Jay Olsen-Thrift

Hello readers and friends! The end of the year is rapidly approaching, as we’re all no doubt aware, and I have a full plate of things to accomplish by December 31.

“The Sundered Sun” Update

First thing’s first: an update on THE SUNDERED SUN! I have 83.5K words written in the draft so far. I’m aiming for 140K total across all 3 POVs, prologue, and epilogues. Yes, that is epilogueS, plural. Even after the final scenes in each POV, we have a lot to wrap up, so I’m hoping to do it all justice with multiple epilogues told from different characters’ perspectives.

This draft is kicking my ass a little bit. A lot, actually. I’ve had more bad days than good, but I think that’s due to me not being ready to end Munne, Ray, and Seth’s stories. I’ve been sitting on these stories since ~2010, so this entire journey of writing and publishing this trilogy has been surreal and extremely intimidating. Writing THE WHISPERING PASS took me 15 years, and that came with a lot of “what ifs” and me doubting my ability to write a good story. And then I finished it. And then people said it was good. And then I published it. And suddenly, THE FROZEN STEPPE didn’t seem as difficult to write. The ending for that book came a lot easier, and I felt really good writing it. But now that we’re here at the actual end of these characters’ journeys, I’m finding it hard to commit words to paper. Not for a lack of knowing what’s to come – I’ve had the end scene in mind since the very beginning in 2010. It was inspired by this Neverwinter Nights wallpaper:

(I’d say this is a spoiler, but if you’ve read TWP and TFS, you should know what’s coming.)

I’m so excited to finish THE SUNDERED SUN and get it out for people to read, but I’m also terrified of it being the end.

But it’s not, is it? There’s a ton of other stories I can tell in the world of Daaria, and I’m really excited to explore those… But first, TSS!

One More Event in 2025!

I only have one more author event in 2025, and that’ll be in Kennesaw GA on Saturday December 13! Check out my Upcoming Events tab for more info.

What events do you want to see me at in 2026? Send me an email or message me on Instagram with suggestions!

Holiday Sales

I will be doing sales this year! Keep an eye on my Shop page, as well as Instagram and Etsy for more info. Not sure exactly what will be on sale or when, but Black Friday exists, and Christmas is right around the corner, so I’ll definitely have deals on TWP, TFS, and all my other goodies in the coming weeks.

(photo by Through the Faerie Lens)

Other Stuff

I had a lot of stuff going on the last few weeks and wanted to share some personal updates! I went to Rock City for their Enchanted Pumpkin Patch event, and it was super foggy, and… well… I’ll let the pics speak for themselves.

I also went to Seattle for an extended weekend, which was lovely. The leaves were gorgeous and the trees were pointy. Mount Rainier watched every move I made, and I had some incredible Turkish food. No pictures because I was too busy living in the moment (and forgot).

And then I came home and got sick, and forgot to make any kinds of posts on the socials. Hence the extended blog post.

Thank you all, as always, for supporting me in my writing journey. Munne, Ray, and Seth wouldn’t exist without you all. The end is almost here, and soon you all will be able to join me in the next story that I tell.