State of the Scribe: September 2024

Hey ponies!

I’ll start this off with my biggest announcement of the month: Words of Power’s hardcover print is underway! The book has already reached its funding goal, so will certainly be printed. Now we’re just waiting for the campaign to play out, and for orders to be collected. Check it out here:
https://igg.me/at/words-of-power
The book will be printed in full color, to preserve the great illustrations. I’m still talking to the artist, but I don’t anticipate any issues securing permission to include them. Acesential is doing the cover for us, and I have no doubt it will look great next to Fine Print (the last one they did). I don’t have any updates on the WiP, but I’ll post it as things develop.

The other thing I’m doing differently for this campaign is including stretch goals, of a sort. In the past, I had a higher tier for readers to get an additional chapter made. But that resulted in lots of random things being written, instead of words focused on the project at hand.

For this one, I’ll be adding an additional chapter of epilogue for every 15 copies beyond the goal of 50 books. The larger our print run, the more little vignettes and moments of history we’ll get to see of Lotus’s family and future in Equestria. I’ll write at least one regardless, as a thanks for getting a chance to print the book.

I will be printing and fulfilling the entire project myself, hand packaging and signing the books for those interested in that. Last time, it took about a hundred hours to print a book, which is why I’ve been so reluctant to do it again until now. At last, my time has come again. Though the exact dates I get everything are outside my control, I fully anticipate the books will be delivered before the end of the year, perhaps quite a bit sooner.

Sparse looking calendar here, as you can see. Lots of stories wrapping up, though none of the patreon stories are quite close enough for me to start publishing them on fimfiction. I anticipate several of these getting published to fimfic soon though, so stay tuned! Waiting on a few covers now.

There’s also another exciting project coming to take the place of Words of Power, that should make its first appearance next month. Despite the temptation, I’m going to avoid publishing more than 2 non-pony stories on this list at one time. I know many of you are here for that reason alone, so I’ll leave things blank until one of the non-pony things has finished to add another.

Got to meet some of you at Everfree Northwest this year. Been a few years since I was able to participate in a convention like this, and it was a blast to wander through the familiar past of ponies. I’m a little amazed we still have pony conventions in 2024. With luck, I’ll be able to make another appearance next year.

For now, we’re left with the two ongoing non-pony monthly stories. Shattered Pentacle is concluding this month, and with the end of Words of Power, that leaves things pretty slow. I’ve got another story waiting to put up, but I don’t have a cover yet. Don’t be surprised if you see something else pop up this month.

Want a copy of one of my books? You can see what I’ve printed and buy a copy here: https://starscribe.net/

Obligatory Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/RealStarscribe

My Discord, a hub of fun writing activities and lots of other pony-related shenanigans: https://discord.gg/fZ2Y5KgbN2?event=1275614019373498368

Then, the ongoing feed of shorter stories:
Second String, the tale of earth’s brave football warriors turned Equestrian liberators, can be explored here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-in-78044865

Legio IX Hispania, our historical journey into the question of what if the lost Roman legion ended up in Equestria, unravels here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-legio-78027950

Rescue Process is the story of when accidental human arrivals to Equestria are discovered by some very unfriendly creatures, and they’re forced to fight for survival: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-rescue-94115163

Family of Chaos follows a mysterious mare named Hurricane. She’s lived lifetimes in Equestria, watching seasons come and go. It’s only when Discord breaks free of containment that she begins to discover the truth, and her life is turned to chaos: https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-family-94115055

Accidental Sunshine: What happens when a young changeling accidentally discovers the existence of Ponies, and is forced to take on the identity of one to keep herself hidden? Friendship waits for her, if she’s willing and able to take it. https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-story-105351764