Category: News

Hi everyone! Happy July! Can you believe that we are now officially past the halfway mark of the year? I sure can’t! But at the same time, I’m not complaining! The summer sun is out in full force, my backyard writing sessions are in full swing, and there is so much going on this month that I hardly know where to even start this ramble! This month we’ve got a brand-new web serial kicking off, to a shiny new website, to a convention right around the corner. Hands down this is shaping up to be one of my busiest and most exciting months of the year so far! So grab a cold drink, find some shade, and let’s dive into everything that’s happening!

July 2026 Writing Update

Primary Projects
Starbreaker: Volume 6 – Preorder Available! Release: August 4th!
Requiem For A Fallen World – Book 1 – 100% Complete – In Editing!
Legends of Mythranor: The Last Sovereign – Book 1 – 55% Complete
Requiem – Book 2 – 20% – In Progress!

Co-Written Projects
Eternal Realms 1 – Harmon Cooper – Rescheduled! Release: February 2027
Aetherforged – Harmon Cooper – 100% Complete – In Editing!

The Summer Heat

Much like the summer around me things have been heating up at my desk (lawn chair) too this past month! The biggest chunk of June here was spent wrapping up some lingering rewrites over on Requiem For A Fallen World (Book 1). After having a few days to sit on finishing the book, there were a few things I wanted to give one last proper polish before it went off into editing. I’m really happy with where it landed, and I can’t wait for you all to get your hands on it very soon!

In any case, soon as that polish was done I wasted no time pressing ahead into starting Requiem For A Forsaken Child (which is book 2 of the series), which I’m thrilled to say has gotten off to a fantastic start! It’s still a little early to say exactly when this book will be finished, but I am ‘hoping’ that despite all my travelling this month, I’ll be able to polish it off before the end of August before I’m off to Worldcon and Dragoncon. Pay no attention to the fact that WoW’s Season 2 starts around that time too. It’s a complete coincidence. I promise.

Do you believe me? No? Well, distraction time! I managed to work so far ahead that I even found some time to work on The Last Sovereign! Most of that work was largely spent on some rewrites and edits largely because I was still in that ‘editing’ mindset from Requiem, but I figured to ride that wave while I had it and to do all that annoying clean up work that all authors tend to hate.

The Requiem Begins Soon!

Okay, I know that so many of you have been looking forward to this after Starbreaker ended, and after so many months of work, I’m happy to say that the wait is finally over! On Thursday, July 2nd at 12pm (tomorrow depending when you’re reading this!), Requiem For A Fallen World will officially be available and start serializing!

You’ll be able to follow along with the serial over on my Patreon, Royal Road, and my Website. I cannot wait for you to finally meet Lysander and step into my darkest work yet! If you are a fan of Dark Fantasy, Elden Ring, and/or Dragon Age, then this series will be for you!

Luke Chmilenko 2.0 Is Now Live!

Speaking of my website, I’ve got some huge news on that front too! I’m beyond excited to announce that a brand-new version of my website is now ready for everyone to check out over at lukechmilenko.com!

Over the last few months, we’ve been collecting and listening to a whole bunch of reader feedback from both the Starbreaker and Eternal Realms series, and we’ve taken all of that to heart to bring the website to the next level. The result is a wholly revamped navigation, series pages, storefront, reader, and subscriber experience designed from the ground up for everyone who chooses to read my works on the website. I like to think that everything is cleaner, smoother, and easier to use, whether you’re catching up on a serial, reading my blog updates, or just poking around to see what’s new.

The only caveat here that I have, is that serial reading on my website will now be via subscription only via the new Archives section.

The reason for this is that going forward, my goal is to make my website the ‘primary’ place for all my readers to congregate, over Patreon and Royal Road. Now, I want to be clear and upfront: those places aren’t going anywhere anytime soon! If you love reading over on Patreon or Royal Road, you can absolutely keep doing exactly that, and I’ll continue to support them.

But if you’re looking for the very best experience, I’d strongly encourage you to check out the new site and consider subscribing to the Archives, because the subscribers there are going to get perks not available anywhere else, exclusive sneak peeks, coupon codes, a special subscriber only forum, eventually direct sales for eBook and audiobooks, and the earliest news on everything I’m working on. So come on over, check it out, and let me know what you think!

The LitRPG Convention Is Coming!

It’s almost here! In just two weeks, the LitRPG Convention kicks off in Denver, and I could not be more excited to be attending!

I’ll be arriving on July 9th and sticking around until Sunday evening, so there’s plenty of time to catch me throughout the weekend! If you’d like to come see me at one of my panels, take a look at my schedule below so you know exactly where and when to find me:

Location / Time	Panel / Event Name	Description
Friday – Colorado Ballroom – 12:00 PM	Who’s a Good Murder Machine?	A look at animal companions in LitRPG, from loyal pets to overpowered sidekicks. Authors and narrators discuss how to balance charm, combat utility, and emotional connection without letting the companion steal the entire story.
Friday – Columbia – 4:30 PM	The Voices in Your Head Were Real	A lively panel about the partnership between authors and narrators, featuring discussions on character interpretation, audiobook surprises, fan reactions, and what it takes to turn progression fantasy into immersive audio entertainment.
Saturday – Harvard – 12:00 PM	The World Ended and All I Got Was This System	Join authors as they talk about the joy (and chaos) of destroying their worlds just to build them back better. Expect behind-the-scenes storytelling, system design stories, and plenty of “this got out of hand fast” moments.
Saturday – Sopris B – 3:00 PM	Just Because It’s Called a Safe Zone Doesn’t Mean Safety Is Guaranteed	A panel on how safe zones and hostile zones shape progression, storytelling rhythm, and player expectations in LitRPG worlds.

