A week-and-a-half after retirement, my buddy sent a pic from the gym room at work, asking where I was. My first thought was, "Why are they in the office on a Saturday?" It was Thursday. That shows where my head is. 🙃

I haven't hit a home run in my job search, nor has anything knocked my socks off. I had an opportunity that appealed to me more than others, working at a startup called Tenstorrent. Though I didn't get the job, I realized through the process that I really like the idea of a startup. I've spent my life working for big companies. The idea of doing something different, at a startup, excites me.

It's crazy, all the destructive weather on the east coast. Y’all are in my prayers. We've had a long, dry spell in Texas, though not as bad or as hot as last summer.

my youngest is captain of the middle school cheer team

There's always a lot of rush as a release date approaches. But, I'm taking a more relaxed approach this time. With Mother of Trees, I tried to create a big splash. Had a party, spent the month before coordinating release efforts on social media. It was too much. This time, I set up an auto-email chain. It'll pester you folks that signed up for ARC reads at the right times for reviews on GR and Amazon, but if you don't finish "in time", I'm not going to sweat it. You'll rate/review when you can, and it'll help when it's supposed to... I'm channeling my inner Beldroth. It will all go according to Her plan.

I'm closing down the ARC signup on Oct 15th (today). Might have done already. Ironically, I have a publicity event going on around the 21st (don't remember exactly), so I might open the signup for a day for that crew, knowing they will automagically be late. Again, Her plan.

In terms of things left to do, there's not a lot. Of course, there’s always something waiting to bite you, so there's still plenty of time for mistakes and panic. Murphy will strike.

But seems like we're on track for a Nov. 15th release, and I've written a few chapters of Book 3 now (restarted after all the changes I made to Book 2).

The cover makeover for The Guardian of The Palace is done. I think I shared the early version last newsletter. If not, scream at me, and I'll add it next time. My plan is to wait for all four to get redone and then do the switcheroo. That's about it for now. Hope ya'll are all having a great October. 🎃🎃🎃

All books by Steven J. Morris

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The Retired S Ranked Adventurer

Sven, the Shatterfist, was a legend.
A hero who had faced down demons and dragons, his known in the halls of every town and by ever adventurer.
He was admired. Respected, a man among men.
But after years of battle, he's finally returned home, ready to leave the adventuring life behind him.
It was time to start over.
Sven just wanted to settle into the quiet life, have a few drinks, easy days and easy evenings and bought some land and built a tavern on it, hoping to get to enjoy the little things he missed out on.
Fate had other plans.
When a wave of undead threatens the nearby city, Sven is forced to face his demons - and a mysterious mage with a secret past.
Ash is brilliant, beautiful, and as clumsy as she is powerful.
She burst into his life, promising to help manage his struggling tavern and rebuild after a disastrous bar fight. But she also harbors a secret that could change everything for Sven, forcing him to confront the ghosts of a past and fight for a forgotten future.