Jay Olsen-Thrift

It’s been an eventful September. “The Whispering Pass” went live at the beginning of the month, and I had two author events in the following weeks. I’ve also had a fairly productive month with writing “The Frozen Steppe”. I got super wrapped up in editing TWP in July and August, and as a result I ended up neglecting TFS. I’m on track to have at least 60,000 words written by the end of the year, though, which will be roughly 3/4 of the second book. I’ll finish it up in the first couple of months of 2025, and then start the editing process and maybe, hopefully, be disciplined enough to work on book 3 during all of that.

It’s been very surreal, sharing the world of Daaria with the world at large. This is a story that’s sat in my brain for 15 years, so finally getting to share Munne Vere’cha and all of the other characters… it’s kind of magical. She’s no longer just a level 140 Hunter in The Lord of the Rings Online – she’s the Warlord of the Elviri, on a quest to cure her nightmares. And I’ve already been asked how to pronounce her name by two different people, which tickles me greatly (and my LOTRO kinmates, I’m sure).

My goal with releasing book 2 will be to have character art of at least Munne, Ray, and Seth. I’ll also probably include a character list in book 2 (and any reprints of book 1 that I do later), to help folks keep up with the large cast of characters.

I am still very much flying by the seat of my pants. If you’re following me on this journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out and tell me what you thought of “The Whispering Pass” and what you’d like to see from “The Frozen Steppe” and beyond. Reviews and feedback are like bread and cheese to me, I need them to survive and thrive! Or at least thrive. Seriously, though, please consider leaving a review of “The Whispering Pass” on Amazon, Goodreads, and any other reviewing platform. Your kind words will push other people to read it and leave their own kind words.

Thank you all, see you in the next post.