Tag: threadofsouls

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The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Thread of Souls – The Year Ahead

Thread of Souls

There is plenty to talk about here! We wrapped up 2022 with a meeting reviewing the past and planning the future of Thread of Souls. Here is what you have to look forward to over the coming year as we focus on making you laugh, and giving you moving stories with impactful characters.

The Books

Next month we will release the hardcover versions of all available Thread of Souls books! We also will be having two publications this year, which is the first time we’ve done so. After many delays due to injury, Jade’s Alphabet of Animals is finally coming in April! We also will have the release of the fifth book in the Thread of Souls series at the end of this year.

We’ve had questions about when audiobooks will be released. We had to pivot our expectations after the person we hired dropped off contact. So now Dorian will be doing the audiobooks! He has experience in voice acting as well as training, and we’re really excited to bring these to you. We don’t have a solid date yet, but it will be this year.

books

Merchandise

We have a lineup of new merchandise concepts to release across the year. We’ll be releasing one new item each month, and we have a lot of really fun ones that fans of the books will appreciate! We’re still working with Redbubble, and currently you can get a lot of merchandise with our logo on it.

New Ventures

We’re taking Thread of Souls down some new avenues this year. We are going to Twitch! We actually have had a couple of streams already, and by the end of January we will be streaming 35 hours a week, 6 days a week. This will include video games, board games, and a “behind the scenes” series.

We are also launching an official Thread of Souls soundtrack. Our friend and composer Sean Gartner has done 14 tracks for us so far, and we’re eager to finally make them available for all of you to listen to! These will be up most anywhere you can listen to music.

We’ll also have a podcast up each week starting in February. This will be the audio recording of our “behind the scenes” series that will be live on Twitch.

We are so excited for this new year and all the things happening! It is only the two of us doing all this, we don’t have a team and we don’t have a large fortune backing us. So you following us on this website and social media, joining our patreon, donating, or support in any way means the world to us and enables us to continue to do this. Thank you!

holiday
The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Thread of Souls Holiday Gift Guide!

Thread of Souls

We are definitely cutting it close to the end of the holidays for this holiday gift guide, haha! It’s been quite the hectic time with food poisoning, being laid off, having to move, launching a new book, etc, etc. But! We are happy to highlight some fun gifts from the world of Thread of Souls!

New Books!

Yes! We have not only new covers, but also a brand new book! The fourth book in the series, Asunder, just launched and it already has two 5-star reviews! You can find all the books on Amazon, and the first three are currently available via Barnes and Noble’s online store. If you are short on time, ebooks make a great holiday gift!

New Merchandise!

We’ve got a completely re-done shop with lots of new merch in it! There are shirts, hoodies, dresses, magnets, pins, stickers, journals, bags, mugs, bottles, and more! All of it has our Thread of Souls logo on it.

merch

Gifts for D&D Players

Another great holiday gift if you are short on time is an item from our Dungeon Master’s Guild shop! There are subclasses, new spells, short adventures, downtime activities, and much more! These are all excellent gifts for the player or GM in your life!

DMG
DMG
DMG

Art Prints

We do offer a variety of art prints through DeviantArt. You can check them out here if you’re interested in showcasing characters from Thread of Souls. This is also a nice last-minute gift since you can just print the photo to let the recipient know the art is on its way to them!

yule log

Merry Winter’s Eve to one and all!

Jasita
Uncategorized

Character Feature: Jasita

Thread of Souls

Jasita is this month’s character feature! Jasita is a crystalmancer and researcher at the prestigious Citadel. Analytical and fact-based, she finds emotion-centric people both fascinating and frustrating. Life is an experiment, and she is always gathering facts and conducting research. 

Jasita is good at being alone. An only child to absent parents and a young enchantment prodigy at the Citadel, Jasita has trouble in social situations. But she is intellectual, curious, and will happily study her way into exhaustion if it means learning a new spell. Many people don’t like her reading their mind without permission, and it easily puts her at odds with those who could otherwise be her friends.

