Dear Followers,

I hope your new year has been off to a good start. I excited for this year and for the updates I have to share you with. Firstly, I should have the sequel to Anthemia: Kingdom of Heroes published this year. I’m planning on a summer release date. As of right now, the first full draft of book 2 was just read by the first test readers and I will be applying their initial feedback into this next round of revisions. A title reveal will be coming in the next week!

As I was waiting to hear back from readers, I dug out some of my old poetry and a sci-fi novel I started awhile ago. While my old writing can be cringey to return to, the ideas and potential excited me enough to retunn to working on each. If you have interest in either poetry or sci-fi, the working descriptions for each will be below the salutation. I know it will be a long time before either of this projects would move toward publication, but I’m toying with the idea of sharing them on a writing forum like Royal Road or Wattpad, on my blog, or as a reader’s magnet here in my newsletter. In short, I want to get more of writing out to fans and readers, in addition to my longer fantasy works.

In May, I’m having a book signing at a local vendor’s fair! I loved my last book signing, and it will be great to have another in-person event! If you are in Central PA, or are up for a quick trip, I would love to see you there! Updates with more information will be coming soon.

Outside of writing, I’m still working as the local Middle School’s English Language Development teacher. It keeps me busy and on my toes, but I love teaching, and if I must to have a day job, I wouldn’t choose anything else. In other news, the church I attend just moved into a new building this Sunday. It’s a quaint and beautiful space with stain glass windows, nestled between the farmlands and mountians of Pennsylvania. I love it, and it a gracious answer to prayer for our congregation.

Stay tuned for more updates and lots of new great content to read this year. This newsletter is a higher priority to me this year, so expect to receive the next update in 2-3 weeks!

God Bless, and the best is yet to come,

Stephen Ritchie

Description for my next poetry project, Misery, Madness, and Meaning:

Life can often feel like chasing the wind. Even our dreams achieved can leave us disappointed and empty. On top of this, darkness and brokenness plague our world. One life can see enough suffering to break a heart, seemingly beyond repair. Can a meaning for life be found among all of this? Misery, Madness, and Meaning seeks to answer this question through the light of Scripture, especially Ecclesiastes. The poems in my old notebooks, that were too raw and real to touch with a ten-foot pole in writing my last anthologies, will be the fuel for the this literary fire. I can’t wait to gather the kindling from the scribbled handwriting.

Description for my WIP sci-fi novel:

Solarius River's childhood was simple, dwelling on the humble forest planet of Anmore. He did not think much of the customs and morals his parents instilled in him at a young age. That was before a maniac anarchist, named Lord Voidmont, killed his parents. 

At a young age, and in the wake of tragedy, Solarius learned he and his parents were some of the last Guardians of the Labyrinth. It had long been Voidmont's mission to eradicate the Guardians, and by the day he took Solarius' parents, he had nearly succeeded.

Solarius went on to be raised by his uncle along three other orphaned children of Guardians. They were raised to defeat Voidmont and save the Bigranduer System.

But when they came of age, the three of them went their separate ways. From there, Solarius discovered a man can only run from his destiny for so long. 

Experience Solarius' journey and fight to liberate the stars of the BiGranduer system in this memoir-esque sci-fi adventure.