Very excited to see you all there!

Starbreaker: Volume 6 Is Almost Here!

I know that we are focused about talking to July right now, but that means that August is only a stone’s throw away, specifically August 4^th and the day that Starbreaker: Volume 6, the last and final book of the series, finally launches!

As you can no doubt imagine, this is the big one, the conclusion to Sylvas’ journey and the last book in the series. It’s going to be available on both Amazon and Audible, and if you want to see how the rest of Sylvas’ and the others’ adventure comes to a close, now is the perfect time to pre-order your copies! I am beyond excited to see what you all think of the final book!

Ascend Online Has Gone German!

Here’s a fun one for our international readers! I’m thrilled to announce that the translated German version of Ascend Online is now live on Amazon for anyone who wants to experience the series in German! It’s always such a special feeling to see my work reach new readers in new languages, and I couldn’t be happier to share this one with you all. You can grab it on Amazon or Audible right now!

This is Going To A Staple, But Pre-Order Ascend Online’s Traditional Edition!

If you’ve missed the news, Ascend Online is getting a special traditionally published hard cover version through Aethon and if you want to see more from the series, please help me by pre-ordering it!

Available at Barnes and Noble this book is a fancy new edition that will be available at all major retailers across the world and like I said before, I need your help to make that happen! The more copies we get pre-ordered the more shelf space they’ll reserve for us! So, all the support that you can give us now, will only help us down the road for more!

Where In The World Do You Want Luke to Go?

Adding onto the Ascend Online Pre-order I’ve got something else to be excited about! To celebrate the launch of Ascend Online’s traditional release this winter, I’m planning a book tour all through Canada and the USA! But exactly where I end up going is entirely up to you!

That’s right, I want to hear from you! Tell me where you’d love to see me, and I’ll do my very best to see if I can make it happen! Whether it’s your hometown, your favorite bookstore, or just a city you think would be a blast to visit, let me know. You can fill out your answer using the form right here! I can’t wait to see where you all want me to go, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to meet even more of you out on the road this winter!

Back To The Word Mines I Go!

And that’s a wrap for July! With how packed this month, and next month is looking to be, I’m getting straight back to work before all of this gets away from me! I am absolutely swamped and already worried about how I’m going to be performing come Season 2 looking forward to finishing these next projects! I expect that I will have some fantastic and exciting news for you all next month to share!

Until then, as always, I hope you all stay happy and healthy, and that you get a chance to soak up a little of that summer sun! See you all there, and I’ll catch the rest of you when August rolls around!

Luke

Hi everyone! Welcome to June! I know I say this every year, but can you believe we’re already halfway through the calendar? I certainly can’t! No idea where the months have gone, but I am certainly happy that I can take a break from my desk and move outside to my backyard with my laptop for writing! Here’s to hoping that it’s an extra warm (and decently dry!) month so I can make it a regular thing! In the meantime, May has been a fantastically busy month and I’ve got a heap of news to share! So, let’s get to it!

June 2026

Writing Update

Primary Projects

• Starbreaker: Volume 6 Preorder Available! Release: August 4th!
• Requiem For A Fallen World – Book 1 100% Complete – In Editing!
• Legends of Mythranor: The Last Sovereign – Book 1 45% Complete
• Requiem – Book 2 0% – In Planning

Co-Written Projects

• Eternal Realms 1 – Harmon Cooper Rescheduled! Release: February 2027
• Aetherforged – Harmon Cooper 100% Complete – In Editing!

New Works Coming Soon!

So, the biggest news to kick things off: we’ve got two books officially done and off to editing! After a whole lot of grinding, both Requiem For A Fallen World (Book 1 of the Requiem series) and Aetherforged: Heart of Radiance (Book 3) have crossed the finish line and have been sent off to their respective editors. I can’t tell you how huge it feels to have them both wrapped – both in starting a new series with Requiem and finishing off Aetherforged. I hope you love them both when they finally get in your hands. (And soon in the case of Requiem, which I am hoping to start serializing in June!)

But beyond those two projects, I’ve also been making good progress on The Last Sovereign. It’s coming along really well despite that % number beside it not moving all that much. Though the reason for that is because this book is turning out to be a much longer book than I’d originally planned. It’s still a little early to say what the final number will be, but I’m expecting this one to range close to, or even crack 250,000 words by the time I have it wrapped. That said though, my loose goal is still to have it done by August if I can help it. Fingers crossed I can meet that goal!

Eternal Realms Has Been Rescheduled

Just a quick note on this one: Eternal Realms Book 1 has been rescheduled into February 2027 for the simple reason that Harmon and I want to be able to have Book 2 ready to follow much sooner after the first one releases. We had a chance to look at the both of our schedules and it was just too packed for us to be able to hop onto book 2 any time soon. So we decided that kicking the series start down the line was the better option to take. This way, the wait between books should be a heap shorter for you all to endure!

This is Going To A Staple, But Pre-Order Ascend Online’s Traditional Edition!

I know we had this up last month, but in the interest of getting the word out, this is going to be a staple line for the next few months: Ascend Online is getting a special traditionally published hard cover version through Aethon and if you want to see more from the series, please help me by pre-ordering it!

