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'

The Magic Awakens

Hello everyone, this is 'ESB' Stringfellow, and I am The Last Magi Master, and this is...

Story Details For Book II: Sui!!!

Ah, yes, time for another update, this time where I focus on the second story of Cyan and Magus' world travels, otherwise known as The Five Year Pilgrimage. Here is the synopsis...

Anger and hate... The water’s rage... A wandering light... To calm the sage...

Cyankazu Omondi and Magus, friends, brothers, heroes... The two companions continue their travels around the world, always eager to discover new places, to make new friends and to gain new knowledge. One late autumn day, near the cusp of winter, the two find themselves in a remote part of the world where they discover a new teacher of magic, one who offers to expand and help master their skills.

But first they must prove themselves by climbing a harsh and icy mountain, where many dangers lurk. Even then, after surviving the trials of ice, the two companions find themselves in a situation that runs deeper than the mysteries of the sea.

In the end, Cyankazu and Magus will face the wrath of the great magi master, Aokigahara, whose might equals that of a terrifying tsunami...

 

As far as you know, no Smurfs were harmed in the making of this cover.

 

 

Alright, alright! A synopsis that gives a little more detail to the story, rather than a brief "Previously, on Path of a Hero," that was used for Book I: Chi.

 

In this synopsis, I give the bare bones of the story: Cyan and Magus, one late autumn day, find an old magi master, who offers to help them learn new ways to do magic. Said magi master is named Aokigahara Fuji... and he is the only new main character in this entire story.

 

You see, unlike Book I: Chi, I had the very simplest story idea: Have Cyan and Magus discover that their magic is growing stronger and get a new mentor in magic to teach them how to properly use it. However, there is most definitely a lot more to the story than that, to help pan it out, if you get my meaning.

 

For example, the harsh and icy mountain/trials of ice thing, that was added to give more excitement early on in the story. You get to see Cyan and Magus brave a harsh environment, feel the struggle to reach the top, and face ice themed monsters, such as the ice wasps!

 

NEVER tell an ice wasp that its wings are too small to lift its fat body!

 

But, again, the real core of this story is to give Cyan and Magus slightly more magical skills and knowledge and to interact with a teacher. And I must say, I am really proud of how the chapters focusing on their training turned out. For one thing, it's not just our two heroes reading books. This is magical training, for crying out loud! The two are put into controlled situations where they have to use their new skills in magical duels, and I got to say, I make magical duels look fun.

 

So yeah, that's basically all there is to this very simple stor...

 

Wait, what's that?

 

Oh my, I nearly forgot! Aokigahara Fuji has a darkness welled up inside him, which is close to bursting like a dam, unbeknownst to our heroes. So, the questions are: What kind of powers are growing inside Cyan and Magus, and how did they get there? What kind of training will they receive, and how intense will that training be? And, above all else, will they survive the tsunami-like rage that their new mentor had been carrying around inside of himself for several decades?

 

Find out in this tale where, shockingly, learning can be fun! And maybe a little life-threatening... In Book II: Sui, I expect you'll be swept up, like one who stands too close to the ocean.

 

Until next time, my dear readers.

Sincerely, ESB 'Stringfellow'

 

P.S. I know that Book II: Sui is not available on Amazon right now (remember how America Star Books disappeared?), but seeing as this is the one title whose contract had actually expired by now, I feel that I can go ahead and republish it, and yes, I do have at least an email that proves that I requested the contract to expire. I might still get into contact with some lawyer or attorney general or something before making a final decision, however, so I will let you know how it turns out. Wish me luck!