plan to launch Volume 7 first, then MyGF second, and then relaunch Final Hope after that as a proper web novel.
Of course, all of this just doesn’t magically happen. This is why I am going to be putting From Ashe on a short hiatus. I feel that the seventh volume is a great resting point as it is the true ending to the first arc of the series. Volume 8 is going to start the next major phase of Ashe’s journey to becoming an author and while Volume 7 does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, I still think it’s a good place to pause the series a bit to work on these other projects.
This means there is going to be a long stretch of editing for me to do along with a long stretch where Alex is going to be working on artwork. Plus, you all will be getting content from me during this hiatus so it’s not like you guys are walking away empty-handed. Plus, I’ll be working on all of this behind-the-scenes while this content is released so it may not seem as long for you as it will for me.
Speaking of the cover remakes, if you have been paying attention to my social media, you would have seen that Volume 3’s cover has been remade! If you missed the reveal, you can check it out below:
Volume 4’s cover is up next so stay glued to social media as I will do another unveiling once it is done and ready to go.
Roadmap
I know I talked about a lot of stuff happening so I figured I would do a quick little roadmap to show you my plans in a more digestible format.
November: From Ashe Vol. 4, 5, and 6 Cover Remakes, Editing on Volume 7 begins
December: From Ashe Volume 7 editing concludes, and artwork begins. Editing on MyGF Begins/Concludes
January: Release From Ashe Volume 7, Artwork on MyGF begins. Editing on Final Hope begins/concludes
February: MyGF released, Artwork for Final Hope begins, Writing for From Ashe Vol. 8 begins
March: From Ashe Vol. 8 Editing/Artwork begins, Final Hope begins releasing on Web Novel Platforms
April: From Ashe Vol. 8 Tentatively Set for Release
As you can see… I have plenty of work ahead of me and it’s quite the mountain. Let’s just say that I’m going to be kept busy for a while but if I can maintain this schedule, you will get content nearly every month at the start of 2023.
Until Next Time
That’s going to wrap up this month’s update. As a reminder, A.R. Dragonfly and From Ashe are available for review. Normally, Final Hope and MyGF would be added to that list but with their impending editing/relaunches imminent, I would much rather hold back on those for now. If you are interested in reviewing either series, feel free to contact me through my contact page or by emailing me at joshpiedra@gmail.com.
Also, I am available for podcasts if you would like to discuss my light novels, or just have me hang out and talk about anime and manga in general. You can also book me via my contact page or via email.
Because I will be hard at work with my head down, my monthly progress reports may be a little bit on the shorter side going forward but I will do my best to keep you all within the loop!
Until December, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving if you celebrate!
Until then,
Ja ne!
Joshua J. Piedra 