February 2025 Newsletter

Sent 03/01/2025

Happy non-Leap Day, readers! (February died on me.)

Gaea, Book Two of The Mother Trilogy, is up for pre-order! You can find it here on Amazon (available in Kindle as well, as listed here), as well as . . . let’s see, Kobo, Apple, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble. I forget all the places Draft2Digital puts the eBook for me; they’re pretty awesome like that.

It’s been a long road with many more setbacks than I anticipated, but we’re here. Somehow I convinced myself that editing a 200,000+ word book would be easy now that I have a little more experience. Next time, as I always tell myself, I will outsource more editorial work, and perhaps formatting, because that’s half of my struggle right there. Shoutout to my beta readers who’ve helped me pinpoint key problems and helped catch some mistakes.

In other news, I am officially making my first foray into book marketing, that is to say paid advertising. Trying to budget closely and watch what works, what doesn’t, etc., so that I can be certain I’m actually making a profit with this business . . . Of course, I’ve been focusing more on gaining a readership and reviews than on making a few bucks.

One marketing decision I feel good about is my recent choice to publish Mani for free on Royal Road (you can read it and my serial works here). This means that you don’t have to purchase an e-copy to read, unless you prefer a genuine e-reader. Serial fiction is quite popular these days after being out of fashion for the last century, and I hope to grow my readership that way alongside my other serial works.

Speaking of, I am back in the production of more Tales from the Earthen Sky chapters, so I will be resuming that in March. I’ll finish Act 1, which is not far away, then hopefully edit/rearrange the chapters of Act 1 while preparing for Act 2, which should get pretty cool. Act 2 is where the “progression” elements come in, with which I labeled the story. For those unfamiliar with the genre, that simply means the story has a large focus on the main characters getting stronger and reaching new heights (in this case literally).

Notes from The Mother Trilogy:

Dates and Times

On Mani, the Sol Cycle is twenty-eight “days” long. Since these days are divided by the great auroras and the clouds, they are separate from the Sol Cycle. Each day in the Cycle, Sol progresses farther in her rounds, creating two seasons: Sunlit and Sunless; Day Season and Night Season.

The Sol Cycle:

• 1–2: Dawn (Full sunrise on 2nd day)
• 3–8: Waxing Day
• 9–10: Zenith (Full Day)
• 11–14: Waning Day
• 15–16: Sunset (Dusk on Day 16)
• 17–28: Night Season

Naturally, all these figures vary depending on where on Mani you live. The farther north or south of the equator one lives, the shorter each Sunlit Cycle will be. The farther east, one will experience each stage of the Sol Cycle before those in Ti’Vaeth, Kystrea; the farther west, later:

• Ti’Vaeth: ±0
• Sea of Emptiness (east): -7
• Sea of Emptiness (west): +7
• Tower of Mani: -14

There are thirteen months in the year, each with their own two seasons—Day and Night—which are warmer and colder. There are no traditional seasons on Mani, so constellation cycles tell the passing of a full year.

Dating Systems:

Years of the Exile (E1–E1000): Begins at the time when the first prisoners were sent to the grey moon (some contest this, claiming it started when the Titan of Growth was sent there). Counts upward to the end of the silver world. Used on Mani as well, but they leave off the E. It is the year E997 when our story begins.

A.E. (1–23XX+): Used before the Anier rose to power, and refuses to die despite their attempts. Counts from a significant historical event.

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Thanks for reading. See you next month!

— Jacob Gamber