Dear #MarkedbyOdin, as it is tradition, it was inevitable to write a new letter to wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2023. And if I can bring you up to date on Mark of Odin and what’s going on my head, better than better. On this occasion I promise to be brief, since I know that you are busy and thinking about the celebrations, as it should be.
AN INTENSE LAUNCH
As you already know, this year a good part of my attention has been hijacked by The Stone Lotus. Its launch has required all my energy and time. As of today, all the readers of the pre-order campaign already have your books. Yes, the last one did not arrive until yesterday, after a journey of weeks full of action, adventure, suspense and intrigue, for it to reach a reader from our same city.
Publishing it in print on Amazon, in addition to ebooks and audiobooks on Kindle, Google Play, Apple and Kobo, has also consumed a good deal of my time. As I already told you, for the moment, we will not sell it directly for different reasons. I hope that this effort is rewarded with a stroke of luck and that, somehow, the general public ends up discovering this novel.
The readers who have already completed it have transmitted similar feedback to me. You have loved it, but, more importantly, in addition to getting you hooked on reading and entertaining you, it seems that I have managed to achieve the goal of moving and moving you with its story. This is something that reaches deep within my heart. Since, probably, this is my most intimate and personal work so far. Getting to touch the fiber and inspire you is the greatest possible reward. I hope more #MarkedbyOdin will give it a try in the future. You won’t be disappointed!
TEN YEARS OF NON-STOP STRUGGLE
During the last ten years and six months since I officially launched Mark of Odin I have hardly rested at all. Even when I tried to make the feint of disconnection, I kept working, devising and preparing things. Right now, I feel like my fuel is almost depleted and I feel like there are things that aren’t working that could and should be improved. Doing so means giving everything another twist and, honestly, I’m not ready for it.
That is why in this 2023 I have planned to make a radical change in my life. One with which it may stop being available for a good season. I need to gain perspective, recharge my batteries and take care of my health, which has been seriously compromised this year. And, although there are things that are going to continue working in the background, I am going to paralyze others.
The first example of this is the bonus chapters of Ragnarok. I had the commitment to share the first one with you before the end of this 2022. I’m afraid it won’t be like that. The creative spark has been consumed with all the stress of these months. I don’t want to force the final version of ‘The Dark Hybrid’ story. I apologize, but I think it’s better to wait as long as it takes for me to produce the story you deserve.
The same happens with the production of extended content. For the moment they are paralyzed, as I already anticipated in November. The good part is that by the time they can be resumed, I have everything designed and ready to be able to produce “at full speed”, both the stories and the audiovisual content that accompanies them.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 2023
Yesterday I shared my traditional Christmas greeting as is typical in our different networks. Since 2009 I have been with this tradition, which was born from a joke and an attempt to make my friends and loved ones smile. Let me share it here with you as well and the text I wrote to accompany it.
“This 2022 has been another hard, difficult year, full of challenges and obstacles. Of fears, frustrations, sadness, impotence, horrors, but also of hope, of resisting against all odds, of trying to make the impossible possible…
A year of longing and sorrow, with great defeats, but… Despite this, doing what one always does when one falls: Get up, look up with more courage and take new steps forward. Towards the only possible path.
To create and make magic where there was only emptiness. To manage to turn what destroys us into a fortress, into an opportunity. In a tool to heal ourselves and, who knows, even to move and inspire others.
I want to wish you all something that I think about throughout the year, but that, as tradition marks, I always emphasize on these dates: Take good care of yourselves and enjoy these holidays with your people. If something is reminding us of life in recent years, it is how ephemeral it is. How ephemeral are the moments that make a difference. Enjoy them and don’t stop fighting for yourselves!”
YOUR SUPPORT MOVES US
It is impossible to finish without thanking all the readers, veterans as well as newcomers who have supported us. Without you it would not have been possible to get here. This saga may still not be where it should be, but everything that has been achieved is undeniable. So now you know, we are going to try to continue working so that more readers join us. Any recommendation or using us as a gift will add one more drop so that one day the Tsunami of Odin will be unleashed and we will be able to see the saga grow like never before.
As always, I encourage you to join our Discord community, the Telegram channel and also add us to your WhatsApp contact list (greet us at +34 671 48 96 90) and continue sharing your impressions of the books. Not only in the Opinions section, but also on external platforms such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple, Kobo, Lektu or Goodreads. Having a good rating and opinions there helps us a lot to attract new readers.
Remember, everything is connected.
Xavier Marce