Available at Barnes and Noble this book is a fancy new edition that will be available at all major retailers across the world and like I said before, I need your help to make that happen! The more copies we get pre-ordered the more shelf space they’ll reserve for us! So, all the support that you can give us now, will only help us down the road for more!

And I’m Gone Yet Again!

And that’s a wrap for June! Before I disappear back into the word mines, make sure to stay tuned across all channels, because I am looking to get Requiem’s web serial started sometime the next few weeks once everything is edited and polished! I can’t wait for you to finally get a peek at this one and see what I’ve been working on!

In the meantime, I hope you all stay happy and healthy, plus get a chance to enjoy a bit of that summer sunshine! See you all when July rolls around!

Luke

Hi everyone! April is finally here and I hope you’ve brought your floaties! I don’t know what you’re all looking at weather wise in your parts of the world, but let me tell you, here we have been, and are going to continue to be, soaked. It’s been raining hard for the last week and it’s going to keep raining hard for the next couple weeks! But as it happens though, that’s a good thing on my end of things, because it’s kept me nice and close to my work so I can keep on top of this schedule of mine! So without any further ado, let’s see how this month shaped up!

Back Into The New

I know last month we talked about finishing and I am glad to say that everything there went well! We had all our stuff locked, loaded, sent off, commissioned, and so on to make sure that everything from Starbreaker, to Eternal Realms, to Paragon 4 were ready to fall into your hands. That meant that this month was largely a split between a little R&R as those things finished off for good and refocusing as I switched gears back into pure ‘writing mode’ on Requiem.

Oh, and uh, well, some World of Warcraft too. These expansions don’t play themselves, you know?

In any case, things have been flying along on both the Requiem and Last Sovereign fronts and I am hoping to make great progress on the both of them this month now that I don’t have to switch between so many projects. If all goes well I am ‘hoping’ that we’ll see the end of Requiem sometime in May, and maybe sometime mid-summer with TLS, that book in particular is shaping up to be another one of my slower paced ‘mega-chonker’ type novels, so it’s a bit difficult to say just how long it might end up yet.

There Are Releases Abound In The Meantime Though!

I know we’ve had a little bit of a quiet stretch since Starbreaker 4 released in Janurary, but I am happy to say that the next little while is going to be anything but! This past week we had the release of Paragon of Time (Book 4) and over the next 4 weeks we are going to be celebrating the releases of Aetherforged 2 as well as Starbreaker: Volume 5!

But wait, there’s more too! Starbreaker: Volume 6 and Eternal Realms Book 1 are now serializing on my Website and Royal Road! If you’re itching to see what my next projects will look like, now is the time to jump in!!

In any case, I know there are a heap of things I’ve mentioned here, so here are a crop of links so you can end up where you want to be!

• Read Paragon of Time On: Amazon or Audible
• Pre-order Starbreaker: Volume 5 On: Amazon or Audible
• Pre-order Aetherforged: Demonstorm On: Amazon or Audible
• Read the Eternal Realms Book 1 Web Serial On: My Website or Royal Road
• Read the Starbreaker: Volume 6 Web Serial On: My Website or Royal Road

This is Going To A Staple, But Pre-Order Ascend Online’s Traditional Edition!

I know we had this up last month, but in the interests of getting the word out, this is going to be a staple line for the next few months: Ascend Online is getting a special traditionally published hard cover version through Aethon and if you want to see more from the series, please help me by pre-ordering it!

Available at Barnes and Noble this book is a fancy new edition that will be available at all major retailers across the world and like I said before, I need your help to make that happen! The more copies we get pre-ordered the more shelf space they’ll reserve for us! So all the support that you can give us now, will only help us down the road for more!

And We’re Wrapped Again!

I hope all this was exciting for all of you to kick this hopefully warmer, and hopefully not so wet, month off! We’ve got plenty of things to look forward to over the next few weeks and I hope you love everything that we have on deck! Until we see each other again, I hope you all stay happy and healthy and I look forward to seeing you all in May!

Luke

Hi everyone! Welcome to March! We’ve managed to get another month down and are finally in the home stretch to spring, which I so very much am looking forward to! I’m sure all of us have our own stories to share about the crazy weather we’ve needed to endure over the last month. Thankfully it was a short one though! But not so short that I didn’t get a heap of stuff done on my end of things!

Finishing Things Off…

The theme for this month was wrapping up projects and I am happy to say that is exactly what I did from start to end! I am happy to announce that the Starbreaker series is now officially finished and that Volume 6 is off to the editor! As soon as that is back in my hands, I am looking to send it off for production with a target of an August 1^st release! For those of you looking to read it as a serial or on my website, it should be up sometime in the next couple weeks!

As for the next big thing, Eternal Realms Book 1 with Harmon Cooper is also now officially finished! For those of you who have enjoyed our Aetherforged series, I am happy to announce that we have another project in the works that we’ve just wrapped and can’t wait to get it in your hands! You can expect it the first week of June and it will be narrated by the awesome Neil Hellegers!

…And Starting Something New!

Beyond the finishing the other books and series, the rest of my time went into doing another round of prep and outlining on Requiem, The Last Sovereign, and Aetherforged 3 so I can keep plugging ahead with these three next books into march! Though to be honest I’m not exactly sure as to how much progress I’ll make overall as…I’m planning on taking a little bit of a break for the month to enjoy the next World of Warcraft expansion.

