I realize this update is long overdue, and I also feel some clarification on the delays of the third book and the horror anthology I’ve been developing is overdue as well.

The past year, in addition to all the challenges everyone around the world have been confronted with, my family and I had some additional hurdles to overcome. My wife and I left our jobs at the boarding school we had called home for almost a decade. It was an incredibly difficult decision, but the correct one.

Because of that, we have been trying to obtain housing and stability in, what I am sure all of you understand, is a decidedly trying time. We have been staying with her parents thanks to their extreme kindness and generosity. Our son, Caleb, now over the 3.5 year mark, has been in my mother-in-law’s excellent care to prevent him being in daycare due to potential COVID spread. I’ve been working almost an hour and a half away at my new school.

Things have begun to look up. Just before 2022, we obtained a place to live close to my work and a Pre-K arrangement for Caleb for next year. My new job is wonderful, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying accomplish several tasks in the order below:

1. Relearn how to effectively teach in a high-achieving public school setting.
2. Support my family as they deal with a constantly changing situation at work and at home.
3. Find us a long term housing solution where we can all be together all of the time.
4. Finish the publication of book four.

So, as you can see, the completion of The Steed is not the top priority at the moment. In addition, Shane has had a number of personal challenges arise that have prevented him from undertaking the very substantial task of turning the one page map from books one and two into a two page map depicting the areas of the world now relevant for the series moving forward.

I’m stuck in a bit of a tough spot here. I can release book three without a new map, leaving some of the locations a bit harder to visualize in terms of relative location to others. I can try to recreate a digital version of the world on my own with a program that will transfer to the proper file type for Kindle and Amazon publishing. I can wait for Shane to have time to complete the project, which feels unfair to him given this is not his primary job or even 4th on his priority list (I hope).

So, as I am now in April break, I am looking at options. I will attempt to take over the formatting and book proof production duties on my own so Shane doesn’t have to, but that’s also a work in progress. I appreciate everyone’s patience. I want to release the book ASAP, but I also want to release a quality book with everything that is supposed to be in it present from the first edition.

More updates coming more frequently, I promise.

T.H.