AOD Book 7 Update

*In best "Futurama" Professor voice*

Good news, everyone!

Book 7 in the AOD series is in pre-publication!!

In fact, I should receive the first draft of the book tomorrow (11/12, for those reading later). Here's a peek at the cover to get your gears pondering over what will happen. Honestly, this is my absolute favorite cover to date. Keith did an incredible job, as usual, so major props to him! He's so good at deciphering exactly what I see in my head, even when I feel I'm struggling to put it into words. This cover is simply stunning!

Clearly, I am so excited to get a sneak peek of the whole book before official publication, but I wasn't always. Being excited for AOD B7 is quite a recent feeling for this indie author, and I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't discuss it, briefly.

So why wasn't I excited to release book 7 before? In the interest of being honest with both of us: I wasn't ready to let go.

I've been holding on to this book for the better part of two years. Some days, it felt like this book was going to be the end of my creative spark. Other days, it felt like this book would save me from myself, if I would just let it. For me, writing has always been a very intensely emotional process. I access parts of myself that no one else gets to see. Sure, you read the finished product, but you don't see behind the proverbial mental curtain. Even talking about my writing process with others can't begin to reveal what it's like in that secret space in my mind. That space where all the characters live all the time, pleading with me to be set free so they can do xyz in their own way. And because each character I create is, essentially, a small fragment of myself, it makes letting them go into the world for you to read that much harder.

To put it in AOD terms: For some time now, losing those fragments to public consumption felt like having my own gem chipped away, one piece at a time. By the time book 7 was ready, I was not. I feared letting go of that book would cause me to lose more of my gem than I could afford to give. But that was not the reality. That was the imposter inside me trying to deceive me. My shadow self. She's a beautiful part of me, but she can be downright frightening sometimes! But she's also necessary for my craft. She protects me when I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, that protection helps me find the courage to live my best life. Other times, that protection keeps me sheltered from my true desires. It's a Balance of Power, so to speak, that I constantly negotiate with myself.

Any creative will tell you Imposter Syndrome can be a bitch and a half sometimes. It's the "curse" that comes with creative talent. The Pied Piper to my WOF, if you will.

But I finally took my gem back and book 7 is on the cusp of release, as a result! I'm ready to move forward and show you how amazing the world of AOD is about to be. Trust me, it's about to get wild in a very good way. Well, for you. Maybe not for all of the characters. They're going to have to go through some serious shit right now, but you will enjoy it as the reader! *Devious laughter and Mr. Burns style finger-tenting*

The weight of the decisions being made by characters like Skyelar, Peyton, Elias, Lilith, and even Aezra is heavy, yes, but those decisions abruptly propel the plot in unexpected directions. The first six books took their time trying to lay the groundwork for each character to succeed in their own way with well-thought out plans of action and such. Book 7 takes that thoughtful groundwork and shakes it up like one of those sliding puzzles. You can still see their goals and how the pieces are supposed to fit, but you don't quite know how to maneuver to get the picture put together again. Not yet, anyway. As the characters navigate the rough roads ahead, you will gain clarity. It'll be murky at first, for sure, but remain steadfast and you will be rewarded!

"Excited" doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about the future of the AOD series now.

And before you can ask, no, I will not tell you if Aezra is going to die in book 7. He seems to be the one character that everyone begs me to kill sooner than later. It amuses me so much. Don't get me wrong, I don't like him either, but he does have a special place in my heart because without him, there would be no Elias. Not from a backstory perspective, but from a technical writing perspective. Aezra's shitty personality forced me to create someone like Elias to be his counter-part, of sorts. So that means his role in Fate is not exhausted yet! He still has some havoc to cause. Believe it or not, he also has some good to do! I know none of you want to believe Aezra is capable of doing good, and you may be right, but he's going to try. Granted, he'll do it in his own way, so take that as you will. We've seen that his way isn't always the most savory.

So what is involved in pre-publication? What, exactly, are you waiting for me to do before you can have this book in your hands?

Cue the Book Guardians!

If you've been following me for some time, you may recall when I launched the Book Guardian program. I gave readers like you a chance to beta read my book before publication. It was a good concept, but it didn't go quite as I hoped. This time around, though, I've got three very invested readers ready to dive into AOD headfirst and give me their honest feedback: Amanda, Jason, and Jeff. If you check out the Book Guardian page on my website, you will learn their favorite and least favorite characters as well as their theories for how the whole thing will end.

We shall see how right they are! I have neither confirmed nor denied anything they theorize, so it's not like they're giving out spoilers or anything. Just their unverified theories. When they share those with me, I ask a lot of questions and make it a point to stir the pot a bit when they claim they know what will happen next. Just so I can keep them on their toes...Who knows? Maybe they'll be forced to change their minds after they get their hands on book 7!

If you check out the timeline of events on my website, you can see where we are in the publication process as well as any other book-related things I have planned between now and the end of the year. The Book Guardians and I have a meeting this weekend to discuss AOD 1-6 and to go over their expectations for book 7. If they are in agreement as well, I may give you guys a peek into our discussion via video posted to YouTube. I can't promise there won't be spoilers, so eavesdrop on us at your own risk!

To that end, I'll go ahead and let you know I do have plans to restart the Stevie Jo YouTube channel. It's been dormant for long enough and 2026 feels like the perfect time to get that going again. Look for another blog in a couple weeks to detail what's coming from me, the Book Guardians, and the AOD series. With trusted Book Guardians on board, I feel good about, slowly, adding on some extras to quench your thirst between publications. One step at a time, though. We need to let these wonderful Book Guardians get acclimated and I need to organize my future plans with their aid, but I will make an effort to do better at keeping all of you updated. No promises of anything daily or weekly because writing is my priority, not social media. Sorry, not sorry. But I will make more of an effort in it when I can.

Also, I haven't forgotten about the "Pieces of Me" series I wanted to add to this blog. That is still on the agenda, but the agenda needs organization, as I said before. So that will be coming in 2026 as well! And I do want to thank you, the reader, for supporting me. Even if I'm not your favorite author, you read my books and follow me on social media. You, excitedly, greet me when you see me at the rare in-person event and you continue to be mystified and intrigued by this world I've crafted at the behest of the voices in my head. It doesn't go unnoticed and I don't plan to stop writing. Ever. My thoughts tend to fly through my brain and collide like space debris forming a new planet after a supernova. So thank you for your patience as I navigate the complex world of being an indie author. It's a badge I wear with pride, and I'm thrilled for what the future holds for AOD and other series and projects that I have planned! So stay tuned and keep following me for more AOD updates!

Happy reading!