Yes! That’s right! As I said last month I am hopelessly addicted to the game and I am looking forward to being able to hit the next expansion running! In fact by the time you read this, I’ll likely be 40 some odd hours into the game and barely able to see straight! So wish me all the luck!

Ascend Online Is Going To Stores!

Hey everyone! I have super exciting news….Ascend Online is getting a special traditionally published hard cover version through Aethon!

If you’re looking for another brand new cover for the Ascend Online series and want to see even more of these come out, then be sure to pre-order the book over at Barnes and Noble! Every single pre-order we get helps us get closer to the next book hitting the shelves and getting in front of the most people possible!

That said – you can pre-order the Hardcover Editions at any major retailer, however preorders at Barnes and Noble are the most crucial for us as they have the most shelf space in North America. Amazon is second most important.

Also you might be wondering, why Preorder now versus later? These stores are risk averse, especially since covid. The more preorders we get for the book the earliest, the more excited stores will be to make bigger orders and stock more copies on shelves. So all the support that you can give us now, will only help us down the road for more!

That’s It. That’s The End Of The Update.

Azeroth Calls! Er…wait, work calls? Are you still believing me? Should I sell this any harder? Okay, okay, I know when I’m cooked. But seriously, I do plan to work at least a little bit (I mean, the servers will be down at least some of the time) so I can keep on schedule with everything I’ve got planned. But all else – I’ll be taking the chance to get some nice rest and relaxation in.

So until we’re back for Paragon 4’s release at the end of the month, stay healthy and happy, and we’ll see you all then!

Hi everyone! Happy February!! I hope that you’ve all have all managed to enjoy the last year! (That’s what we’re calling this past month, right?) It’s certainly been a bit of a doozy, hasn’t it? Anyway, I certainly hope that you’ve all managed to stay healthy and happy if nothing else, and are managing to stay warm amid this frosty, snowy winter! And if you’re not, well, I hope that this update gives you a little bit of a pep with all that’s coming next!

Straight Back Into The Grind

Last month I know I said that I was looking forward to getting into the grind again for this year, and I am happy to say that everything has lined up accordingly for that! This is was a nice and productive month getting back into the swing of things and I’ve managed to just about polish off Starbreaker: Volume 6 while making steady progress over on Eternal Realms with Harmon! I managed a little bit of token work on the other projects listed above here – but given how packed this month was, it was just enough to keep the stories in my head while I worked ahead on everything else.

Going into February next, my plan is to properly knock out both SB6 and ER1 and take care of all the post production efforts here to make sure that these two books are ready to ship to their respective publishers before the month’s over. Because as it happens we have the awesome Neil Hellegers on deck to not only finish the Starbreaker series, but to also work on Harmon’s and my Eternal Realms series too. So we want to make sure he has everything he needs to get rolling!

Oh, and uh, also because as some of you may know…because there’s also another World of Warcraft expansion hitting at the end of February.

Which Means It’s Time To Actually Grind

Okay, I’m sure by now it’s no secret that I’m addicted to this game and that I like to spend a good chunk of time playing it. That goes doubly so during the expansion launches which are probably my most favorite weeks to ever play the game. So to make sure I’m ready to make heaps of gold and be ready for the dungeon grind I don’t fall behind in my writing, the overall plan for February is to solidly prep my outlines, workflow, and everything else so that when March properly arrives I can not only deliver everything, but also maintain some level of consistency on Requiem and LoM, while also enjoying the game.

So, uh, wish me luck. Haha.

Oh, And There’s A Wombo Combo Too

As it happens, there’s also more going on in March than just the Warcraft expansion for me – I’m also going to be flying off to the London Book Fair in England! It’ll be my first time overseas to the UK and I am super excited to be out and over there! If any of you happen to see me at the convention or in the area, certainly don’t be afraid to say hi!

But Wait There’s More – Pre-Orders, That Is!

All right, let’s try and steer this ship back towards land now with the exciting announcement of Pre-Orders! I know I’ve been promising a bunch of dates and timelines for the next crop of books releasing and I finally have them here! We have managed to upload the pre-orders on Amazon for:

Paragon of Time – March 24^th
Aetherforged: Demonstorm – April 7^th
Starbreaker: Volume 5 – April 21^st

So if you want to grab any of these ahead of time, I highly recommend that you don’t delay and grab it today! Pre-orders are not only huge for helping get the visibility we need on these series, but the reduce the chance of you forgetting about their release dates by over 100% (don’t check my math on this, just trust me).

Past these releases here, it’s still a little early to say as to when Requiem and LoM might fit into the release calendar, but I am reasonably confident that Starbreaker: Volume 6, should be coming out sometime in June or July of this year to wrap the series up for good!

And We’re Wrapped!

Another year in the books – whoops, I mean month. Yes. That’s what this past four weeks actually was…right? Anyway…it’s been a good start to 2026 on the productivity front and I am hoping to push that forward as far as I can into February here before I take a little bit of a break and slow down. I’m hoping that you all enjoy everything that I’ve got coming up in the next little while and can stay happy and healthy until we see one another again in March!

Luke

Hi everyone! Happy Holidays!! I hope that you’ve all have/are having a wonderful stretch through the end of the year here and have managed to stay healthy! It’s been both a great month and year here on our end of things and I’m been very excited to give you all a final round up about what I’ve been up to and where things are going for next year!

