SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE retitled to STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE
I have decided to rename the SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE series to the STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE series.
The motivation for this decision came from the many emails I received asking where SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE fit in between DRAGONTIARNA or SEVENFOLD SWORD, or if the Calliande NPC in the books would turn out to be the real Calliande from FROSTBORN. And the answer to all these questions is no, of course not. SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE is something totally different than the FROSTBORN epic fantasy series. It’s a LitRPG series with many science fiction elements. The premise is that seven hundred years in the future an evil corporation made a virtual reality MMORPG game based on my FROSTBORN books, and a former developer sets out to expose the evil corporation from within by playing the game. It’s not part of the FROSTBORN or the other Andomhaim series.
But the confusion is my fault. By naming it SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE, I think I set the table wrong, so to speak.
What do I mean by that?
Imagine you sit down to a meal. The tablecloth is the red-and-white pattern traditionally associated with Italian restaurants. On the table you see a shaker of garlic salt, and another of parmesan cheese. Next to your plate is a pizza cutter, and in front of it is a basket of garlic breadsticks. Your beverage is in one of those red plastic cups that Pizza Hut had back in the 90s.
Naturally you’re expecting the waiter to bring out a pizza.
Instead, the waiter brings out a plate with carne asada tacos and lime & jalapeno tortilla chips. You’re going to be very confused. Why is there a pizza cutter next to your plate if you’re having tacos? I mean, they could potentially be the best tacos in the history of Mexican cuisine, but it’s still weird because you sat down and everything indicated that you were about to get a pizza.
So by naming the LitRPG series SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE, I think I set the table wrong and created incorrect expectations that it was actually part of the main FROSTBORN/SEVENFOLD SWORD/DRAGONTIARNA/DRAGONSKULL/THE SHIELD WAR series. It probably also kneecapped sales for the series, since people assumed it was part of SEVENFOLD SWORD.
Therefore, SEVENFOLD SWORD ONLINE has been renamed to the STEALTH & SPELLS ONLINE series. Hopefully this will be better indicator of what kind of book it really is.
And after typing this post I really want some tacos. 🙂
-JM
Wow. That hit the nail on the head on why I didn’t read the book. I bought it but struggled with the title and misunderstood the premise. Put it on my pile to the side to read on a rainy day. I bought the 2nd also and may just wait to binge them when the 3rd and final book comes out.
I really like this series and am looking forward to the next one.
I always felt like it diminished the characters in the frostborn and sevenfold sword series to have them reduced in another series of books to characters in a game. Might not make sense considering how they are fictional characters in a book but that was my view on it.
I love this series and look forward to future books. I do like the new series name more than the old one. Please keep writing it! 🙂