Fall Update and an Ask: Help a Fellow Writer Out?

brianboiler
Oct 19
4 min read

My son's truck and our home on wheels for our vacation 2025

Hey everyone! As we roll into fall, I've got some exciting updates to share, but first, I have a request for those of you who've read Immortal of the Saltless Sea.

A Quick Favor?

If you've downloaded or purchased Immortal of the Saltless Sea since it launched in March, would you mind taking a few minutes to leave an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads? Reviews are the lifeblood for independent authors like me, and every single one helps more than you might realize.

I recently received an unsolicited review on Goodreads from someone I don't even know - they found the story, either downloaded it for free from my website or paid a buck for it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and left a really nice review. That kind of organic discovery and feedback is incredibly validating. Many readers have specifically mentioned that the sailing scenes felt authentic, which means a lot to me. I learned all that from a good friend who recently passed away, and this story was actually written right after my father passed - it was my way of putting some of those feelings down on paper.

Nights of the Purple Sky Progress

The second draft is complete! I'm now working on the third draft, which is about 10% done. This round, I'm focusing on polishing the tone and working on pacing - those crucial elements that keep readers turning pages. I'm hoping this draft will be polished enough to send to a developmental editor yet this year.

The cover is also coming along beautifully. We're close - I hope to have a near-finished draft in the next few weeks. I'm so excited about this! We're going with a retro-style fantasy cover, think the original Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I always loved those covers, and that series has meant so much to me as a fantasy fiction reader turned author.

The goal is still to launch at Realm Makers 2026, but I won't launch a book that isn't ready. We'll see how Draft 3 goes and what comes back from my developmental editor. Quality over rushing to meet a deadline, always.

All for Sister Marisa Update

Here's something new I haven't shared before - All for Sister Marisa is a 7,000-word short story I wrote earlier this year, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I recently entered it into the L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future contest and received an honorable mention. Not quite winning, but still an accomplishment that adds validity to my dream of becoming an author.

The story is set on another world where religion plays a central role. The main character, Eduardo, is a monk who, in the opening scene, touches the Radiance of Jor, the deity worshipped on this world. It follows his journey as he discovers corruption and worse within the church.

I'm currently looking for the right vehicle to get it out there. I'm planning to submit it to an industry magazine with a good readership, and I'm also watching for just the right anthology. If those don't pan out, I'll probably put it up on Amazon and other online retailers, but I'd really like to get it in front of a market that's a bit larger than my current subscriber base.

Vacation Highlights

My oldest son and I just completed an eight-day truck camping adventure through the northwestern United States. We started in Utah and drove through Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Idaho again, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and finished in Colorado. The photos throughout this post are ones I took along the way.

I believe artists need inspiration, and while I don't know exactly how or where these experiences will color my future work, I'm sure they will. At night, I played with my DSLR trying to capture some cool night sky photos. They give new meaning to "more numerous than the stars in the sky" - quite fitting given my current project!

The campsite on the Missouri River in Montana was particularly memorable. I even managed to get some writing done while we camped (I have photographic proof!). But the best part was simply spending time with my son. He lives two time zones away, and we only get to see each other once or twice a year, so having that captive time together was precious.

What's Next?

My plans to retire at the end of March 2026 are still on track, though I've had a couple of interesting business ideas floated my way that might affect the "full-time" part of full-time writing. But I still plan to hit it pretty heavy once I retire.

Beyond Nights of the Purple Sky, I've already drafted book two in the Purple Sky Saga. I also have an earlier work drafted that I'd like to revisit, plus a couple of short story ideas I'll probably work on between larger projects.

As many successful independently published authors have told me, marketing doesn't really pay off until you have five books under your belt. So right now, my mantra is: write baby, write!

How You Can Help

Besides leaving those reviews for Immortal of the Saltless Sea (seriously, they help so much!), you can support my journey by:

Commenting on blog posts and social media posts
Introducing me to friends and family who might share your reading tastes
Signing up to be a Beta Reader or a Pre-Launch ARC reader. An ARC reader recieves and advance finished copy of the book in exchange for leaving honest reviews. I can always use more ARC readers.
Joining my newsletter if you haven't already (and getting Immortal of the Saltless Sea free!)

As always, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. What are you reading this fall? Any questions about my projects or the writing process? Let's chat!

If you haven't joined my newsletter yet, [click here] to subscribe and get Immortal of the Saltless Sea free - the story that starts 65 years in the future of Nights of the Purple Sky.