News

Event Announcements, Release date information, and updates on my writing!

11/07/2025

Hi everyone!
I can’t believe it’s already been 4 months since my last update, and I truly apologize for that. It’s been a busy fall season at home. I haven’t forgotten this project however. I’ve been trying to iron out pieces of the lore and elements of the world in order to make it all feel new and real and exciting. The draft that I’ve been editing has a lot of the bones of the lore, but it’s missing a lot of detail and I’m afraid a lot of my time working on this project has been spent on that. For example, I’ve been working on the difference between normal spell casters and witches. I’ve also been working on runes and runes spells which is a huge part of the magic system, as well as drafting ideas about the gods of this world. I’ve been writing it all down in a notebook I’m calling my compendium. I jot notes, draw terrible diagrams or sketches (I’m not very artsy with drawing although I wish I was). I also oftentimes find myself daydreaming about this world of Hollow Mortes and all its history and wonders, envisioning the magic being done and all the people and their stories. I understand that I need to focus my energy on getting this new draft complete, but I can’t help it sometimes when my mind just wants to run wild in Hollow Mortes and not write it down to share.

07/25/2025

Hi everyone!

The last month has been pretty turbulent. I have been moving from an apartment to a house, I quit my job and have spent the summer hunting for a new one. I am happy to report that I have landed a new job, one which will hopefully be a place I can establish a solid career. As a result of the move I have no idea internet and limited data. I was hoping to make a lot more progress on the book this summer but those plans have gone out the window. But hopefully now that computers are set up and furniture has been moved in and most of the boxes are unpacked I can dedicate some time before the end of summer to getting this draft done. I’m not expecting internet for another week but maybe I can work in offline mode on Google docs and try to crank out a few or more chapters of changes.

06/17/2025
Hi Everyone!

So my proofreader finished going through my manuscript and they left over two hundred comments! It was honestly pretty mind blowing and humbling to see just how much work needed to be done. I skimmed the comments and a lot of them seem to be simple grammar corrections or missed capitalizations. But some comments are bigger, concerning world building and my magic system. I need to do a better job of fleshing out a lot of aspects to the world and how certain creatures operate and how magic is used in Hollow Mortes. I’ve started back at chapter 1 and am making my way through it all. It’s a lot, but I’m keeping at it. I think the hardest part is keeping motivated. It’s daunting seeing all the comments and highlighted sections on my manuscript. Seeing how much work and effort I’ve put into it and then realizing I’m nowhere near done can sometimes make me feel like there’s no point, like I’m doing my best impression of Sisyphus and this book is my boulder that I keep pushing up to the top of the hill only to have that boulder fall back to the bottom.
I know I shouldn’t think like that. It’s not healthy and will only make the process longer and more painful. I will keep working on my book as often as possible, and I will keep my goals in mind. I will use my progress as my motivation to keep going. Because as much as I feel like Sisyphus, my boulder is not falling back to the bottom.

05/29/2025
Hi everyone!

So, I’ve taken the leap and am having someone proofread my manuscript! It’s very exciting, and honestly nerve racking. It’s the first time I’ve let someone really LOOK at my work. This is something that I’ve built over 3 years without anyone really reading it. Growing up no one ever really took an interest in my hobbies so I have grown to just keep them to myself. But I know that if I want to ever publish this book and show the world what I’ve created, then this is a necessary step. My proofreader has been at it for a few days and has already given me great feedback. But I can’t help but feel that cringe of anxiety that every writer feels when they share their work with someone every time I look at the comments left on my manuscript’s google doc. But I also know that I cannot grow as a writer unless i do this. I know I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m eager to do it.

Thanks for stopping by.

05/24/2025
Hello everyone!

I have been making progress on the book, admittedly slower than expected. I have an ending roughly written. In total, I have 75,358 words. I’ve added a chapter full of world building, and have been playing with the magic system and history of Hollow Mortes. So even though there hasn’t been much actually writing happening, progress is still being made.

I’ve also recently made a world map which you can check out on the Lore page of this site. Building this map was something I felt was really important both to me and the canon of Hollow Mortes. It helped me map out where certain places were, build up lore, and start brainstorming other stories within this world of mine. It’s my home that with enough time and dedication, I will create a number of stories within this world.

I always thought it was odd to do so much world building for a single novel. While it makes that novel rich and wonderful, it seems a shame to create something so great only to use it once. I’d love Hollow Mortes to be a world that is filled with generations of people and their stories. I want Hollow Mortes to become something that has something for everyone, a place where people can escape to, but also relate to in some ways. On the other hand I want people to understand that Hollow Mortes is a world dethatched from our own and is something wholly unique.

On top of the world map and the new chapter, I’m working on a few rough sketches of characters and places. I’m not a great artist but I would like to try and add some concept art to give people an idea of what characters, creatures, or places look like. I’m also trying to make the cover art myself. I know conventional wisdom says to hire someone to do it for me, but part of me is afraid that if I do that then they will not capture the essence of the world. I’m also afraid that I’ll start to doubt myself by not doing all of the work myself, as if my work will be diminished because I hired someone to do the artwork. I know it might sound stupid to some but that’s how my brain works and I don’t want to feel demoralized or fall into a negative self talk loop with this project. I’ve spent so much time of this and I want to see it through.

Thanks for stopping by.

04/26/2025
Hello!

It’s been a while since I’ve been active. I feel terrible about it. I built this website to help bring attention to novel I’m writing while building the world it takes place in. In truth I haven’t made much progress on the 4th draft. There have been a lot of things happening in life and with my day job that have distracted me from this project.

The last few months have strained my mental health as well. I have felt like a complete failure and lost my motivation for a while. But I’m doing my best to get back to it and complete Dear Mr. Avalon and publish. I still need to rework my timeline to publishing but rest assured it will get done!

01/26/2025
Today this website is launched! It’s a very exciting feeling. The site is very basic and rough around the edges, but I plan on dedicating a good amount of time to giving it some TLC and providing you with regular updates, artwork, and samples of what I am working on. My intention with this website is to begin building a community around my work and share my creations with as many people as possible. I plan on adding a discussion board for feedback, and posting regularly to make sure you the reader are informed and I the writer stay on track.