Winding Down The Year With Some Planning

Now as we spoke about at the beginning of December – I’ve mostly only had light work planned for this month and I’m happy to say that’s been the case through and through. I split my time here between working on Starbreaker 6 and planning work on two new series that I am looking to debut in 2026, the first is my upcoming Requiem series that will be published through Aethon and the second is a brand new concept that I am happy to finally announce: Legends of Mythranor: Stormrend which will be published by myself and Audible Studios.

For those of you interested in learning a bit more both – check out their blurbs below!

Requiem:

All the world is a grave.

Slick with rot and clawing his way out through a reeking mound of corpses to reach the anemic light of day, Lysander finds the world has fallen to ruin since his death. The Scorn of the Dead Gods has spread like a plague across the land, tainting, infecting and twisting everything in its path, making all that was once beautiful, monstrous.

He must rise again with only haunting fragments of the life he once led, the battles he once fought and the friends that he has lost to guide him.

He must rise again, binding his soul to the heartless corpse it has inhabited through forbidden and grotesque magic so that it will last the night.

He must rise again, to reclaim a shadow of the power that he has forgotten, because the shattered world that has called him back from sweet oblivion stands on the brink of annihilation.

He has been returned to this mortal coil with a purpose; to slay the goddess that he worshipped and died for a millennium ago. The only being he has ever loved.

Because the Scorn has taken Our Lady of Light, and what she is becoming will make all the monsters, corpses, and horrors that came before seem like a kindness.

Legends of Mythranor: The Last Sovereign:

The only thing Lucien Stormrend ever wanted was to follow in his father’s footsteps.

A Hero. A Legend. A Leader. And the greatest Myrmidon that had ever walked the face of Mythranor.

That is until one mysterious expedition saw not only his father, but the entirety of their guild, Vex Thal, proclaimed missing, if not dead, shattering every hope and plan Lucien had for his life.

Today, some six years later, Lucien stands on the precipice of his future as the Trial of Awakening looms before him, an event that could see him not only living up to his father’s name, but carving out his own legend.

The Legend of The Last Sovereign.

Sound great don’t they? I sure hope so! I am very excited to get both of these series truly started and in your hands once I have Starbreaker: Volume 6 properly finished! Likely I’ll be serializing both of these in some way shape or form when the time comes, so stay on the lookout for them!

Speaking of Serials – Starbreaker: Volume 5 Serial Has Started!

That’s right! I’m happy to finally say that the next entry of the serial is finally ready to go! The serial for Volume 5 will/has resumed starting Tuesday, December 30^th for paid readers and Wednesday, December 31^st for free readers on a daily schedule until the book is completed. Depending on which of these tiers you belong to, the book will end somewhere between the end of January or the second week of February.

This is because if you look at our release plan above, I am expecting Volume 5 to officially release on Amazon/Audible sometime in February, though I’m not sure when exactly just yet. Because of that I want to make it clear that this will be a fast release/stub cycle and it might be very likely that I will need to stub/paywall Volume 5 very soon after it’s ‘completed’. So please make sure to keep on top of the releases if you wish to read this book while it’s free or subscribe to my website or Patreon to maintain access to these books.

Speaking of Stubbing/Paywalling: Starbreaker: Volume 4 will be Stubbed and Paywalled on January 6^th, 2026! If you have not caught up to the remaining free chapters just yet, you only have a week or so to do so before I need to remove them in preparation for the Amazon launch.

What Happens After Starbreaker Is Done?

Well, as you no doubt can tell from our big list above, there will be more books and serials – though exactly ‘when’ they’ll arrive is still a bit up in the air as we’ve got quite an ambitious writing schedule for 2026 and I’ll need to see how things work out in practice first! In any case, here is what I am currently looking at for my writing schedule:

Requiem: Books 1-6
Legends of Mythranor: Stormrend Books 1-2
Ascend Online: The Age of Heroes (Book 6)
Eternal Realms: Book 2
Aetherforged: Book 3

Yes, you read that all right! On top of the already 7 to 8 books we already have scheduled for next year, a I’m looking to finish as many as 11 more books over the course 2026. Of course, that’s the best case scenario, I’ve no doubt that some of those completions are going to absolutely slip into 2027 or be photo finishes, heck I might even have a nervous breakdown at some point and this list will be moot. But this is my goal for the next year and something I feel reasonably confident in achieving given that a couple of these projects have pretty big chunks of them already finished, or are co-writes, and thus require quite a bit less of my time.

But I’m Sure That’s Not All You’ve All Noticed On The List

That’s right! Ascend Online has finally made it back to the schedule here after quite a long absence – and one that’s truly pained me to put off for so long. Unfortunately as I’ve said in a few other places, I simply haven’t been able to afford working on the series in favor of newer projects, at least until this coming year! If all goes according to plan – I am hoping to slot The Age of Heroes somewhere into the second half of my writing schedule this year and get it into all your hands ASAP after that! Of course, stay tuned for more concrete updates as the year goes on and as I cross things off my giant list up above!

And That’s Where We Stand Now Going Into 2026!

I know I usually say this with every monthly update – but it goes double this time – that’s all I’ve got!

2025 has been an absolutely fantastic one in every single way that I can measure, things got finished, I kept my sanity, and all the lingering injuries and stuff that I’ve been dealing with in the past are as good as gone! Going forward, it’s my goal to make 2026 an even better year on all fronts as we tackle this new project list! I certainly can’t wait to hear what you all think about these books once they hit the shelves and end up in your hands!

