Thread by @EclipseNovels

*Blows dust off*

God, it has been a long 4 years since I first planned this project. A lot has happened in my life, and for a long time I felt like I just wasn't ready to really make this project a reality.

I think I'm ready now. 🧵

I've steadily worked on this project for the past four years, at varying intervals, especially during #NaNoWriMo.

Over that time it has evolved CONSIDERABLY.

The entire backstory of the world has been fleshed out far more, so that the world itself has a pretty in-depth...

... history.

This world has to feel lived-in. The normal lives of the people around and outside the borders of the story have to feel like they'd make sense even if this story wasn't being told.

Things like knowing that the A'Athor peninsula is known for its wine because of...

... the warm air that blows north off the Sea of Whispers, that's important because it gives a world so much more... life. I try to imagine, for instance, getting their wine to market in a world with hostile seas and medieval transportation routes. How far would it reach?

I think that knowing, at least broadly, how the people in your world lived their day to day lives, outside of how the plot itself may or may not affect them, is important.

The past four years has been developing a lot of this, while also giving thematic depth to characters...

... and balancing the story across a number of different goals.

I am an emotional person. I am an emotional writer. I want my readers... and by extension my listeners... to feel. It doesn't matter how ridiculous or fantastical it is if you FEEL it happening to you.

I'm also long-winded. (wrap it up, Nick!)

So I'm blowing the dust off this project and I'm going to start actively working on the pilot month.

It will focus on a chapter per month of The Crook of Faranio, the first book in the series.

Structurally, the show will be as follows:

Week One: The Chapter.

An audio presentation with music and sound effects of the chapter itself. Very much in the style of an audio book or audio drama.

Week Two: Questions, Plot, and Analysis.

I'll be discussing themes that were important to me in writing the chapter and answering (non-spoiler) questions about the chapter up to this point.

My outlines focus on thematic analysis for each chapter, so I want to share that.

Week Three: Spotlights.

In-depth spotlights on a place, a character, or some part of the history of the world. Especially in book one, a lot of these will be exploring the fictional history of Akolth and the universe that surrounds it, going back to its creation and deities.

Week Four: Patreon Only.

For patrons of the show, I'll be doing a reading of a prior draft, and then doing a discussion of how and why the draft evolved the way it did.

The main feed will have a preview for the next chapter, possibly more analysis/spotlights, depending on...

... how much material I have. Analysis and spotlights may be split into two parts and spread out in this way, but we'll definitely be doing a preview of the reading for the next chapter in week four on the main feed.

So the big question... when?

Well, I plan to pilot the reading of the first chapter during this year's #LivestreamForTheCure.

When the show will actually premiere depends on how much writing I can get done and how much production I can manage over the next six months.

The Crook of Faranio, the first novel in the series, is about half written, and the rest of it exists in fragments and "sketch drafts" as I'll call it. The back half of the novel needs a LOT of work, but I had to sort out the logical flow of the first half to get to it before...

... I felt like I could actually do so. I didn't get that nailed down until #NaNoWriMo this last fall.

Besides writing and editing, there will be a lot of audio production stuff I'll need to do, be it recording/procuring sound effects for the show. I plan to make a full list...

... of audio needs per chapter so I can work on them one at a time. The good news is, as I build a library of sounds and music, the work on that side will presumably diminish.

I guess the last question is... why?

I need to.

Do I inevitably plan to publish the series? Of course. But here's the thing. I could die tomorrow, and no one will ever hear these words. Some of this stuff has been gestating in one form or another for the better part of...

... twenty years, when this world was first formed as a D&D game.

I want it out there for people to enjoy. I want people to hear and enjoy my stories. I think I've got a particular gift for creating well-rounded characters and world-building. I hope that you will agree.

I feel like I am better at few things than I am at writing.

And frankly I'm tired of wasting time being things I'm not. Spending time on pursuits that have never panned out.

So I'm cutting some things out of my life. I have been, for the past couple years. I need to be who...

... and what I have always been meant to be.

When I discovered podcasting and really threw myself into it, I developed a passion for it that only continues to deepen. Marrying my passion for writing with podcasting is the best way, frankly, that I can think to get my content...

... out to the masses.

So that is what I intend to do.

Hopefully, the series will premiere sometime in Q3 of 2023. I'll know more and hopefully will have picked a date by the time the conceptual pilot premieres on #LivestreamForTheCure.

I've got a lot of work ahead of me...

... to make this project a reality. I need to be several chapters ahead on the audio drama side of things before I ever hit publish.

Your support means everything as I prepare to undertake this journey.

It will take a LOT of hard work and more time.

I promise, I can do this.

Akolth is entering its twentieth winter without reprieve.

Much of the north and south of the world are lost, buried beneath the ice and snow.

Join Reis and Firr as they journey to find the cause of the endless winter and hopefully bring it to an end before it's too late.

Reis is the son of Eliza, the hero of A'Athor, who saved it from an attack when he was a child.

Now a grown man, he is arrogant and over-confident. A gifted swordsman, he leaps into action without thinking of the consequences and puts others, especially Firr, into danger.

Firr is descended from the Rhyotes, with ash-gray skin and a shuck of fire-red hair, and is Reis' best friend.

Wise beyond his years, he is Reis' conscience and voice of reason, often using his magic to bail him out of trouble and deadly situations.

Stay tuned for more news here or on Instagram at instagram.com/EclipseNovels.

Until next time.

Stay warm.

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