MarvinKnight
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Author Feedback and What Do You Want to See in Book 6?
🕑 Added 2025-05-03 15:00:07 +0000 UTCHey guys!
In case I haven't said it yet, thank you so much for reading along with me for book 5. I check on the latest post pretty much every day and read every comment. (I sometimes miss older stuff that gets posted on chapters that are a week or two old, but I do often see those too.)
This last book especially has been amazing. I've been seeing as many as fourty or fifty likes on a chapter, which is pretty impressive considering I've been used to getting 5-10, and it's a sign that there's a decent number of you enguaged and actively reading along, which is part of what has helped motivate me to maintain this 4 chapter a week pace.
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how book 5 turned out. It wasn't my most focused book in terms of individual plotline, but it did drive the series forward in ways I wanted. While not my strongest plotline in isolation, I think it's a very good addition to the series, and by book 5 that's what's important.
Book 6 my hands are less tied and I can go into things with more structure in mind, so that's what I plan to do. I actually have a whole stack of outlines for earth arcs that I've had to sideline again and again due to how much the off-world adventurers were expanding, but now I can finally use my favorite from them.
I do need to shift the narrative a little from what was originally planned though. Carter is nearly A-Grade and way stronger than I thought he'd be at this point (I planned for the integration to end when he was reaching B-Grade) so I need to shift some stuff around. Some enemies will be buffed, but I think the better way of doing it would be to place more emphasis on non-physical challenges.
Carter didn't want to be a leader at the start of the story, but increasingly he's been forced into that role. I think it's time to really put him to the test and present him with problems he can't punch his way through. That way, even if the enemies are only C-Grade, he's still facing a real challenge.
It might lead to a bit of a lower-stakes book, but I'm confident it will still be fun, especially after all the Chaos God action we've had recently, and with Carter now going to have to struggle with being a Dad.
So basically, the next stage of the integration will have a much more elaborate plot with factions Carter can't just wipe out himself like he has in the past.
I do want him to talk to Jade again, but I'm hoping to keep that brief. The goal is to make this book 80% Crownhill stuff, to make up for the fact that the last two books have been almost all off-world adventures.
Here's some of the stuff I've picked up from you guys and my own notes:
Want to see Eowyn again.
Want to meet Sakura's dad.
Remain friendly with the Goddess in Jade.
Build up Crownhill into a real empire.
Anything I'm missing? If so, post it in the comments below.
Comments
Jason Hutchins
So probably kinda late, but a few direction tying in ideas. Love the series as a whole, last book was kinda spread out and hectic, but o feel reassured by other comments about next one. Bridget is already pregnant, found militarized shard even if they are off, and based on the short ma in law needs grandkids. Sanctum has time dilation, Myrina and Cyra are both Carter’s wives, as are the rest even if not official. Having system pull and Myrina already being tied to crown hill bring her and cyra to the shard. Cyra will be starting her own branch somewhere anyway now that she is B grade and stronger than her mother. Meet up with jade to complete the hand off of her followers. The pocket realm kids to sanctum since there will be some b grades there to protect them and under the dilation pregnancy and childhood will be faster so population boom. Gibson is awesome. She finally came into her own. Keep her that way. Let Carter and Sakura train her up a little and expand her job so she can run and expand his little slice of that pie so she can evolve to be more comfortable with herself and pursue Carter to join the family. She’s worked hard for it, also he needs a new apprentice. More on the apprentice, Carter toyed with the idea of low orbit satellites, work those in for spying on the other shards. He also already has a few ships to his name from spoils of war, hint hint. And finally, Mimiko is a cultivator, he now has the wood affinity, and his own version of the system. She has seen how the system works, and could be coerced to accept the system to let it create a cultivator class for her. (All arguments on this are based on the original idea of the system from his dream). He also still has the old ruins to finish exploring and is learning the ancient language. Find clues, let him put 2 and 2 together with Reluna and Mimiko, convince personal system, baseline will be in place for Lyra’s system (will piss her off more and make her more skeptical of him), finally convince jade and her people, jade joins harem. Leads up to big finale whenever you decide to. Yea a lot of ideas and long term progression, but hey the possibilities are endless and “We have so much room for activities!!!”
Marvin
I'll meet you halfway and give you an annoyed father-in-law.
Marauder
Drama, death, betrayal, the end of the universe.
Matt Geller
With earths affinity for technology and with Crownhill becoming the center of all the shards, (they are also building their levels fast), I could see Crownhill becoming the center of the multiverse, also being the home of Cyra’s branch of the Samhain Clan. Eowyn would be such a benefit to the Carter Smith harem and Clan, in a way it would be great to also integrate her home pocket realm with Crownhill and Sanctum. I wouldn’t doubt that once Carter unites the shards from the integration that Carters Mother in-law Kyrina, grandma Lutherin and his father in-law makes trips to Earth, allowing Carter more earth time.
