Fantasy

We had to do an intervention

Hey Readers!

Guess what the Scribe has been up to?

Well, she hasn’t been writing as much as she should be. And why not?

Because she got into a beta program on Google Play for audiobooks, and if you’ve been with us long, then you know how much the Scribe loves audiobooks.

(She’s obsessed with them.)

I’m not jealous. Okay, maybe I am just a little. I want new adventures, and I hope you do too. But she needs to write them. I’m over here doing cool things with magic, and she’s not even watching me!

The nerve, right? She’s my Scribe. This is her job (when she’s not working for her full-time job).

By the way, I’m Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker series, and I want more books.

What’s this about audiobooks?

Let me explain. Google Play has this software that can turn our books into audiobooks. They’re read by a new generation of AI voices that are so good that our Scribe is obsessed.

Melinda has wanted audiobook versions of our books since she published the original version of Curse Breaker Enchanted in late 2016. (I blame Audible for this. She’s been a member of that site since 2010.)

So Melinda has been working on AI-narrated versions of our books. As I write this, she is working on Curse Breaker Darkens. Thankfully, the AIs only needed a little help here and there with place names.

But did the Scribe stop there?

Sadly no. I had to round up my fellow characters and do an intervention.

(It was hard doing this and keeping our books a secret from Papa. But I needed him to stand there, arms folded, and scowl at her. He’s 6’6″ and Melinda is 5’2″, so Papa didn’t need to say anything. He’s more imposing when he’s quiet anyway. )

What happened next?

I laid down the law. That’s right. I’m watching out for your interests.

I told the Scribe in no uncertain terms that she can fix typos, but she’s not allowed to do another version of Curse Breaker Enchanted. The version that she published in 2020 is the final except for typos. We always fix those and immediately upload a new version everywhere.

How did the Scribe react?

She finalized the AI-narrated audiobook for Curse Breaker Enchanted and moved on to the one for Curse Breaker Darkens.

So if you are an audiobook addict like our Scribe, or are curious about what the new generation of AI-voices sounds like, you can preview or purchase the audiobook for Curse Breaker Enchanted on Google Play Books. It’s 99 cents for 17+ hours of reluctant heroes, magical mayhem, and the cutest sidekick ever to grace a fantasy book.

Someday, we hope to have an audiobook narrated by a human, but until we can afford that, we have the AI-narrated one. This makes the Scribe happy.

Did the Newsletter-Dragon have a claw in this?

Probably, but I can’t prove she had anything to do with these AIs showing up to read our books.

Will the Scribe do AI-narrated audiobooks for all our books?

You bet. She plans to do the Curse Breaker books first, then the rest of our books.

And the Scribe will finish Curse Breaker Trapped ASAP. She wanted to publish it in March for her birthday, but that’s only a month away, so she’d better get cracking.

I have a list of scenes she still needs to write, and it’s all stuff you’ve asked for over the years. Will my big reveal be everything you hoped for and some things you didn’t see coming?

I hope so! Big changes are coming in Curse Breaker Trapped, and I can’t wait for you to read it! I need to go remind the Scribe that she should be writing. But I will leave you with an excerpt of:


Curse Breaker Fallout

by Melinda Kucsera

“That must be Sarn. What trouble did that boy get into now?” Jerlo covered his face with his free hand.

“None. He didn’t cause that quake.” Allesariah staggered as if struck by an invisible force.

“What happened?” Because something had. Jerlo set the candle down on the head of a dragon statue as he passed it.

Allesariah glanced away, but there were tears in her eyes. “The seals are breaking. When the last one falls, Armageddon begins, and this will all end.” She waved to encompass the baby dragon and the wider world outside this mountain.

“But the world can’t end, not yet.” Jerlo collapsed on a chaise lounge and put his head in his hands. He was so close to achieving his dream. “Is there no hope?”

“There was, but the Adversary got to her first. I’m sorry.” Allesariah wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

“But the world won’t end right away.” Jerlo rose as he recalled what the Book of Revelations said. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but the world would continue for a long while as plagues and wars ravaged it.

“That may be so. I don’t know. This isn’t happening like the Holy Book said, but there’s nothing you or I can do about that.” Allesariah sagged in defeat.

“We can pray.” Jerlo touched his cross through the fabric of his tunic.

“We can, and you can woo that dragon.” Allesariah pounded a fist into her palm as she stood tall. “If things must end, then we’ll make it the best ending possible.”

“Commander?” Jallister asked as he knocked again. He was the Ranger’s other problem member. Though he wasn’t as problematic as Sarn.

Jerlo sighed. Jallister wouldn’t knock unless it was something important. “Who wants to know?”

“Many people. Lord Morelan Nalshira stopped by, and the Captain of the Guards too. Lord Veychanze also dropped by to complain. There are riots in the Lower Quarters, and the nobles are concerned about an uprising. This darkness has everyone scared and searching for light sources. There have been fights in the markets on every level.”

“We don’t handle that.” Jerlo shooed Allesariah away from the door.

“Who cares anyway? The world is ending.” She folded her arms and propped herself against the wall next to the door.

“You do if the Guards are overwhelmed,” Nulthir said from the other side of the door.

“I forgot to mention the Captain of the Guards is still here,” Jallister said.

Eventually, he must deal with that man. Nulthir had forced him to release Sarn from the order that had kept that kid’s burgeoning magical abilities in check for years. But Jerlo now knew Nulthir’s secret. The Captain of the Guards had magic too, and a family of magical creatures lived with him.

“Come out, Jerlo. We need to talk now.” And Nulthir didn’t sound like he’d take no for an answer.

Jerlo glanced at his robe. He should put on a uniform for this, even if he planned to take a vacation immediately after this talk. “All right. Give me a moment to get dressed.”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.” Nulthir must have walked away from the door and sat down because the guest chair groaned. Or the man who’d just sat down did.

Jerlo glanced at the baby dragon, but she was still asleep. Would she stay that way for much longer?

“I’ll watch her. Do what you need to while there’s still time to do it.” Allesariah squeezed his shoulder, then dropped into a chair facing the baby dragon. She pulled out her sword and a whetstone and ran it across the edge, even though the blade didn’t need sharpening. What was she preparing for?

Jerlo considered asking, then turned and headed for his bedroom on the double. There were some things he just didn’t need to know right now. “Thanks,” he tossed over his shoulder before the door closed.

“None needed. I won’t let an innocent suffer for a fallen angel’s greed. It’s not in my nature.” Allesariah gripped the whetstone hard enough to crack it in half.

“Remind me never to get on your bad side.” Jerlo closed the door to his bedroom.

“You won’t as long as you do right by the sweet girl curled up on your rug.”

All the more reason to find that mother dragon and get some help to raise the baby dragon asleep in his sitting room.

***

To read what happens next, get Curse Breaker Fallout now!


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