Dear Reader

Do you feel like you aren't allowed to mess up anymore?

I don't mean by any sort of moral sense or screw-up in that fashion. I mean in the human growth aspect of life. Trying out a new skill or hobby and failing because...you're new at it. The simple facts of human growth taking time, repetition, and experience through failure.

Why do I say we're not allowed to mess up? Mostly by looking at the world. I'm a millennial, and grew up as the world changed from "put your nose to the grindstone," to "make everything about your life marketable."

Kids grow up being taught that their paths must be set at an early age, or they will miss out. Colleges need a perfectly attuned resume of social work, extracurricular activites, and specialized skills that set you apart from the pack, all while maintaining a near-perfect GPA.

If academia isn't the route, then find that thing that you can monetize. Are you pretty likable? Be a YouTuber, or a Twitch streamer and get those ad dollars flowing.

One of the best in gaming? Esports is for you!

You like creating something with your hands? Where's your Etsy Shop?

And all the while, we as consumers expect a certain level of approachable perfection. Your skills must be completely top-notch, while being mentally and emotionally available to your fans but able to handle the rigors of professional life. All while people are still learning their craft and their path in life.

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Tom Brady, the absolute GOAT of Football (which pains me to say as a Steelers fan who grew up in New England), recently sat down to talk about what is happening to the game of football, the state of young quarterbacks, and what's happening at the college level. If you're a fan of the game, you've probably noticed the weirdness of QB play this season and the last few years, of supposedly great quarterbacks having up-and-down performances week to week.

Brady mentions that there is no real development system anymore. College Football has become, in essence, just as professional as the NFL. 18-year-olds are expected to just come into a school and be at the top of their game. If they can't hack it, either hit the transfer portal, or give up.

And those lucky enough to be able to match the physical standards to play the game, then find themselves in for a rude awakening when their physical abilities dip even a little bit around 27 or 28, which happens to everyone.

Why am I talking about football so much? Because I love the game. But because it is indicative of what is happening just about everywhere else.

We now demand that everyone is at 100% completion in professional life. Everyone must have their life goals mapped out, be achieving them in clearly trackable goals, and to do so with very little social help. And then when some inevitably fail, we just walk away.

But human beings don't work this way. We are hardwired to be a little bit messy in development. Our brains have more than a tiny bit of chaos. It's what allows us to make insane connections like peanut butter and jelly, or the beauty of harmonious music. We are supposed to grow at our own pace, in our own way, messing up by simply not understanding, and learning from such steps to become who we are truly meant to be.

This week, I hope you are able to just breathe, and grow. To feel brave enough to step out of your comfort zone and try that fun thing. Go to an axe-throwing bar, or tango lessons (preferably not at the same time). See professional wrestling and the ballet in the same month. And forgive yourself for not being perfect.

God knows I'm not.

I'm going to keep messing up. Keep doing weird things with fantasy, and hopefully bring some meaning along the way.

God Bless, and all the best,

Jack

How are the books coming along?

The big project next year took a wonderful turn this week. Project 369, the more-than-daily poetry project I have for myself coming next year, will be more impactful than we could have imagined.

For this poetry project will also explore and expand the lore and history of Legends of the Realm. That's right, every poem will have either a tidbit, or a massive trove of the history. From the founding of Dannisfire, to the whole continent of Tir Aileni, and all the kingdoms spanning thousands of years.

I am so excited about this because at the end, there will be a book of poetry for you, dear reader. One that I hope you will enjoy and find fascinating.

As for what is happening in Legends of the Realm, we are over 70k words in book 2 of The Innkeeper's Dirge, and edits for book 1 are well underway! I hope you enjoy the next chapter in all of our tales.

Where do we see you next?

As mentioned earlier, we will be at the art show Saturday, December 6th! Coming up in just 2 weeks, I cannot wait to see you all in New Bedford!

Some awesome projects to check out

HELLFORGED is the story of a teenager named Liz who is living in New York City with her father, the fabled wizard Merlin, pretending to be normal people. Stranded on Earth after an accident transported Merlin and Liz to our world when she was a baby, Liz has grown up only knowing what Merlin has told her about their home - the utopian planet of Camelot - and the benevolent King Arthur.

After a mysterious force brings Liz, Merlin, and Liz’s best friend Calvin to the world of Camelot, Liz discovers that it’s actually a nightmarish hellscape overrun with terrifying beasts that serve a world consuming primordial evil. This evil, the universe’s personification of Death, is an extra-dimensional being known as the All-Dark, and it has possessed and corrupted King Arthur and Camelot beyond salvation.

​Hellforged Kickstarter Link​

Elbryan and Pony—soul mates from childhood who grew even closer over time—fervently hope that the tide of darkness is at last receding from the land of Corona. Yet if evil is on the retreat, why are hordes of goblins and bloody-capped powries slashing their way ever-deeper into civilized lands?​
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​A sinister threat now looms over Corona, for the power of the demon dactyl was not entirely vanquished by the sacrifice of the monk Avelyn Desbris. Instead, its darkness has infiltrated the most sacred of places—as a once-admired spiritual leader rededicates his life to the most vicious, most insidious revenge against the forces of good. There may be no stopping the spread of the malignant evil...

​The Demon Spirit Kickstarter​

Where Gothic Horror Team-Up 2 Begins...

Picking up the story of Count Dracula stranded in a remote Nordic sea amidst the wreckage of the ship, Demeter, where the powerful vampire finds himself faced with a mythological monster of legend and allied with the wrathful white whale, Moby Dick, driven to these rare waters by a world-ending catastrophe.

​Gothic Horror Team-Up Link​

Dead by the Book

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I didn't ask for a destiny.

Especially one that says that I'm supposed to destroy every god in existence.

It made the name William Creed a curse. Made me turn tail and run from the only home I knew. Left my friend, my favorite ghost, and hoped that the gods would just forget about me.

But now I'm back. Chasing the one good paycheck I've seen in years. Chasing some kid who's in way over his head, searching for a book that could break reality.

I'll have to take on dragons, the undead, a whole cosmos of deities, and my own mother.

Welcome to God Street. Where miracles become realities.

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