Jasita

We first meet Jasita at the end of Phantom Five, apprehending Taliesin and Ruuda for being fugitives on the Surface, though they later escape. She makes a big return in Asunder when our heroes find their way to the Citadel. She realizes this is her opportunity to redeem herself before one of the most powerful people in all of Corventos, her boss, the Magistrate of the Citadel.

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News, Thread of Souls

Thread of Souls – December 2022 News!

Thread of Souls

It’s certainly been a crazy December for us here at Thread of Souls. Among us being super ill over Thanksgiving, being laid off, and moving, we managed to get through a lot and we’re here to share it all!

Thread of Souls Book IV: Asunder

Asunder is here! The fourth book in the Thread of Souls series was a complete wonder to work on. We remember playing through it vividly in our home TTRPG game and loved bringing each and every seen to life on pages. A lot of memories were formed when playing it at the table and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!

Asunder Trailer

Dorian has been hard at work with the trailer for Asunder. Using Talia’s amazing art, the official trailer was launched on December 7. You can check it out below.

New Music

Our composer friend, Sean, continues to supply us with fantastical music for Thread of Souls. The latest tracks are titled Jade’s Theme, Into the Gloomdwell, and Fate. While we’re keeping two secret for now, Fate can be heard in the trailer. It’s simply amazing.

Thread of Souls Merchandise

You want a T-shirt or phone case? Perhaps a pillow or nifty hat? Well, we’ve got the merch for you! Check out our new line of merchandise on Redbubble.

merch
merch
merch
merch

Updated Logo

A small yet big update for us is our logo. Our logo is now black and white. For the first eight books, it will include The Spider Octology but that will change with future storylines.

Our book series based on our D&D campaign from DungeonsAndDragons

The Spool of Souls: Updates & News

Asunder: Behind the Scenes of Book IV

Thread of Souls

It’s an exciting time! The fourth book in our Thread of Souls series, Asunder, is launching next week on December 15th! As we prepare for this final leg of publication, we’d love to share what’s been going on behind the scenes with the book.

Finalizing the Cover

We recently unveiled the cover for Asunder! We worked closely with our artist, Vivien Reis, to ensure it captured the mood and setting of the book. We are super, super happy with how it turned out! To help our artist out, we provided her with a lot of images seen in the recently released book trailer as well as some of the promotional artwork we’ve been using.

Asunder

The Summary

We also finalized the book’s back cover summary, going through various revisions until we were happy with it. The biggest hurdle we had to overcome was deciding which major character to feature on the back cover. We had Brother Zok for Phantom Five, Unole for Ash & Thunder, and Taliesin for Path of the Spiders. It was Dorian that had the idea we went with! The official summary will be unveiled this weekend across all social media!

Ordering an Asunder Proof

We are awaiting a final proof from Amazon to ensure it all looks exactly how we want it to! That consisted of formatting the book and dealing with all the annoyances that come along with that haha! It can be a two-day process of copying over the text, ensuring all chapter headings are formatted the same, adjusting picture ratios, fixing any lingering spaces between paragraphs, and even adjusting the margins. I ran into a problem with the page numbers being too low and it took me longer than it should have to realize what the problem was and how to fix it haha.

The Book Trailer

After a few months of work, the trailer is done! I drew all the art, Dorian animated, and we used a song our friend composed. Earlier this year we were for sure going to do the trailer, but then in the summer things got really busy and we abandoned the idea. But in October we decided to do it once again and we’re so glad we did! It turned out super cool haha. I drew the art on multiple layers and sent them over individually to Dorian, who used his magic to give them 3D-esque effects and make them move and glow.

A Difficult Time

As some of you know, it’s been a really crazy time for us. We were launching Asunder just a month after doing major updates to the first three books in terms of covers, the map’s format, and some other interior details. It also happened to be at the same time we both got laid off from our full-time jobs, then we got food poisoning, then we were moving, and then I re-tore my abdominal muscle (that I originally injured in 2018, and injured again in 2021). Throughout all this, we’ve tried to continue to put effort into our passion for Thread of Souls and what it means to us, and to our readers.

Thank you for your continued support of Thead of Souls! I hope you enjoy Asunder when it launches on Amazon on December 15th!