But much as I said last month as great as the year has been – it’s been great because I’ve had all of you to support me through it! So once again, I want to thank you all for being such awesome supporters of my work across the board! I wouldn’t be able to do this without you all!

Looking forward to seeing you all again very soon with another monthly update come February! Until then, I hope you stay happy and healthy over the holidays and everything else in between!

Luke

Hi everyone! Okay, now I think I can officially say Merry Christmas without stressing anyone out! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful past month and are ready for the holidays to come! I know we certainly are here and are very much looking forward to getting some great rest and relaxation in for this next coming month before we get back into the races for 2026! So as we get ready for some winter hibernation let’s see how this last working month has gone!

December 2025 Writing Update

Primary Projects
Starbreaker: Volume 4 – Preorder Available! Release Date: January 13^th, 2026!
Starbreaker: Volume 5 – In Formal Editing! Release Date: February TBD
Starbreaker: Volume 6 – 5%
Requiem – In Planning

Co-Written Projects
Paragon Book 5 – Alex Knight – Complete! Release Date: TBD
Aetherforged: Demonstorm (Book 2) – Harmon Cooper – Complete! Release Date: April 7^th, 2026!
Eternal Realms 1 – Harmon Cooper – 5% Complete
Immortal’s Ascent: Book 5 – Chris Harris – Complete! Release Date: December 9^th!

Release Season Is Coming!

Woo! Now as you can see on the list here – we’re starting to get some interesting things on the update board – namely releases! (Which I know you all love!) So to kick things off here in a chronological order here is what you should all expect for over the next coming months:

-Immortal’s Ascent: War and Wrath (Book 5) Will be released on December 9^th of this year! Stay tuned for the preorder to pop up any day now!

-Starbreaker: Volume 4 will be released on January 13^th, 2026 – which I know that many of you have been waiting for! Check the Pre-order out on Amazon and get your copy secured now!

-Starbreaker: Volume 5 will be released likely sometime in February, but I don’t have a date just yet! Soon as I do, I will let you know!

-Paragon of Time (Book 4) will now be released on March 24^th, 2026! Stay tuned for the pre-order sometime around February!

-Aetherforged: Demonstorm (Book 2) will now be released on April 7^th, 2026! (You guys won’t need to wait until October!) The preorders are already live on Amazon, so snag it now! (And also check out that amazing cover!!)

-Starbreaker: Volume 6 will potentially be released sometime between late April and May. This one is still a bit of a moving target as I just started writing it, but soon as we lock in a date, you’ll all be the first to know!

-Eternal Realms 1, will be released June 2^nd! This will be another brand new series from Harmon and I that we just started this week! We can’t wait to tell you more about it when we’re ready!

Whew – and okay! That’s it! Well…it is for now at least! Next year is going to be an absolutely ‘packed’ year for books as you can all no doubt see, and this list only includes the projects that are ‘done’ or ‘in the works’ right now. There are still a handful of potential projects that will make this list into the later half of 2026 that I’ll be sure to update you all on as they get firmer on my schedule! In any case though, if you have any reading to do to catch up on my works, now is the time to do it!

Light Work And Passion Projects To Wind The Year Out

Aside from the absolutely crazy stretch of releases that we’re planning out for next year, my plans for this month are really to take it easy and keep all deadlines firmly out of my mind. My goal for the moment is to make decent progress on Starbreaker 6 to wind down the year as well as plug away on a fun, relaxing passion project that I started many years ago, but never got a chance to finish. If things go well – hopefully you’ll all get a chance to see it sometime next year as well! (I mean, if I can find an open month to release it in…)

But in any case, rest, relaxation, staying healthy, and no deadlines are the motto for this month! I’ve got a heap of books and games on the table that I’m planning on working my way through over the month, while getting myself recharged to be off to the races for 2026!

The one note I’ll say to look forward to for all Starbreaker readers, is that I expect to have Volume 5 start serializing shortly before Christmas! So you’ll have a little bit of something extra to look forward to!

And Back To My Cave I Go!

That wraps not just another month, but another year here! It’s honestly felt like a blur from start to end this year and I truly can’t be more satisfied how it all went! This year felt like a wonderful balance between work and everyday life, certainly the best I’ve had in years! It’s my hope that next year will be just as great! But as great as the year has been – it’s been great because I’ve had all of you to support me through it! Thank you all for being the wonderful fans that you have been, and I certainly can’t wait to see how you enjoy everything coming in for 2026!

So until then, stay happy and healthy over the holidays and I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all next year with a more in depth update as to what new projects to expect for 2026 and all the fun stuff I have planned!

See you all then! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in the meantime!

Luke

Hi everyone! Merry Christmas! Can you believe the holidays are here already? (Wait, don’t hit me!) Okay, perhaps it’s a little early to start celebrating, but maybe even so, we are now officially in the final stretch of the year! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful past month and aren’t too over done on all the chocolate and candy! And if you are, that’s not a problem, I’m here and ready to break down how this month has gone!

Gonna Call A Mulligan On This One!

Okay, so know that last month I mentioned that Starbreaker 5 would be wrapped up and finished…and the truth is…I just got too bogged down on everything else on my plate for this month and had to pend it in favor of working on a couple other things – that being the final edits on Paragon Book 5 and Immortal’s Ascent Book 5! There was unfortunately just too much on the go between editing these two books, planning out Eternal Realms 1 with Harmon, and all the usual admin stuff to give it the brain power I needed to wrap it up.

