Samurai Squadron III – The In-Series Trilogy Concludes

Just to be clear, the Spinward Fringe series will be going on after Samurai Squadron III, but the trilogy nested within it will be wrapping up, to be followed by Broadcast 21.

I’ve finished the first half of Spinward Fringe Broadcast 20: Samurai Squadron III. This trilogy started with a smaller entry in the series, one that focused on Ronin, giving us a bit of an update on how he’s doing, and what he’s thinking. The second expanded the scope of the story, and the third does so again. We join Ronin again in Samurai Squadron III, but are treated to a story from Remmy’s point of view as well as another character who has become a favourite of mine.

So far, Samurai Squadron III is one of the most difficult novels to write since Broadcast 4: Frontline. While I was writing Frontline I hit a wall, a rare writer’s block that took me weeks to get over.

I haven’t suffered from writer’s block since then. The challenge comes in another form with Samurai Squadron III. Stories that started in Samurai Squadron II are continuing, and one of them goes to a very dark place that was essential to the book, but I wasn’t happy to go there (mentally).

Stephen King was the first writer that I’ve heard say that writing is a form of telepathy. I’d thought something similar years before, but it wasn’t quite as apt, or as complete. I believed that great writing could evoke specific emotions, and controversial ideas can surprise people as jarringly as finding someone in your closet after midnight.

All of those beliefs linger on in a simpler sentiment, summed up by Stephen King’s more well expressed quote. If I imagine a state of mind and a place well enough, there’s a chance that I can craft that experience for someone else. Telepathy including empathy. I enjoy writing. It’s what I want to do for the rest of my life, but there are scenes that aren’t as much of a pleasure to write. Thankfully, I derive a great deal of satisfaction when I finish writing one of those scenes in a dramatic way, and when I see that the story benefits as a whole.

Samurai Squadron III isn’t like many of the other books in the Spinward Fringe series. I’m always trying to evolve my style and try new things, and this book is no different. There is more than one story in the first half of the book, and they read in sequence instead of running concurrently. It’s the way it had to be this time. After looking at the character paths in my outline, it turned out that this was the only way to follow the main characters properly without turning the novel into a one thousand page tome. I know, some of you may be cheering for a book that’s four times as long as the average, but it’s easy for a novel to get weighed down by extra content that doesn’t measure up in importance or quality.

That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of quieter character moments. They need to come alive on the page, so they need a little room to breathe, time to show you how they live when they’re not busy fighting. I enjoy chapters like that. They allow for subtlety and more depth.

Now, for a little synopsis!

The Samurai Squadron and the Triton have a critical role to play in the war for the Rose System. Led by Ronin, the Squadron enters a new phase in the conflict as all sides look towards Planet Rodus for its secrets and strategic importance. Under the cover of conflict, the Raven, under the command of Captain Remmy Sands, leaves for Grace in search of help. The Order of Eden threatens liberty as the enigmatic insectoid Edxi are making another appearance after hiding, regrouping and planning. There will never be another war like it. The Triton and Samurai Squadron are right in the middle.

I’ve been serializing this on my Ream site, which is a Patreon like subscription service specifically made for writers and their readers. The halfway point is a big deal for me because it means I’ve told the first two stories featured in the book, which build up to the rest of the novel.

I’m having the most serious fun telling this story.

Samurai Squadron III: Spinward Fringe Broadcast 20 has a tentative release date of May 21, 2024. It is currently being serialized exclusively on Ream.

Pre-orders are available here:

Amazon US UK AU DE
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble
Apple Books

I Am On Ream, and Why I Left Patreon

Before I get into the reasons why, I have to thank everyone who made the switch with me from Patreon to Ream. This could have easily been a disaster, and it wasn’t because of you taking the time to move over. The Ream Migration Team has been a great help too. I’m happy to be on Ream and am working to make it worth it for everyone.

What is Ream?

Ream is a Patreon-like subscriber page where you can support me and get some great content in exchange before anyone else sees it. For example, Rogue: Assembly, a brand new book, is serializing right now. Over a month before anyone could see it in the completed ebook form, people were reading the first three chapters. Now it’s almost finished.

What’s next? Samurai Squadron III: Broadcast 20 will begin serializing as soon as Rogue: Assembly is finished.

Sorry, the $1.00 tier that was once on Patreon is forever gone because a lot of that gets eaten by fees and the minimum tier on Ream is $3.00. My goal is to make every tier worth your while. If you want to see the subscription levels, take a look at my main page here. If you can’t reach it, please clear your browser’s cookies. The favourite tier overall is the Library Access! level. I love the library, which has almost every book I’ve ever published. All the Spinward Fringe and Fantasy work is there along with the fresh serialized stuff and I’m working on getting older stuff in along with short stories along with other things I’m not talking about yet.

Now, for anyone who is curious, here’s why I switched from Patreon to Ream.

Patreon is a great site, I don’t want to fling anything negative in their direction. It’s just not for me anymore. After they finished a major update to their platform I saw that it’s a place more well-suited to people who produce videos and podcasts. There’s also a much more corporate feeling there, which is great for increasing confidence in the site.

Sadly, only one feature I was hoping for was implemented in the form of Collections. That definitely doesn’t meet the requirements I’ve had for years. It seems that Patreon would never be the place for me. That’s why I switched to Ream, which is designed by writers for writers.

Ream is ready for use, meaning that it has all the most important bits finished and pretty polished. The developers are busy at work, adding features and refining what they have. The customer service is far more personal and very quick, so I’m quite happy. The few road bumps I’ve run into happened mostly behind the scenes and were smoothed out rapidly. I’m enjoying it there, and, as I’ve said before, I love the library. They have an app that you can download here and that will allow you to read the serials at any subscription tier. If you’re a member of the Library Access! Tier or higher, you can also read anything in the library as well.

Why am I using a subscriber platform at all?

Well, there are two main answers at this point.

It keeps me writing at a good pace.
I love writing, and I love it as a job, but sometimes the pace of work can slow down if I get too distracted by research or developing parts of a book when I don’t necessarily have to. If I’m releasing two chapters a week most of the time, I’ll spend some of my personal time on unnecessary stuff instead of diving into a rabbit hole professionally. If I need a break, I’ll take one, but they last a few days instead of weeks like they used to. The pace is good, and I enjoy having a required number of chapters to complete every week. It keeps me focused on one project at a time too.

It promises to stabilise my income.
There have been times when I had to strain to buy medication (I have glaucoma as well as Type 2 Diabetes and no coverage for meds), and cover the bills. My subscribers have saved my butt multiple times. Book releases pay the rent at the moment, but even with good reviews very few independent authors can make what they used to, myself included. I hope that I can eventually earn enough Ream Subscribers to make publishing secondary and have a very stable income from that. Many people who use Patreon get there.

My plan is to continue releasing quality fiction that doesn’t simply reflect what you can find on television or in movies right now so you can have amazing experiences when you read my work. I’m also going to be adding support documents, like Guides that I wouldn’t publish, but exist on Ream, where they can be added to and refined over time. A Guide will be a kind of Encyclopedia that anyone can use to look up characters, places, timelines and key events. There will also be short stories and some other stuff.

I thank you for reading this far, for picking up my work and supporting me. I hope to see you on Ream, but make no mistake, I’m grateful to everyone who buys my books normally too. I like publishing too, so I won’t be stopping that anytime soon.

IMPORTANT LINKS FROM THIS POST
My Ream Site
The Ream App
More information about Rogue: Assembly