Thread of Souls

Revised and Updated Thread of Souls Books

Thread of Souls

Authors know all about change. Characters grow and develop over the span of the story. Heroes rise from nobodies, villains are defeated, or have a change of heart. Books take you on a journey of discovery. In our quest, we discovered Thread of Souls, too was changing. That brings us to our big announcement.

Thread of Souls is evolving! The series has brand new covers for books one, two, and three. Gaze upon them in awestruck wonder below!

Purchase Revised Covers

We worked with fantastic cover designer Vivien Reis and we are thrilled to continue partnering with her.

Future Books

Asunder is the next book to get a cover treatment. The art is being created as we type. We are excited to reveal the cover when it is available.

Taliesin
Uncategorized

Character Feature: Taliesin

Thread of Souls

Taliesin is this month’s character feature! A headstrong, passionate dark elf healer that cares deeply about others. His risk-taking and button-pushing approach to life creates plenty of conflict, but Taliesin never backs down in the face of injustice or threats.

Taliesin enjoys learning and reading. He is always up for a good time and a late night party. He hates the art of necromancy and has cultivated his skill in driving away undead and banishing ghosts. Religion surrounds his whole life and he wants to use it to guide and help others.

We first meet Taliesin in Phantom Five. His challenge of status in Berenzia has gotten him in trouble with the ruling priestesses. After recovering from eight months of punishment for his wild tongue, he has run away from home. He crosses paths with dark dwarf Ruuda, a fugitive in her own rights. Together, the two set out to explore a new land and find a new direction in both of their lives.

Taliesin

Magic supplies including a leather bound book, a box full of herbs, and flowers
Bardic Inspiration, Thread of Souls

Bardic Inspiration: Sounds of a Magical Academy

Thread of Souls

You sit at a desk in a dimly lit classroom. The windows are covered by large tapestries depicting the various studies of the arcane: divination, protection, defense, potions, and the like. The smell of old tomes, incense, and ink fills the space.”

Suddenly, the tapestries snap open bringing harsh sunlight in the room. Other students shield their eyes at the change of scenery. A burst of magic erupts from the doorway and in strides the teacher. They wear a robe of pink with blue sigils and a matching pointed hat that hangs slightly askew. “Welcome to Magical Studies I, I am your professor. Turn to page 157 and we shall begin with how to summon a simple light spell.”

Magical academies, such as the Citadel in Thread of Souls, are all the rage in fantasy, right? As authors, we love sensory details but what does it sound like within an academy? Music is a great way to get ideas and inspiration. Imagine the above scene with the following tracks playing in the background.

Magical and mysterious is Eothas. It’s soft and soothing and is great for lore drops and providing details about locations, people, and items. At the Citadel, it’s a wonderful backdrop for sweeping shots detailing the school and its three spires of law, study, and research.

The Crystal’s Shimmer and the Wind’s Revelations is a mesmerizing track for showcasing wonderful magic. It’s light and full of wonder. A great backdrop for the crystalmancers of the Citadel as they learn and teach about the eight disciplines of magic.

How May I Serve You? is an eerie discordant track for untrusting moments. Magical academies are full of many interesting people and not all of them are to be trusted. Each and every person has their own agenda. The Citadel is home to powerful mages, without giving any spoilers, not all of them are as they seem.

Bonus Dragon Prince song. I See You pairs nicely with How May I Serve You?

Mages are scholarly and Cyrus, the Scholar fits nicely for a library.

Alabastra is for those moments when the students explore the restricted section. It’s way more fun to venture into an unauthorized zone. Forbidden is just an invitation for curious mages.

Learn all about the Citadel in Thread of Souls.

Asunder
Uncategorized

Lore Drop: The Citadel

Thread of Souls

As readers will know, in book four of Thread of Souls our characters travel to the Citadel. In anticipation for the publication of the book on December 15th, we’d love to share some lore about this new location!