In any case my plan for this month now that my plate is clear is to finish off Volume 5 and immediately break ground on Volume 6! Past that, I am ‘hoping’ for a purely writing month with maybe even some spare time to tackle a couple of my side projects, which you might finally see make the list soon if I feel I can put up a consistent amount of words for it. So if you’ve got any energy to send me on that front this month, I’ll certainly welcome it!

Aetherforged with Harmon Cooper Is Live!

I know we announced this last month, but if you missed it, my next new series – Aetherforged is now officially out, and early readers seem to love it! Co-written with the awesome Harmon Cooper, this book is a wild cross of Epic Fantasy, Academia, and Deckbuilding (but with a twist!) that if you haven’t had a chance to try out already, now would be a great time to!

Check it out over on Amazon!

Check it out over on Audible!

Book Round Up!

So this year has been a crazy busy one hasn’t it? So busy that it wouldn’t surprise me that if you missed something of mine come out – or simply never had a chance to come back to it while you make your way through your TBR list!

But as we enjoy this little lull before next year’s absolutely packed publishing schedule, this is a great time to catch up on all the stories that you missed!

So if you haven’t had a chance yet to read: Starbreaker, Paragon, Immortal’s Ascent, or my new Aetherforged series this is your chance to check out my author page over on Amazon or Audible and start your next favorite read!

Check Me Out On Amazon

Check Me Out On Audible

And That’s Really All I’ve Got This Month!

Some months are long on updates and other months are short on updates – this month it’s a short one! I’m super psyched to be through the editing wall that was October and I am very excited to dive straight back into the words again for all of November! I swear, I’ll be focused. I only have the Midnight Beta and Moonlighter 2 to distract me. Oh…and Outer Worlds 2 I guess. Uh, maybe I’m in a little trouble after all? We’ll see. In the meantime as is our tradition, I hope that you all stay happy and healthy for the first month of the holidays here and I’ll be looking forward to seeing you all next month with a super-sized update of what we’ll be looking forward to seeing for 2026!

See you soon!

Luke

Hi everyone! Welcome to the spooky month, which I can hardly believe is already here! Where did the last month go? (I mean, I know it was Silksong, but still.) It feels like only yesterday when my stress was at an all-time low and I didn’t need to worry about pogoing all the way to…well, if you know, then you know. I hope that you’ve all had a wonderful month regardless, and don’t worry, September certainly kept me busy despite my silken adventures, so let’s take the chance to get caught up!

Another Two Down!

The big news for this month is that Starbreaker: Volume 5 and Paragon 5 are officially written! (Or at least they will be by the time that you all read this blog!) As I type this, I’m in the final stretches of Volume 5 and expect to be done early in the month, which is great as I am expecting the edits for Paragon 5 to arrive any day now as well!

In any case this marks the point of the process where I will be switching exclusively into post production mode for the next little while to make sure things are properly polished before being sent out into audiobook production. I am expecting that this shouldn’t be too intensive this time around, which should give me plenty of time to play Hades 2 start planning and working on Starbreaker: Volume 6 to finish off the series! It might be a bit of a close shave, but I am hoping to have the first draft done by the end of the year, but we’ll see how my sanity works out.

New Series Launch: Aetherforged with Harmon Cooper – on October 7^th!

I know we announced this last month, but if you missed it, my next new series – Aetherforged is coming out next week! Co-written with the awesome Harmon Cooper, this book is a wild cross of Epic Fantasy, Academia, and Deckbuilding (but with a twist!) that we hope that you all love!

Releasing on October 7^th in all formats, you guys don’t need to wait all that much longer until it’s in your hands, but until then, here is the blurb to check out and the links so that you can place your pre-order!

***

The discovery of an enchanted heirloom sends a poor farm boy on a journey to master magic and vanquish evil in this epic LitRPG fantasy series.

Eighteen-year-old Callum Stross never asked to become a hero. Struggling through a brutal harvest alongside his father, he’s more concerned with surviving the season than reliving ancient wars.

But when a devastating aetherstorm strikes, Callum is forced to seek shelter in a cursed manor, where he discovers a dormant Aethercore tied to the bloodline of the legendary Demonslayer. The core fuses with his soul, awakening latent power and binding him to Fen, a mana-bound fox who claims Callum is the Reborn Heir meant to finish what his ancestor started.

With demonic aetherbeasts rising once more and warlocks spreading corruption through forbidden Demoncores, Callum must travel to New Albion to uncover the truths hidden in the Archive of Destiny. There, in the capital’s elite Great College, nobles train to manipulate mana, fuse shards, and wield legendary Powercores. But even they are unprepared for the impending storm.

To survive, Callum must rise through the ranks of a complex system, deepen his bond with Fen, and unlock the secrets buried in his bloodline. Because the Second Demonswar is coming—and this time, no one’s ready.

***

Preorder it on Amazon!

Preorder it on Audible!

Into The Edits I Go!

And that’s all I’ve got for you guys this month before head back to fight Chronos! I mean, time. I mean climb Olympus! Dang, that’s wrong too. Okay, I’m not gonna pretend anymore. I’m gonna go play Hades 2. Probably until I die a few times and chuck my controller out of my reach. But once do that, I’ll definitely go back to the editing so you can all have these books in hand ASAP! Promise! In the meantime, I hope that you all stay happy and healthy, have a super spooky Halloween, and a very happy thanksgiving for all the Canadians in the crowd!

