“What’s up?” Lady Laura asked as I slumped on the sofa.
I had finally finished dismantling the standing desk and the plethora of wires I had vowed not to touch for years.
“Nothing,” I reply.
Her eyes narrowed. “We’ve been together too long for a lie like that to slip my ears.”
“Fine,” I sigh. “I just feel… weird not sending a daily email to the Legion, that’s all.”
“I’m not surprised. I suspect you feel quite lost.”
“Yes.” 🫢
“Like you’re failing your readers…”
“Yes!” 🫨
“That you feel like you’re walking the streets naked…”
“Oh, Good Gimli! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?” 🤯
(A pause.)
“I read your rather long, and somewhat erratic, journal entry.”
“Laura!”
“What?! It practically begged to be read, given it was wide open and laden in red ink. I mean, who writes in that anymore?”
“I’ll tell you who… your Overlord & Saviour—”
🤚
“Daniel… just go and write your email. It’s clearly taking its toll on you. I’ve got Liam, it’s fine, now go.”
And so, I snatched her laptop, scurried upstairs to my now-empty home office, and here we are. I’ll admit, this story is slightly exaggerated, and by slightly, I mean…
Quite a bit.
There was no journal, no red ink, but me slumping down on the sofa and telling Laura how weird it felt not to write and send an email yesterday? Oh, that was very true.
And Laura completely sympathised.
I’ve been sending emails for more months than I can remember, through burnout, illness, celebration, and dejection. So, taking off much of this week was always going to feel strange (like breaking any habit would, I imagine)…
But even I was taken aback by just how much I’d miss it.
Just goes to show, the bond I have with you goes beyond our quirky (but dangerously cool) rank titles.
IT’S VERY REAL.
To me, at least.
So, Star this email, Legionnaire, because it is rare for me to dish out such flattery.
And while you’re busy doing that, I suppose now is as good a time as any to make my shameless pitch.
(*clears throat*)
If you’ve reached this point of the email, there’s a good chance you were enraptured by the story and the dialogue above… even if it was slightly exaggerated. Well, rest assured, my faithful reader, such hyperbole need not stop here.
It also streams into my books, especially in my fantasy (the clue’s in the name, eh?).
However, contrary to this genre’s name, The Divided Region is actually some of the most “grounded” and “realistic” fiction I have ever written.
The characters seemingly leap from the page…
The dialogue gets very real and poignant at times…
And the world of Estos mirrors much of our own, even if otherworldly monsters lurk in it.
So yes, there is magic, wizards, dark lords, and world-ending prophecies, but there’s also some very real, very relatable currents underpinning the story. If that sounds like a bit of you, then you can start the series with Book #1 (Exiled) here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Exiled
Or if you’re really ready to commit, the Starter Bundle:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
DJJW