It’s really interesting how much your identity gets caught up with your work when you’ve been at the same place for 27 years. How much time should I take to figure out who I am without Intel?

I’m two weeks away from leaving my current job, and I’ve kicked the tires on looking for a new one. I wish it could be writing, but I’m not there yet. So I’ve dusted off my resume, and even done a few phone screenings. So far, nothing has been a good fit. But I wonder how much of that is because I’m looking for what I left—I don’t think I’ve really let go and wrapped my mind around becoming something new. I’m betting I have a few readers who have hiked this same trail—let me know what pitfalls to avoid!

I got pushed by a reader who is a Calvin & Hobbes fan on something from my last newsletter: he says there’s no comic where Bill Watterson references Rejkavic. So I’m rereading my reference material. Hard at work!

(But it also might be quite funny to have used a badge for 15 years with a Calvin & Hobbes reference that I’d purely made up in my own head.)

Big reveal below for the cover of Book 2 of Thaumatropic Roots! The cover is not quite done yet, but that's the gist of it. I'm really terrible at the social media "reveals", so if anyone wants to partner with me on that and make it splashier, I'd be happy to be coached through it. I’m quite pleased with the covers.

And where am I exactly on getting the writing done? Just under halfway through the structural edits, so I'd say it is going "okay." I’ve really got to get faster at this to be profitable, but I still have big steps in making my writing deeper before I work on efficiency. I’m hoping that in the next newsletter I’ll be ready to collect ARC readers. Might be the one after.

Help me out with the blurb… I know, I know, you haven’t read the book. Nevertheless, I’m inviting feedback:

The Mother of Trees withers while the trolls hunker down, plotting their conquest of the world. The elves’ only hope? A daring and dangerous plan from a fanatical Warder.

Elliah, a magicless elf cursed by prophecy, holds the power to bring either salvation or ruin. Forced into an uneasy alliance with the Warder, they must navigate deadly dragon attacks and relentless elf persecution in their desperate search for an army. Their only chance lies with the Alluvium, masters of Fire Magic—but when a rival prophecy emerges, everything they believe is thrown into chaos.

Which future is true? Who can they trust? And will any of it matter when the dragons come, seeking vengeance for that which the Warder has stolen?

Dragons collect their dead.

Fire lies.

Can one magicless elf defy fate and save a crumbling world, or will Elliah hasten its destruction?

All books by Steven J. Morris

Indie Author Showcase

I went with book collections this newsletter. You'll find a couple of collections of Kindle Unlimited books, and one that goes wider. These don't require signups, but they're also not free. So if you found an author you enjoyed from the last newsletter, here's a chance to connect to his or her full books.

Legacy In Shadow

by Junichiro Tanaka

An assassin's soul is bound to the God of Death, but even they can't escape his final judgment.

Ard thought being reborn would grant him a fresh start, but the memories of his past life as an assassin still haunt him. Even worse, he's now an Aberrant—a rare and powerful magical class hunted and enslaved by the royal family. Forced to hide his true nature, Ard must master his magic while pretending to be just another ordinary spellcaster.

When his close friend vanishes, only to turn up dead near the king's castle, Ard vows to unravel the sinister mystery behind the city's long-standing disappearances. But the deeper he digs, the more he uncovers the dark and deadly secrets buried within the royal family.

Now, Ard faces an impossible choice: stay hidden and cling to his fragile peace, or step out of the shadows, risking his freedom—and his life—to challenge the kingdom’s ruthless power.