I’m continuing to prepare for the fourth and final book, and if I’m on schedule will start writing it on Monday.  Everything is going nicely and I’m making sure that all the various threads come together in what I hope will be a satisfying conclusion. Meanwhile, Robin has been co-coordinating with the beta readers.  Her spreadsheet has 557 entries on it.  Yes you heard that right.  The next step is for everyone who raised a hand to fill out the survey. This is what we’ll be picking the beta readers from. She’s using Mail Chimp to send out notifications, and some messages have gone to spam folders. If you haven’t got your survey invitation, then send a mail to first.empire.beta@gmail.com as she’ll be closing that process soon. She’s also made some progress on the alpha edit of Rhune.  Here is where we stand now:

Rhune

• Written: Feb 2013 – July 2013 (100% complete)
• Pre-alpha edit: July 24, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Read: July 29 – 31, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Edit: Aug 2, 2014 (40% complete)
• Beta #1 Start: Sep 2014 (names gathered, surveys coming in)
• Beta #2 Start: Jan 2015 (0% complete)

Dherg

• Written: Aug 2013 – Dec 2013 (100% complete)
• Pre-alpha edit: Aug 14, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Read: Aug 8  – Aug 14, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Edit: Sep 2014 (0% complete)
• Beta: To be determined

Rhrist

• Written:Jan 2014 – June 2014
• Pre-alpha edit: Aug 14, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Read: Sep 1 – 3, 2014 (100% complete)
• Alpha Edit: Nov 2014 (0% complete)
• Beta: To be determined

Fhrey

• Outlining and planning: August 2014 (80% complete)
• Writing: Sep 2014 – Dec 2014 (0% complete)
• Pre-alpha edit: Jan 2015 (0% complete)
• Alpha Read: Feb 1 – 3 2015 (0% complete)
• Alpha Editing: Feb – Mar 2015 (0% complete)
• Beta: To be determined

I’ve also started a mailing list for those who are interested in freebies, pre-ordering, contests, and other goodies.  You can sign up here.