I’ve been in a productive mood lately. It’s a good thing, really – it keeps me busy, allows me to work through my creativity, and stops me from feeling terribly depressed in these dark, cold winter months.

Over the holidays I really was doing a lot of music work; in particular, I started writing a requiem, which is something I’ve wanted to accomplish for a very long time. (It’s not for anyone in particular – no one has died!) And whilst its been coming along pretty well – four and half movements complete as of right now – it’s nonetheless fairly slow, tedious work as I plug in every single note, one by one, for an entire orchestra.

So I’m taking a break from that just for the moment, and in the past couple of weeks I’ve come back to The Redemption of Erâth. For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, this blog started out originally, back in 2011, as a way of publishing chapters from my ongoing fantasy series for people to read. It soon expanded from there as I shared any random thoughts that crossed my mind, and then, of course, deteriorated into a once-in-a-blue-moon posting about how I lament not posting more frequently (see last week’s post).

The Redemption of Erâth is the story of a young man who is banished from his home after a terrible tragedy, and spends the rest of his life (so far) wandering the world, trying to save it from impending destruction at the hands of Darkness (yes, with a capital ‘D’). So far I’ve published the first three books in the series, entitled Consolation, Exile, and Ancients & Death (all available on Amazon and Apple Books if you want to support a starving artist!). Each book is really a direct continuation of the last, so do make sure you tackle them in order (very à la Lord of the Rings), and I will say they grow in scope and excitement with each new book.

I’m currently about halfway through the fourth book, which will be called The Fall of Thaeìn. In it, we see our hero struggle deeply with his own inner darkness as he races to warn the great kingdoms of men about the advances of Darkness. We’re up to a chapter now called The Siege Begins, and it promises to house one of the largest battle scenes the series has seen so far (outside of flashbacks). I’m excited!

As I push myself to complete the fourth book over the next few months, I think I’d like to try something I’ve done in the past (without any great success): I will post a chapter from The Redemption of Erâth, starting with the first book, every few days for you all to read for free! After all, my great desire is not to make millions off my writing, but simply to enrich people’s lives with stories of darkness and fantasy that might help them escape into a world they’ve never seen before. If slower-paced, dark fantasy is your thing, then stay tuned – I’m going to start this week!

If you just can’t wait to know what happens next, then you can do one of two things: if you really, really like me you can purchase these books on Amazon (both digital and print) and Apple Books (digital-only), and enjoy your very own copy; or, send me a message or comment below and I’ll happily provide you with digital copies absolutely free for you to enjoy in your own time.

It’s a great feeling to be writing again, and I truly can’t wait for the fourth book to be finished so I can share it with you all!