Hey folks! Max here with a bit of an interesting request from an Alpha Reader on A Game of Stakes.

See, I’ve got some folks going over it, picking through things, etc etc. So far, the majority response has been overwhelmingly positive, which is awesome. There are a few things to clean up and wrinkles to iron out (the ending needs a little adding), but overall I’ve already been told by a few that it’s hands-down one of the favorite things they’ve read from me.

Which is awesome. One reader however, did stand very firmly on what they see as a very large misstep and issue with a character. I disagree, and no other pre-readers have said anything about it, but there’s always a chance that there’s a grain of truth to it.

Hence? A SECOND Alpha Reader call! I want to get some more eyes on it and see if anyone else brings up the same “issue.” Personally, I doubt it, but in the interest of polish polish polish I’d rather get some more eyes on things just too see.

Crud, I won’t even say what the issue is. This is going to be 100% blind. Which doesn’t mean I want Alpha Readers that make a problem. No, that’s not the goal here. The goal is the same as any other Alpha Read: Read through and look for Alpha issues (plot errors, awkward segments, etc) all as normal. If someone else brings the same issue up, then it needs a serious look. If not … well, some things truly are opinion.

A Game of Stakes is only 15,000 words, so it won’t take too long to read through. Plus, it’s got a dragon, which is always a bonus, right?

If you’re interested in Alpha Reading, do the usual thing and contact me, and we’ll see about hooking you up with an Alpha invite.

Right! Other news! There’s not much, but it is at least good news.

For starters, the sale drought seems to have ended with the weekend sale. Numbers went up, and while they still aren’t great, they’re at least decent. Picked up a few new reviews and ratings on Goodreads as a result as well, including some readers that went through my entire lexicon! So, good news there. Hopefully the momentum sticks (I trust my part-time job less than ever at the moment).

Hunter/Hunted continues to move along. Nearing the end of part two, now, which will leave just the final third. Still hoping for the end of October, but I’ll need some good, solid writing days between now and then to pull it off, and when you’re slaved to a corporate entity for your income … not as easy as it sounds. Especially with the holidays coming up. I still really want to get it done by the end of October, however. Then I can move onto the next project …

Last but not least, does anyone know if there’s a TV Tropes page for Colony or Shadow of an Empire yet? There was a period for a few years there where TV Tropes was the big thing and everyone was jockeying to add anything new to TV Tropes as soon as it came out, but it seems to have fallen off over the last few years, though there still are tropers out there. Anyway, anyone seen anything for Colony, Shadow of an Empire, or any of my other works? The only ones I know of are for my fanfics (which is several years out of date) and Dead Silver.

Anyway, that’s a wrap! I’ve got to get back to Hunter/Hunted!