Greysons of Grimoire is finished!
Well, kinda.
The web novel is complete! The final chapter (aptly titled “Greysons of Grimoire”) released just over a month ago, bringing this sprawling ensemble adventure to an end. I hope it moved you, excited you, brought you joy and light in a world that can often seem very dark and cheerless. That’s what I’m always trying to do in my writing: bring light and joy into people’s lives. There’s a lot in the real world that seems hopeless, that can seem so dark and dour and dire. I hope my works can be a reprieve from the trials of your life, and maybe more than that, help you to find the hope and light in your own life and situation.
So. I said “kinda.” What’s that about?
Well, the series isn’t really done. The web novel is, but I’ve been releasing the series in published formats! The first two books are out in paperback, hardcover, and ebooks! The physical copies can be a bit pricey — I’m self-published, so I’m beholden to production costs that define how low I can price my books. But that’s why the ebooks are a highly affordable version. I don’t want cost to be a barrier to entry for my books, and do my best to keep things at as low a cost as possible. The web novel is the “first draft,” and often very rough, version of this story. These published versions are the highly polished, revised, edited, and refined “final draft” versions. I hope you’ll check them out, even if you’ve read through the entire series online.
That “final draft” mentality is felt throughout the published versions. The first two books are the same story, but with some scenes cut, new scenes added, and every single scene revisited, explored, and refined to be the best it can be. In the web novel, there are plot threads introduced that go nowhere, that I abandoned later on because they didn’t fit — those are now gone. There are also plot threads that were introduced and I, um, forgot existed. Oops. Those are handled on a case-by-case basis — some are excised, some are reworked and now properly integrated into the story. And there are places that the story is going that the earlier books now more effectively foreshadow and set up, creating a stronger thematic resonance from page one to the very end of the series. Volume III, which will be releasing soon — look for an announcement in the weeks to come! — shows the snowball effect of those changes. It’s the most altered so far from its web novel version, which is part of why it’s taken so long to finalize.
But part of that time frame has also come down to looking ahead. I’ve been revisiting Arcs IV, V, and the final Arc, taking extensive notes and plotting out what needs to be done to bring it all together. We’re heading towards the same ending, but in a far more satisfying, complete, well-rounded, thematically resonant way. And — fingers crossed — that means that books IV, V, and VI will all release faster than it took for III. I’ll do my best!
Somewhere further down the line, I’ll talk about Greysons itself. The series, the story, where it came from, what it meant to me, all that. But I’m not quite ready to do that. We’re too fresh off the series finale, and that’s just… a lot. A lot to think about, a lot to talk about, and I’m still deep in Greysons with the published versions. But it’s so, so exciting to have finished this story. It all came together somehow! And I think it came together pretty well, too!
So. We’ll talk more about Greysons in the months and years to come. I love this story, love these characters, love this crazy world. I hope you do, too. But!
What’s next?
One thing ends, and now… what? Does something new begin?
Yup.
Yeah, skipping the suspense. There’s something new on the horizon. A lot of somethings new, but the most immediate thing is…
The next web novel!
I really found a lot of joy and learned so much — about myself, about writing, about storytelling — through this process of writing a web novel. So I’m doing it again! A new web novel will launch, with its first chapter, next year! January… something. 2022. Not sure which day, but it’ll be in that first full week of January. And I’m trying something a little new, a little crazy, a little out of this world.
In a word: structure.
It’s a scary word for me when it’s applied to writing. I like flying by the seat of my pants, watching stories grow organically and trying to keep them from losing their way. I’m not fully in control, and I don’t really want to be. But! We can be a bit more structured, without losing that wild frontier spirit.
So the next, brand new, totally not-Greysons-related-in-any-way web novel starts next January. The first Arc will run for forty chapters. And then, we’ll take a break, and the next year, January, the next Arc will start, and that one will run for forty chapters. And, uh, eventually, we’ll get to a final Arc, which will be forty chapters, and the story will finish. I don’t know how many Arcs it’ll be.
So, yeah, structure. And still wild, organic, frontier creativity going on here.
It’s a really, really exciting story. I’ve been working on it for a while already, and these new characters, this new world, are all so different and interesting and oh so charming. I’m so looking forward to sharing it with you and seeing if you enjoy it as much as I am.
I talk a lot about enjoying what I make, and sometimes, depending on what I’m reading or listening to, that can seem… odd. Artists are a whole different breed of humans, and we’re often our own worst critics, sometimes to an emotionally crippling degree. I’ve got a whole blog post in the works about that, but, basically…
I’m pretty happy about things. I struggle a lot, and stumble a lot, through this maddening creative process. But I love it. Part of that is that I’m a pretty positive person overall. But another reason is because I try to follow a piece of writing advice I heard several years ago:
“Write what you want to read.”
If I’m writing the kind of story I’d want to read, then it creates a fantastic barometer for whether or not I’m doing a good job at it. And that also helps inspire me when I’m reading, or watching, or playing, however I’m taking in other stories, my head’s always whirling with questions and ideas. What would I like to see? What excites me, and what lets me down? How can I create the kind of stories that I love so much?
Beyond that approach, I also strive to shine a light to the world with my writing and storytelling. I want to spread joy and light, to inspire and encourage, as much as I can. I hope I’m succeeding, at least a little bit, in that endeavor.
And I hope I can do that for a long time to come. Greysons of Grimoire is just the start. Next year, look out for a new web novel! There are numerous other novels and series in the works, which I hope to share with you soon! I often think of myself as a tortoise. Tpaul the Tortoise. It’s got a nice ring to it. I move slowly, but I do get things done — eventually. Slow and steady may not win the race, I’m not so sure I agree with that fable. But it sure as heck finishes the race. And, uh, hold on, how did we end up in a race to begin with?
Slow and steady gets the job done. I’m not in a race with anyone, except maybe time itself. To try and finish as many of these stories crowding my brain as possible before I run out of time. But also… to do it right. To do these stories and characters justice. To really make them sing.
So there’s an update. Hopefully the next one won’t be as long in coming. I’ll keep plodding along here, slow and steady, doing my best to not only finish these works, but to finish them right.
Thanks, as always, for reading. For following Greysons all this way, and, hopefully, for sticking around for what comes next. Here’s to the next chapter.