A New Start

Hello everyone, this is 'ESB' Stringfellow, and I have a lovely bunch of coconuts, and this is...

An Update Regarding The Author's Books!!!

I am as pleased as punch to announce that I have taken the chance to republish my books on Amazon! All of the links to the right in the "Books by the Author" section have been updated and will now take you to the new versions of my books, where none of them, I promise you, are priced at four hundred dollars (I'm still scratching my head at that one). If you find that the links don't work, or that they're taking you to the wrong place, then tell Amazon as well as myself, and we'll try to figure it out together.

Now, what are the differences, you must be wondering. Basically The Five Year Pilgrimage series is unaltered, but there are a few things in Path of a Hero I'd like to mention. For one thing, I cleaned up some more writing mistakes, but I also took the opportunity to take out the word okay whenever it was used by someone who was not Magus. Why? Because I felt that was a slang/informal word that should be used more sparingly, thus helping to make Magus' way of speaking stand out more, and I only thought of doing that until AFTER my first time publishing Path of a Hero.

A couple other changes I did had more to do with gaining newfound knowledge over the years, which made me want to make things more appropriate. One of them was General Demana's outfit, which originally was on the sexy side, but after learning that was an overused and even problematic trope, I decided to give Demana a new outfit that reflects her status as a warrior more. The last change I did was refer to Sa'Phi'Ro's sword, Muramasa, as an odachi. When I first wrote Path of a Hero, I never bothered to ask if a katana-like sword that was six to seven feet long was named anything else, and to my slight embarrassment, I asked rather on the late side. But that has been changed now, and hopefully for the better.

If you are, by any chance, someone who has purchased and read Path of a Hero before, you might find that these changes are not great incentives to buy it again, and I will not blame you. All that I ask is that you tell your friends/family, if they had not read my book yet, to give this version a shot (that way, I'll actually get royalties).

Oh, and also, I added a relabeled map of Trino.



Now you can follow Cyan and Magus' "Path" to "Heroism"

Hopefully, that does turns out good (I haven't had the pleasure of seeing it myself yet outside of digital previews) and you'll be able to read the labels well enough. My fingers are most definitely crossed!

Now, there is the other difference that will stand out with all of my books that I had published with America Star Books, and that is the covers. I would like to share them with you now...

Where Darkness slowly engulfs the Light.

So, first up is the Path of a Hero cover, which I feel captures the idea of Cyan slowly losing his Light to Darkness. Not really half Darkness and half Light, but the sense that Darkness is indeed growing.

A Temple With a View!

Book I: Chi had to have some earthy hue to it, so I created a cover that had some various shades of brown to it. I also wanted to have a temple in it, to convey to the readers the location that this story takes place, the Tu Long Academy.

Blinded By The Light!

In Book II: Sui, there are two things going for it: A water theme and magic, and definitely lots of magic. So I used this mystical looking image that I found and gave it the best watery color that I could get.

Enter The Dragon!

Shockingly, Book III: Ka's cover came out looking almost exactly the same as its original! I found myself wondering if America Star Books had used the same cover creator that I did! And I must confess, I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to find a dragon image/emblem that I could use, but I lucked out!

The Colors of the Wind?

Hmm, starting to wonder if I had done right with Book IV: Fu's cover when in comparison to the others. I still like it, but I can't help but wonder if I could've done better. Oh well, I'll be sticking with it, no doubt, even if it does seem to lack a certain wind factor.

A Heavenly Light.

And finally, we come back to Book V: Ku, where I did a little color addition at the top and bottom of the cover so as to not have pure white there whenever it gets printed into a physical book (a flaw I had discovered only after getting some copies for myself).

So, what do you think? I know they don't quite have the cool factor of the old covers, especially when they're all missing that wonderful katana sitting beneath the words, which had become something of a regular recurring theme. But hey, I make do with I got, and the main thing is that my books are all on Amazon now and at much more reasonable rates.

If you find yourself having trouble, again, contact Amazon and inform me as well so that I can also contact them. This is my first time publishing on my own, with so many books at once. Things are bound to have a bump or two along the way (trust me on this).

Until next time, my dear readers.
Sincerely, 'ESB' Stringfellow'

If "Almost Heaven" Had A Monster Infestation

Hello everyone, this is 'ESB' Stringfellow, and I am Holding Out for a Hero, and this is...

The Synopsis For Book V: Ku!!!

