No SPFBO for Envoys this year. Guess I just signed that multi-book deal with Penguin & Schuster now….

Ahhh! My books are in a local bookstore!

Well, the Envoys of War has been submitted for SPFBO XI... Now we wait!

Honorable mentions at the beginning are from Dec. 2024—a few books I finished after sharing a similar post too early in the month lol. Starred books are ones that especially stood out to me, but genuinely would recommend all of these to the right readers. 💙📚

As an author, it’s important to recognize the skills you’re not as adept with. I’m really confident in my dialogue and I feel I’m a good character writer, but worldbuilding and description don’t come as easily. I’m actively working to improve those skills, and I think I’m getting better every day.

Day two: fashion Friday Cordyn is all about fashion! He wears waistcoats, fancy trousers, and ornate frock coats. He spends way too much on clothes! The only thing that sometimes clashes with his outfits is the dark purple bicorne he wears to honor his father.

I failed to do this yesterday, but I’ll do the first two days today. Day 1: I’m Dave. My current WIP is The Mayhem of Scoundrels, the sequel to The Envoys of War. I’m making good progress and plan to release around the end of the year. My resolution is to remember to do this for the whole month.

I’ll be entering the Envoys of War this year!!

If you have NetGalley and you’re looking for a new read to start the year, look no further! Death Show Colossus by @williamjadams3.bsky.social is the 80s action movie sci-fantasy romp I didn’t know I needed…but, damn it’s good! I’m 40% in and you should join me!!!

It’s 2026! 2025 was a pretty good year for me, and I hope 2026 will be even better! Here are some of my goals for the new year. What about you? What are you most excited about for 2026?

Howdy howdy! I'm Alex and my resolution this year is to write more, write better, and publish another book. Speaking of, I'll be answering prompts for my upcoming D&D style fantasy murder mystery And Brains There Were None, which is currently with betas. #WritinginJanuary

2025 stats: 571 books sold on Amazon 168 audiobooks sold 28,027 KU page reads ~140 direct sales Envoys at 145 ratings on GR Pawns at 78 ratings on GR 50,000 words written (slow year!) Lots of new friends made! Found a bunch of new, awesome readers! Stay tuned for 2026 goals!

I talked with the awesome Aaron N. Hall yesterday about Star Wars novels, D&D, old comedy movies, the importance of audiobooks, and more! Check out the show!

I ended up reading four more Round One #SFINCS books from my team's allotment, and here's the first of those reviews! This one's for Dave Lawson's The Pawns of Havoc--an epic fantasy that's likely to be a crowd-pleaser! beforewegoblog.com/sfincs-revie... #SFINCS3 #novella #indiefantasy

One of my Christmas purchases. I’m trying to up my outlining/plotting game as I write the sequel. (It’s harder to pants a sequel!) RoRo thinks the book would be better if it was called Chase the Cat.

Another catch up review! This one I read as part of the WWP book club. Super cool novella!

Thanks everyone who purchased The Odyllic Stone or Locks & Keys during the Mega Sale! I just made my donation to the Mary Cariola foundation. If you were in the sale yourself, here's a friendly reminder to take care of your donation now.

Monday: 794 words Golden monkey tea latte with oatmilk There's a florist right next to the tea shop. And a bookstore. I think this means I have a new spot to write. #booksky

♨️Hot take: It's okay to want your art to be good enough for people to enjoy and talk about. But these other things are more important. Don't get lost in the "is it good?" question and forget about the creation process, but it's okay to want to be good at art. Agree? Disagree?

Yesterday, another indie author called me a successful indie author, and I was like, “naw, I’m not successful.” But when I think about, I guess I have done pretty well for a relative newbie! Thanks to all the readers who have given me a shot!

In an early draft of Envoys, I had a character named Tuck. I decided I had too many T names, so I changed his name to Ezra. I used Find and Replace All. Then I looked and noticed it had changed every instance of "stuck" to "sEzra." 😅😂 Live and learn...

My buys on day one of the r/fantasy megasale! @karenlucia.bsky.social @delilahwaan.bsky.social @jdlrosell.bsky.social @noahisaacs.bsky.social @backwardsknight.com

It really sucks when you send out physical ARCs and you find out someone is selling them. For almost double the price of the book, no less.