See you soon!

Luke

Hi everyone! We made it to September! Wow where did this summer go? I feel like it was just June a moment ago, and now here we are! I’m not sure about you guys, but these last couple months have been a complete blur on my end of things, so I am very much looking for a chance to slow down a little bit! But before we get off to doing that, let’s go take a peek at how August went and what we’ll be working on for September!

From Grinding Into Polishing

With the summer having been a long grind of work, September and onwards is going to be shifting into polishing mode with a whole flurry of books having their first drafts finished and thus entering the post production stages of things. Between last month of August and this coming September we have/will have Aetherforged 2, Starbreaker 4 & 5, and Paragon 5 entering and exiting into/out of various states of editing, rewrites, and post production work. Unfortunately that means that writing new words will be at a premium this month, depending on how long all the above takes, but fortunately I have Silksong to carry me through this month!

You’re going to be playing Silksong right? Right? RIGHT? I’m certainly happy I’m not releasing a book this month to compete with it coming out!

Anyway, depending on how my month shakes up, my goals here are to clear out my editing and post production queue with all of the above books and drive straight into Starbreaker: Volume 6 and Eternal Realms 1. How much progress we make on new words will depend on how quickly I can get these editing pieces polished off, but I’m confident that we should see some substantial progress regardless!

(And not just in Silksong, I promise.)

Starbreaker: Volume 4 Serial, Pre-Order, & Upcoming Series Scheduling

Okay, so we have a heap of fun things to cover here so I can keep you all in the loop!

First off – the Volume 4 web serial has now officially resumed across all of the usual Platforms (My Website, Patreon, and Royal Road) and we are a chunk of chapter in already! If you want to keep up with the series, then check out one of the links above to get your fix!

Secondly – because we are in the middle of celebrating Volume 4’s web serial launch, I am offering a huge discount for those who want to dive into the paid tiers of my Patreon, with $5 off my Hero Tier (usually $15) with the arrival of my Eternal Hero Tier for a limited time only. For those of you who choose to subscribe to this tier – for $10 a month, you will be able to read 9 chapter ahead for all of Starbreaker, as well as get first access to all of my other upcoming series in the future, such as Requiem once I switch gears and starting writing there! So if you’re not interested in waiting for the official release of Volume 4 on Amazon, then consider hopping on over there and checking things out!

Thirdly – The Preorder for Starbreaker: Volume 4 has now officially gone live on Amazon with the launch date of January 13^th, 2026! I know that this is a ways out, but unfortunately we’ve hit a bit of a crunch with the audiobook scheduling and need to give some time for the production process to catch up on that side of things. (The Audiobook preorder will be up ‘soon’ not to worry!)

What the good news here is however, is that this should be the last and only ‘crunch’ of the series with Volumes 5 and 6 to arrive fairly quickly in 2026 afterwards. At the moment it is still too early to give firm dates, but I’m generally anticipating February for book 5 and April for book 6. Soon as I have some firm dates, I’ll share them!

Of course though – if you’re a Patreon or Website subscriber, you’ll be able to finish the series, much, much earlier than waiting for the official launch. (Just sayin!)

And Last But Not Least – Aetherforged: Rebirth Releases Next Month!

That’s right! We do have something new to talk about here for this month, and that is the coming arrival of my next new series – Aetherforged! Co-written with the awesome Harmon Cooper, this book is a wild cross of Epic Fantasy, Academia, and Deckbuilding (but with a twist!) that we hope that you all love!

Releasing on October 7^th in all formats, you guys don’t need to wait all that much longer until it’s in your hands, but until then, here is the blurb to check out and the links so that you can place your pre-order!

***

The discovery of an enchanted heirloom sends a poor farm boy on a journey to master magic and vanquish evil in this epic LitRPG fantasy series.

Eighteen-year-old Callum Stross never asked to become a hero. Struggling through a brutal harvest alongside his father, he’s more concerned with surviving the season than reliving ancient wars.

But when a devastating aetherstorm strikes, Callum is forced to seek shelter in a cursed manor, where he discovers a dormant Aethercore tied to the bloodline of the legendary Demonslayer. The core fuses with his soul, awakening latent power and binding him to Fen, a mana-bound fox who claims Callum is the Reborn Heir meant to finish what his ancestor started.

With demonic aetherbeasts rising once more and warlocks spreading corruption through forbidden Demoncores, Callum must travel to New Albion to uncover the truths hidden in the Archive of Destiny. There, in the capital’s elite Great College, nobles train to manipulate mana, fuse shards, and wield legendary Powercores. But even they are unprepared for the impending storm.

To survive, Callum must rise through the ranks of a complex system, deepen his bond with Fen, and unlock the secrets buried in his bloodline. Because the Second Demonswar is coming—and this time, no one’s ready.

***

Preorder it on Amazon!

Preorder it on Audible!

Back I Go To Polishing

And that’s a wrap here for another month! I think we’ve got some lofty ambitions here to tackle for the month and with some luck I’ll somehow manage to finish them all off! In the meantime I hope you all enjoy what’s coming next for Starbreaker: Volume 4’s web serial and that you consider pre-ordering Aetherforged for its release next month!

I hope you all stay happy and healthy until we meet again! Thank you all for your support! (Oh, and enjoy Silksong!)

See you soon!

Luke