And this is it! The latest and final book in my series (but definitely not the last we'll ever see of Cyan and Magus, I assure you), and where my next post will undoubtedly be an update or maybe even a sneak peak at my next story or a tease of what I'm writing now! Or who knows, because it might be another whole year before I post something again! But for now, let us talk about A Hero's Path: The Five Year Pilgrimage: Book V: Ku!

Hearts shackled by fear… A monstrous abomination…

Heroes of Heavenly Light… Bring forth salvation…

After five long years, the pilgrimage finally reaches its end…

Cyankazu Omondi, samurai mage, and Magus, magical companion, have journeyed and seen much of the world, making friends and enemies alike, helping those in need and, just as often, inspiring others to follow their heroic examples. After all of their adventures, the two are ready to return home to the Continent of Trino… but a seemingly innocent walk into a quiet village known as Leto greats them with one last ordeal, one last need to offer their help to those who suffer.

Plagued by constant monster attacks, the villagers desperately need true heroes to save them, and the two friends rise to the occasion. But not all is as it seems… As they stumble upon secrets and monsters alike, and their lives put in more danger than ever, a new hero steps forward… However, with heart and spirit dominated by fear, can Artemis Selena truly find the courage within and the kind of heroism that is limited only by the sky?

In a story that takes place mostly during daytime, I give you a starry night as a cover.

Now this is it, as mentioned in the synopsis, the story that marks the ending of the Five Year Pilgrimage series. But that still doesn't mean you have to read this one last. It is a story that has a few references to past adventures, but none of them are a strong part of the plot. You can very much still read this without needing to know everything else that came before it. I mean, I do info dump for your convenience.

But what is this story about? I'll gladly tell you.

In this adventure, Cyan and Magus chance upon a very humble village that has two major problems. The first one is that it is under constant monster attacks, ranging from the small goblins to the mighty behemoths. And the people of the village do not have the means, weapons or skills and knowledge to fight such beasts. And that's just their first problem.

Their second one comes in the form of their "heroes." That word was put into air quotes for a reason, trust me, because the ones fighting off these monsters are not heroes. They are mercenaries, thugs and bullies. Their names are Obnock, the leader, Mauthe, the brute, Hyles, the weapons master, and Lupus, archer and explosive expert. These four men take advantage of the villagers' inability to defend themselves, charging them large sums of money and demanding to be given whatever they want for free.

Cyan and Magus, being the true heroes that they are, don't like what they are seeing, so they step in to take care of the monster problem, which in turn would force Obnock and his cronies to leave. However, they require help, and thus our new character steps forward, one Artemis Selena.

Her story is fraught with tragedy and trauma, having lost her family save for her adopted brother, Telephus. Her grandfather, in particular, was killed by a particularly gruesome monster when he and Artemis were hunting years prior to this story, and it left her emotionally scarred. The very thought of that one monster turns her dreams into nightmares and paralyzes her with crippling fear.

In this adventure, it is not just about Cyan and Magus saving this village. It is also about inspiring Artemis to find her own strength to face that which she fears most and to learn that courage is not in the absence of fear, but despite it. By the end of this story, Artemis will become a new hero, one that I hope you will become quite fond of.

But wait, there's more!

…

…

…

But I'm not telling you here and now! If you want to know what else goes on this in adventure, then buy the book and see for yourself! After all, I don't want to spoil anything!

I will say this, though: This is the one book where I really let Cyan use the full extent of his abilities. If you read the previous books and thought Cyan was performing at the top of his game, then you haven't seen anything yet! Because this time, after five whole books, Spirit Swords finally make their big comeback!

Now, it's not that Cyan has abstain from using his Spirit Swords for the last five years (for new readers wondering what I'm talking about: spiritual power in the form of sword attacks), it's just that I never had Cyan in a situation where he really needed to use them, except for some offscreen instances. After all, his Spirit Swords are basically the equivalent of a tank, and you wouldn't use a tank to take care of someone with a knife, would you?

And with that comparison in mind, you're probably thinking, "Wow, if Cyan had been holding back in all of these other adventures, where he fought dragons, a warlord, a magi master, and demons, what in the world is he facing in this one that warrants bringing out the 'big guns?'"

Well, only one way to find out...

Sorry, my sister hasn't drawn a specialized picture for this story yet.

Until next time, my dear readers.
Sincerely, 'ESB' Stringfellow