Not sure what to grab during this awesome eBook sale? Here's a few recommendations of books or authors I've personally loved! Full list of my recommended titles and authors in the thread below. Browse all 650+ books on sale at megasale.yrliu.com

WILD SKIES @keandrewsauthor.bsky.social REFLECTIONS OF LILJE DAMSELFLY by @nataliekelda.bsky.social PETITION @delilahwaan.bsky.social UMBRA by Amber Toro STARLIGHT JEWEL by EL Lyons CITADEL AT THE END OF THE WORLD @yrliu.bsky.social ANIMUS PARADOX by me! THE ENVOYS OF WAR @dlawsonauthor.bsky.social

I’ll give you a sneak preview - FOUR of the seven first books have been finished! Incredibly positive reception from ALL. The men are discussing the books amongst themselves AND me. Each finished book was enjoyed! One of the men, learned what an ARC reviewer is.. and wrote a first draft. 🎉😁📚

@dlawsonauthor.bsky.social @williamjadams3.bsky.social @alexarch.bsky.social @belladunn.bsky.social @ctphipps.bsky.social Dave’s book was exchanged with Alex’s for the very happy fellow to start a fresh book this weekend! 😉🤩🎉📚💨 Project Phoenix’s first books are an outstanding success.

It’s Megasale time! At Willow Wraith Press, we’ve got you covered with all sorts of insane deals! Both The Envoys of War and The Pawns of Havoc are .99! You should also snag the Locks and Keys anthology where I have a short story set in the same world. Merry Christmas!

At Christmas, you tell the truth. So yeah, I like regency romances. Intense worldbuilding bores me. Sorry, mom and dad,that was me who ran the car into the garage twenty years ago. Triceratops are the best dinosaurs. I probably DNFed a book you love. Merry Christmas 🎄 Love you all!

My current read. It’s pretty good so far…. Exciting year ahead!!

The books from @dlawsonauthor.bsky.social's indie novella giveaway. Thank you to Dave and all the other authors, I'm excited to dig in!💙📚 @nataliekelda.bsky.social @laurasffauthor.bsky.social @cblansdell.bsky.social @timwolffauthor.bsky.social @gjterralwrites.bsky.social @williamjadams3.bsky.social

We’re sneaking closer to 150 ratings for Envoys and 80 for Pawns!

I made some graphics with my characters’ heights, with me as the control group. Someone are tall, some are short, one is really bald. Oh wait, that’s me…

Writing has been slow and difficult recently (the last 6 months). Trying to hype myself up by posting a progress update, so I can feel productive as I add words. Want to help? Leave a comment telling me either a) you’re proud of me b) to get off social media and write words c) all of the above

Fly up! Fly up! We have a new Wyvern Den post from @kiraofthewind.com on The Envoys of War by @dlawsonauthor.bsky.social. Check out all the ways this book stood out! grimoireinkreviews.wordpress.com/2025/12/21/e...

Just a typical day of trying to decide what sort of prosthetic limbs my world has… Totally not for @kiraofthewind.com’s favorite whisker-twirling sorta villain’s appearance in book 2

And so the last day of the Wyvern review happens! This has been such a cool experience (and an awesome way to do reviews!)

Day 5 of my WYVERN review for @dlawsonauthor.bsky.social's The Envoys of War! I play loose with my idea of what a 'rogue' is. It can be anything from a true evil villain to a charming antihero. This book is rich in heroes with a rough exterior, but today I highlight one who stole my heart

Another art reveal (art courtesy of @cblansdell.bsky.social ). Here we have Arabella and Cork from The Pawns of Havoc!

This is a fantastic deep dive into Envoys from Erika! Check it out. She really picked up on a lot of what i was going for!

Stuck searching for a suitable gift for the fantasy fan in your life? Don’t fret! Baldalf the Wizard is here with all the best suggestions! You’ll have happy fantasy fans everywhere… (Baldalf is not responsible for anything bad that happens to you…)

Day 3 of my WYVERN review for @dlawsonauthor.bsky.social's The Envoys of War! V is for VISUALIZATION where I share a snippet from the book that I could picture vividly and which... excited👀 me. cw for gore in this one! This book mixes banter and comedy with some rather gruesome fight scenes.

Willow Wraith Press Secret Santa! Amazing haul for me! The Severing Son by @vaughnroycroft.bsky.social , which everyone at WWP is raving about! However Many Must Die by @fantasticphil.bsky.social I loved his novella Oksy, Come Home and needed this one! Thanks Santa @gjterralwrites.bsky.social

One of my favorite scenes from Envoys! The audiobook version is fantastic too!

What an awesome year 2025 was for reading! There were many great stories out there both indie and trad pub. Here are the top two books from each Willow Wraith Press member: Did we read your favorites this year? What books would you recommend to us for 2026?

It’s the end of 2025, and I’m here with my Top Reads of the Year! Check it out Fanfiaddict! Very thankful to @fanfiaddict.bsky.social for letting me join the team!

Voting is live for the Indie Ink Awards at Indiestorygeek.com. If you’ve read and enjoyed Pawns, I’d love to have your vote. Arabella is definitely my side character MVP! 😂

I vacillate between feeling like an imposter just playing at being a writer and feeling really good about my books. It really just depends on the day. Today is one of the good days!

Huge audio giveaway!! Check it out, signup, and enjoy!!’

This is SO COOL! Thanks, Kira!!