Hey Everyone,

It's been two months since I updated you. Sorry about that. When people started asking where an update would happen, I realized I'd been updating my Patreon and social media and NOT to the people here. As a bald man, I wear many hats and sometimes those hats get lost in the shuffle. MANY apologies about that!

Here's how things are going. I received Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of The Dark Thorn, not just the trade paperback copies but the white-cover hardcover copies. The trade paperbacks were perfect; they were shipped with care. But the hardcovers were shipped with barely any care. And not only that, the printer placed the dust jackets on the books slightly off and then their shrink-wrap machine damaged 122/125 dust jackets on the hardcover books. After going round and round with their customer service team, I finally convinced them that this was their fault. You can see photos below.

Obviously, this set back some things. But this last Friday, I received new flat dust jackets. Now I sadly have to carve out time to wrap-by-hand these dust jackets onto the hardcovers so I can fulfill these to those people who have purchased them. I hope to do that next week once my kids are back in school after the holiday.

Right now, I'm editing stories for Grimoire: Dragonsteel Nexus 2025, the anthology that Grim Oak Press will be selling online and at Brandon Sanderon's December convention in Salt Lake City. But between stories coming in, I've been proofing the final pages for The Dark Thorn. I'm 6 chapters through and I've already changed some words for a cleaner read. I will then offer this book as a giveaway, just for fun. More news on that when done!

I'd imagine I should be done with proofing by September 10th. At which point my book designer will send me a final file of The Dark Thorn, and I'll create the ebook. I'll be sure to send that ebook out s SOON as it is done. 

On the signing front, artist Magali Villeneuve has also just returned signature pages. So now they are going to Don Maitz who I am sure will sign them quite quickly. He always does.

So things are moving. Just not as quickly as I'd like. But I do plan on being fully done with The Dark Thorn in September and all files at printer/bindery.

Let me know if I missed something here. I'm always around. And THANK YOU AGAIN!

Shawn