saxbrightwell

While I was initially discouraged by breaking my elbow in December, I found I made modest gains in flexibility fairly quickly - at least enough to type comfortably for a while, even if only on an oddly-placed Bluetooth keyboard with my arm oddly-elevated in a way that never would have been accommodated at work. After a few days at home with very little to do, I found my creative energy running higher and I was able to finish off book 4: Low Dusk!

I spent another month editing the draft and finding things to do while it "aired out," like finishing this ambitious cross-stitch project:

"The horrors persist, but so do I."

- while listening to several podcasts. I have it on the wall in my writing nook now.

Part of why I was so committed to ageing book 4 a bit between edits was because unlike the first 3 books, I was surprised to find there were no sections that required a major rewrite of an entire chapter or more. I needed time to trust that satisfaction, and to calm my excitement for more dispassionate editing. I think it worked okay; I've still had to push a couple of fixes to the live version but they were very small fixes, about 3 words total.

Editing and publishing, plus returning to work in mid-January but with endless doctor's appointments, physiotherapy appointments, xrays, and go-rounds with work about modified duties, have interfered with my goal to find and approach one suitable book reviewer every month. I will try to get back at it next month.

Current Mood: accomplished

Out Now! Low Dusk: Secrets of Sleipnir, volume 4
(warning: explicit content)

"It's all becoming very real now."

The forces of the Abolition Coalition survived potential sabotage outside Gibarra City, and escaped further treachery by splitting off the Trerene salamander-riders to take a hidden shortcut - at the cost of revealing Fiyeli's friends, the cavelings, to the human nations of Sleipnir. On the Shul plain, Prince Maunat must contend with the northern customs and outsized personalities of Princess Bhimmi's Cymosa clan and their neighbours before she and Bhimmi can rendezvous with their Proving mentor. There are more shocking revelations waiting for everyone in the Nans forest, and that's before they even set out on the long-awaited campaign to investigate and eradicate slavery in the scrapper quarries.

Fiyeli has faced danger and hardship before. But returning to the Sea of Glass, with Evret at his side, hope for a future together before them, Maunat and Bhimmi still (technically) under his care, and an army at his back, the stakes have never felt higher.

(Approximate length: 61,000 words)

Available to buy now, directly and on all major platforms!

Current Mood: excited

As you may have seen from my listings sticky, I assembled an omnibus edition of the first 3 books in my Secrets of Sleipnir series. The main reason I did this was to be able to order a print-on-demand author proof edition for myself, but I figured I might as well put the omnibus ebook up for sale at a discount as well. To my shock, there have been some orders for it! But I'm posting today because the proof has finally arrived:

In The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard, the eponymous emperor says, "... every poet should see his work in book form at least once. It is good for the soul." I would say that's true of other writers as well. I knew I wanted this. I was very pleased to have sold enough ebooks to cover the cost of both the proof and the hideous shipping fee to my country. But actually holding it in my hands has been more moving than I expected. I spent a few minutes just hugging it.

All of which is to say, there is now a print-on-demand option available for the omnibus edition! Don't @ me about how much it costs; print-on-demand is not cheap and even at that eye-popping price I'm making the exact same royalties I make off someone buying the ebook version. It's there if you want it badly enough.

Writing Update
My hiatus is going on a little longer than planned, because the fanfiction I was playing around with for a vacation challenge has turned rowdy on me and I have to wrangle it into shape. But I expect to be well into the thick of book 4 by August!

Current Mood: pleased

Out Now! High Dawn: Secrets of Sleipnir, volume 3

Fiyeli and Evret have travelled with Maunat and Bhimmi across the whole of Maunat's homeland, the Trer, rallying Trerenes to the cause of abolishing a nascent slaver movement on the Sea of Glass. And the Trerenes have answered that call, spreading Fiyeli's message until it beats the party to Maunat's home village of Ehlark, led by Maunat's eldest brother (and Fiyeli's ex) Chief Kilum Ingaji. With the help of Kilum and other leaders, a coalition forms with Bhimmi's people, the plains Nanshul.

Two cavalries will ride north across the Shul plain. Two nations strengthen their ties. But not everyone is in favour of these developments, and some will stop at nothing to keep the flow of salvaged Celestial technology unobserved and unimpeded. As their greed-fuelled enemies seek to sow hatred and division, lovers and friends must rely on their wits, their courage - and each other.

(Approximate length: 84,000 words)

Buy now!

Current Mood: accomplished

Out Now! High Dusk: Secrets of Sleipnir, volume 2

cover for the novel High Dusk by Sax Brightwell.

Fiyeli and Evret made it out of the ruined space station deep beneath the surface of Sleipnir, and together with Fiyeli's charges, Maunat and Bhimmi, they led the massive, ancient Mountains of Jade safely across the Sea of Glass to the western ocean, but their task there is not yet complete. They keep watch over the Mountains, waiting in peace and deepening passion. As he grows closer to Evret, Fiyeli must unearth his own painful secrets - and he's about to find out just how far Evret will go to keep the only lover he's ever had.

And all the while they know this peace cannot last; once they've discharged their responsibility to the Mountains of Jade, another duty is waiting in the wings: sounding the call for justice. They don't know how many other people have been enslaved by the salvagers Evret's brother corrupted, but to have any chance of freeing them, they'll need to rally the peoples of Sleipnir to defend their way of life.

(Approximate length: 63,000 words)

Buy now!

Current Mood: cheerful

Out Now! Low Dawn: Secrets of Sleipnir volume 1

Low Dawn by Sax Brightwell: Secrets of Sleipnir volume 1. Illustration of two men in silhouette, holding hands as they walk into an alien sunrise.

A steamy queer romance on an alien world. A story of hidden histories, shattered destinies, and Really Big Animals.

Fiyeli has a pretty good life on the ringed moon Sleipnir. He has friends all over, and even a few casual lovers, if not the belonging and devotion his heart has never stopped seeking.

He's made a career of sorts out of crossing the treacherous Sea of Glass, carrying messages and guiding travelers through the massive impact crater separating the northern and southern forests. Escorting a girl prince and a boy princess on their betrothal caravan to the western sea should be a similar job, just bigger (a lot bigger).

But when a chance encounter with a remnant of the tyrannical Kingdom of Heaven forces him deeper beneath the surface of Sleipnir than he's ever gone before, what he discovers there will upend the life he’s built, and the secrets he built it on…

(Approximate length: 60,000 words)

Buy now!

Current Mood: excited

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February Update

Out Now: Low Dusk!

Print On Demand proof arrives!

Out Now: High Dawn!

Out Now: High Dusk!

Low Dawn Release Announcement

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