Hey, happy Sunday evening folks. I got back from LARP a little while ago and Death and Rest is officially open for preorders.
I wrote most of this before I went to LARP but finished it off upon my return to make sure I liked everything the way it was. Before writing this up, I went to write this newsletter then immediately went to work on my third draft again, completely forgetting I wanted to write this ahead of time so I wouldn’t have to return from LARP and come up with an entire blog. I ended up spending a lot of time on this thing regardless.
Typical and silly me.
ANYWAY
Third Draft is 75% done, and I’ll be done by this time next week. After that, I’ll be taking at least a two-week break from him so I can go back with fresh eyes. My breaks from DNR have always been hard on me. While writing DNR I want to focus on other projects, but when I have to take a break from him, ALL I want to do I write him. Draft 4 is going to be a wild ride for me. I’m going to be going through my notes AGAIN and tackling things at random throughout the book until I go through it from start to finish to make sure the flow is how I want to be. After draft four I’m hoping it will just be constant edits rather than continuity and flow and story, but we’ll see how that goes. But, you know, thing might change. I remember very near the end of working on Time, Swords, and Blood I rewrote/reworked a bunch of plot. That might happen again. WE SHALL SEE.
It’s so weird for me to think in 364 days Death and Rest will be available to the whole world. Yesterday my LARP had an out-of-game market, and I sold five copies of Time, Swords, and Blood and I was thinking about today and how in a year I would have two books instead of one. I’m very excited for everyone to meet the next installment in my bookish universe. I really, really, am. All these characters have existed for almost fifteen years and one of them -in some form or another- has existed for nearly twenty.
So, here’s what you need to know about Death and Rest preorders:
You may notice the following: he’s $35
Why?
I am making every preorder in the essence of a ‘book box’. A ‘book bundle’ if you will. Now you wont necessarily be receiving a box full of a bunch of merch -or maybe you will- but there are extra items that will be included with the preorders that will become available for purchase upon DNR’s release, and preorders are getting them included at a FAT discount. I promise you’ll love them. You simply must wait and find out what they are!
When Death and Rest is released (September 20th 2026 by the way, mark your calendars), the book will be priced the same as Time, Swords, and Blood and more merch will drop on the website.
Again, no, you shall not know what merch. That’s for me to know and you to eventually find out.
But on that note, the person who is the very first reader to preorder DNR will be receiving an extra special treat that no other preorders will have. Will it be you?
Note: If you plan on attending the release party for Death and Rest in September 2026, select ‘local pickup’ upon checkout.
Note 2: If you are a member of the LARP community I attend and are not attending the release party, you can still select ‘local pick up’ and put in your notes that you would like me to bring your copy of DNR to the following event after release!
What am I reading: Still working on Heart-Shaped Karaoke Box by my friend E.R. Hann, but I think I’ll be done by the next time I write you folks.
As always please remember to tell your friends to subscribe to my newsletter and, if you haven’t already, join my discord in preparation for my Rot and Read Along of Time, Swords, and Blood. It’s less than a month away and every time you attend you are entered for a chance to win a signed copy of Death and Rest upon release. This is a free, weekly, event that will occur every Monday until the book is finished. You can find the link here: https://discord.gg/T8q4dbZ9Km
I’m also going to be giving recipes out in my next few blogs; food either directly mentioned in Time, Swords, and Blood or food inspired by it.
Oh and, DNR will have three recipes directly printed for you fine folks when published. Maybe my readers will be less hungry that way, hehe.
Anyway the very first recipe I have for you is the chocolate cake Delilah bakes special when she makes dinner for her friends in Antore. Specifically, the one she promised she’d make for Theone.
Enjoy.
Theone’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, flour, and line 2 6-inch cake pans (or 3 8inch cake pans).
Mix shortening, sugars, eggs, vanilla and coffee together. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add milk and mix. Split batter evenly in pans. Bake for 50 minutes (25-30 if using 8inch pans) or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pans for 20 minutes before removing cakes from pan and cool completely on rack.
Once cooled completely, cover with stabilized whipped cream.
Viola.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Scrunch of salt
- 1 cup oat milk (or milk of your choosing)
- ¾ cup coffee, room temperature (I used instant coffee, but dealers choice)
- 2/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Oh. And here’s the link for the preorder: https://hannahmanders.com/product/death-and-rest-preorder-bundle/
Chat again in October!
HAM
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