  • The Citadel is technically considered its own territory within Corventos. Its land stretches from the Arcane Fangs on the west, all the way to Viscera’s Bay on the east. While it is much smaller compared to other territories, it is incredibly powerful.
  • The mages of the Citadel practice cystalmancy. The draw upon the power of crystals such as quartz and amethyst to channel their magic. This makes their magic more of a science compared to clerics that draw their power from a divine source.
  • The Magister is the prime deity worshipped at the Citadel. Known also as Naboris, he is credited with giving mortals the knowledge of magic and is depicted holding a “spark” of magic.
  • The Citadel consists of three spires. The Dominicore Spire where decisions are made, the Inquisicore Spire dealing with research, and the Intellicore Spire for the university.
  • Viscera Dante founded the Citadel. Leadership after her has included Aviana Zebell a wild elf, Pava Dante who was Viscera’s daughter, Hallistair Dante who was Pava’s son, the dwarf Karduun Whitetree, and presently Leliana Dante herself.

We hope you enjoyed this sneak preview lore drop! Look for Thread of Souls: Asunder on December 15th!

Asunder
The Spool of Souls: Updates & News, Thread of Souls

Book IV – Asunder Excerpt

Thread of Souls

We are drawing closer and closer to the publication date of Asunder, the fourth book in the Thread of Souls octology! Not long ago we shared an excerpt from the upcoming book. Since this week we sent the early book off to our ARC readers, we thought a wonderful way to celebrate would be to share another portion of Asunder! Enjoy !

“What is this?” the paladin asked. 

“One of the Artifact Vaults,” she answered. “Your friends’ belongings have been stored here for the time being. I’ve been able to advocate on your behalf and ensure you can keep your armor. But that blade you carry is interplanar. It must be put here.”

Zok gasped, taking a few steps back. “My Sunsword? But . . . I need it.”

Vera regarded him for a long moment, her expression inscrutable. Then she slowly paced, her arms wrapped over one another. “Do you know the history of the sword you carry?”

“History? I found it in a demi-plane. It was created to slay vampires.”

“Did you know there have been a small handful of such weapons throughout known history?”

Zok hesitated. “ . . . No, I did not.”

“They’ve been known to be weapons of holy warriors,” Vera continued as she paced. Her steps echoed in the room around them. “Extremely powerful and used to take down only the most dangerous of foes. Wyrmrider Renna might be a name familiar to you.” 

“A hero during the Age of Dragons.” He inclined his head. “She served the Holy Dragon and battled the Blight Dragon’s cultists. I heard of her in my studies at the temple.”

“Our records at the Citadel suggests she used one such weapon. A spear of sunlight to battle the darkness of the Blight Dragon.” 

Zok glanced down at the ornate hilt of his sword that hung from his belt. “I am uncertain if what you are telling me is meant to make me want to part with my sword.”

Vera stopped her movement and stared up at him. “I am trying to impress on you the importance of what you carry. Just because you found one that had been transported to a demi-plane does not make it any less significant. We handle all such artifacts with respect and care at the Citadel. I expect you to show the same respect to your sword and not simply carry it for show around a town of civilians.” 

“It is not for show. It is for self-defense.”

“You are in no danger here, you do not need your weapon.”

He shook his head adamantly. “I cannot give it up. It means a great deal to me.”

Vera’s tone was even and unyielding. “You are not giving it up. But until questions can be answered about where you obtained it, it must remain here. Your cooperation will go far in getting it returned to you.”

“On whose authority? Dorian Aster’s?”

“No. The Council of Nine.”

Zok paused, then asked, “Who is that?”

“The Council of Nine consists of each leader of the eight disciplines of the arcane. It also includes the Magistrate, leader of the entire Citadel. Currently, that is Leliana Dante. After the mages of the Inquisicore Spire get the answers needed about you and your friends, you all will be brought before the Council of Nine. There you will have a chance to tell your side of the story to the most powerful people of the Citadel, some of the most influential leaders in all of Corventos. A judgment will then be rendered.”

Zok felt like the room spun around him. The enormity of the situation weighed heavily. He felt so small compared to the mechanisms at work here. He couldn’t even win over the respect of his mother, queen of Eleste’si. How could he do so with these powerful mages?

And so, he surrendered his Sunsword.

Asunder will be published on December 15th via Amazon and other places books are sold at those store’s leisures. We can’t wait to share this exciting installment with all of you!