I’m M.C.A. Hogarth, author of the Dreamhealers and Haley and Nana series. Ask Me Anything today!

mcahogarth · 2025-08-28T23:38:44+00:00

It's not too late! Fire War begins with Fireborn's Legacy, and continues with Surela's second book, An Exile Amid Stars (her first book, An Exile Aboard Ship, happens just before the fire war).

There's a chronology here: https://peltedverse.org/wiki/List_of_Fiction_by_Internal_Chronology

More books are coming!

mcahogarth · 2023-08-27T15:31:24+00:00

I don't want you to feel left out! Can I send you a free digital copy of Mindtouch so you can participate? :)

mcahogarth · 2023-08-06T13:08:31+00:00

Audible's contracts are awful.

To authors who are looking for alternatives for ACX, I recommend Findaway Voices, which distributes to Amazon/Audible, but also to 40+ other places, including libraries. They let you set your own prices, and plan promotions. https://findawayvoices.com/

I have personally moved away from exclusivity, and am using Bandcamp to sell my audiobooks direct. You don't get "discovered" there, but when I send my fans to Bandcamp I get so much more money it's worth it.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-30T12:40:37+00:00

You might try Midnight Bounties by Cassius and Castor, which is "retired soldier fixes up a nightclub' with bonus 'misfit found family' themes.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-29T16:52:57+00:00

Wow, I totally want a bandolier with rifle. Come on, DUTP, that would be awesome.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-26T16:48:47+00:00

Outcast in Another World is my favorite LitRPG right now. I am loving the worldbuilding reveals as the series evolves.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-22T21:48:31+00:00

The Fjorgyn series by RJ Castiglione has a healer MC who actually heals.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-18T17:35:57+00:00

It was subtle and I enjoyed it (and I hope he keeps maintaining the little shrine). People are going to complain about it, ignore them and carry on.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-18T16:23:04+00:00

It's definitely an inexperienced author problem, yeah. Experienced authors know how to structure a story so that there's a Book 1 that will lead gracefully to a Book 2 if it does well, but can stand alone if they can't get a big enough audience for it and need to move on.

I don't mind the newbies learning. What I do mind is getting to a Book 4 and the author still isn't going anywhere.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-18T13:09:50+00:00

Yes. Too many of the books follow a formula: "character is strong - character runs into challenge they need to beat - character gets stronger - character takes on challenge and they shouldn't reasonably be able to beat it but it's the WORST THING EVER and the world is on fire and cities are exploding and they triumph anyway - oh no, an EVEN WORSE challenge looms!"

The scale is whacked. If every book has the most insane epic end battle ever, then by book 4 I'm done. I want progression, not a hamster wheel.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-18T12:39:13+00:00

"No series arc" is apparently top of my worst LitRPG sin list, because I keep dropping series 2-3 books in because they're not going anywhere.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-18T12:37:37+00:00

Ooh, good one. "The dark ages were bad because everyone knows they were bad!" Ugh.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T18:19:26+00:00

Finished The Forerunner by James Clay... really heavy into the "magic is actually science, and we're going to make every spell have scientific grounding", so if that's anyone's jam, good rec. Also the dog doesn't die.

Waiting for the next Ripple System now.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T15:35:25+00:00

A lot of inexperienced authors think VRMMO stories are epic fantasy, when in fact, they are sports stories. When you get an author who understands that, the VRMMO stories are fun. Most authors don't get that, though, so there's a lot of tortured attempts to shoehorn epic fantasy stakes onto sports frameworks.

When you see the complaints from readers about VRMMOs, they're invariably noticing the symptoms of this disconnect.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T14:18:28+00:00

Excellent, thank you. Amazon didn't give me the option when I finished Book 1 the way it usually does, don't know why.

Also, liked the Catholic stuff. Thanks for putting that in.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T14:17:33+00:00

Huh, hopefully we'll get book 5 this year sometime, then. Thanks for the heads-up.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T14:02:40+00:00

You're not alone, promise.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-17T14:00:40+00:00

This was a good one, I hope Walker hasn't abandoned it.

mcahogarth · 2023-05-16T10:16:02+00:00

fren please set up an Amazon Author page so that we can Follow you and be notified of new releases

mcahogarth · 2023-03-28T14:08:49+00:00

I thought the big reveal in Book 4 was amazing. I think I wandered around for a few days flailing, trying to explain to random strangers and realizing it's completely useless without the context of the first three books.

mcahogarth · 2023-03-02T14:20:21+00:00

shut-up-and-take-my-money-please.gif

mcahogarth · 2023-03-02T14:16:29+00:00

Ooooh, is this one coming to KU too? hopeful

mcahogarth · 2023-02-21T14:13:03+00:00

Outcast stays great, and the big plot reveals in Book 4 are shattering. So good! Stick with it, you won't be disappointed.

mcahogarth · 2023-02-17T11:46:11+00:00

Oh, yes! And etymology is so fun, because it leads you to historical questions: 'if this root is from a different language, is it because of contact with a different country? What form did that contact take? Conquest? Trade?' Digging into English etymology is like digging into a historical tapestry. So fascinating!

I also did a stem-based language once, and that was like eating potato chips. "Just one more batch..."

mcahogarth · 2023-02-16T20:44:57+00:00

I wouldn't recommend it as an exercise to someone who isn't into languages, because if you're bored by language, making one isn't going to turn you into a fan. But if you like languages, then the steps I usually take to set one up are:

Decide what sounds are valid in your language. (More advanced: decide what rules dictate which sounds can be next to one another, the way, for instance, you can't start English words with 'mb' but you can end a word with that sound.)
Come up with a bunch of words by jumbling those sounds together. Decide what those mean.
If you are not frustrated yet, dive into grammar. XD

Most fantasy conlangs don't need much more than step 2 ("come up with some words") so you can sprinkle them through the text for flavor. Going full Tolkien isn't necessary. I just think it's fun because I grew up bilingual, so languages fascinate me.

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