Kai Zeal's Monthly Newsletter: March 2025
Mar 15, 2025 7:33 pm
Hello everyone! I hope spring has been going great so far-- it's been a hectic but productive month here so far, so let's jump in!
Updates
Riyati
First off, I'm happy to announce that Riyati Rivals is up for pre-order and wishlisting on most storefronts/review platforms! In particular, itch.io preorders are 50% off until launch, so if you want to pre-order Riyati Rivals, grab a drm-free copy from itch.io. Check the button below to see the full list of retailers Riyati Rivals is up for pre-order. Meanwhile, I'm happy to share the final cover design and Riyati Rivals's official synopsis/blurb!
Riyati Rivals's cover (ebook)
What would you sacrifice to alter an already guaranteed future?
The new school year has begun in the quiet town of Opal Pines, and with it, new problems for Kylie and Jordan: Kylie’s mother barely lets her out of sight, and Jordan’s new friend makes it clear he’s no fan of Kylie. Even their older selves are at odds with each other: Siani refuses to intervene in the events to come; meanwhile, Rotanu is not sure the ends justify the means needed to get there. To make matters even worse, a familiar woman from the June kidnapping is back and wants Kylie’s head. What happens when the past is painful and still seeks vengeance, the present is lonely, and the future uncertain?
Riyati Rivals is the second book of a new adult/adult contemporary, low dark fantasy series that seeks to explore themes of identity, legacy, the greater good, and finding your own path in life. The Riyati series includes multiple first person perspectives and multiple queer characters (currently including demisexual/romantic and lesbian representation with more to come in future books), set in the modern day United States.
For review platforms, all the major platforms (that I know of) have Riyati Rivals pages! If you're interested in purchasing Riyati Rivals after its launched, make sure to wishlist on your favorite review platform, and once you've read, please leave a review-- reviews help other readers know if the series is for them and can make a huge difference.
Current List of Riyati Rivals Review Platforms
I'm also happy to share Riyati Rebirth's second edition cover art -- I still absolutely love the original cover, but with my rebranding, I needed for my new pen name to be on the cover; as well, I wanted a cover that I could stick with for the entire series, and that's something I feel I can do with the current designs.
Riyati Rebirth's new cover (ebook)
While I only have ebook designs to show off this month, I hope to have print designs for both paperback and hardcover to share next month (I'm waiting on the proof copies right now, in fact!).
Next up, I'm happy to share that the free novella prequel I mentioned last month is finished and ready for reading as well! Riyati Origins is a prequel to the Riyati series as a whole; it's much shorter than a typical Riyati book, and serves both as a great entry point to the series as well as a short read to jump into while waiting for Riyati Rivals's launch.
Riyati Origins's cover
(I really gotta stop having book names that end in "s")
Long before Kylie Rae ran into the forest that fateful day, there lived another woman — Kisate Riyati, crowned princess to the Royal Kingdom of Riyati. This is her story, of how kingdoms fall and dreams are dashed.
Just before Kisate’s twenty-second birthday, she received word that the man she’d secretly loved for many years was now arranged to be her eventual husband, Takite Tanoti. Yet this news sets in motion a series of events that would not just be life changing, but ultimately instigates the destruction of the kingdom she was to rule. What was meant as a kindness to Asuza Nuueti, her primary servant and a man that long since had unrequited feelings toward her, will both save her and damn her.
Explore the beginnings of the Riyati universe, back when the Ancient Kingdom of Riyati still thrived — and see Kisate, Takite, and Asuza as they once were, long before the events of Riyati Rebirth.
All newsletter subscribers are welcome to download Riyati Origins for free -- in fact, my newsletter is one of only two ways to get this prequel!
If you're curious what the other way is, I'm thrilled to share that next! I'm working on setting up a site dedicated to supplemental Riyati content. So far, I've included most of the existing artwork -- covers, the beautiful new glyphs on Rebirth and Rivals's covers, and character art for both Rebirth and Rivals --, two bonus chapters, and a dedicated link to download Riyati Origins. I hope to continually build on this project for those that enjoy Riyati's universe. In the future, this site will be locked to those subscribing to my Ko-Fi, but as I'm still finishing up the site and setting up my Ko-Fi, I'm sharing the link to newsletter subscribers for free through the end of the month! Now's a great time to check out the bonus content, and if you'd like to see more (and support both myself and the Riyati series/project as a whole), subscribe on Ko-Fi!
If you enjoy Riyati's Library Archives and would like to support me, Riyati, and would like to see the site continue to grow, follow me on Ko-Fi so that you can consider subscribing once the subscription tiers go live!
Personal
With all the Riyati news above, most of what I've been up to the past month can be seen above. That said, I'm also preparing to start the comprehensive exam for my PhD program, which is both exciting and nerve-wrecking at once; this exam is the gatekeeper before I'm allowed to start my dissertation, but also, if I fail it three times, I'm immediately kicked from my program-- I'm already three years in, and I'd really like to not get kicked with so much work invested! So I'm excited to potentially be starting the next phase of my degree, but it's definitely a nerve-wrecking time as well. The good news is the exam is a project and presentation, which I much prefer to something like a very long closed-book exam. I'll appreciate all good wishes this next month or so while I work on the exam, for sure!
As most Xeno fans know, in just five days, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition is coming out. This is the one Xeno game I've never played, and I'm super happy to finally be jumping into Mira. I'm not sure I'll have as much time to play it as I'd like between my classes and comprehensive exam, prepping for Riyati Rivals's launch, and Final Fantasy 14's 7.2 patch just a few days later, but I'll get through it slow and steady. It's already preloaded on my Switch, even!
Upcoming/Ongoing Promotions
Kobo Plus Fantasy
Promotion runs now through March 31
If you haven't heard of Kobo Plus yet, now's the time to jump in! It's similar to Kindle Unlimited, except the monthly sub is cheaper and you can add on audiobooks for a small price increase if you like both audiobooks and ebooks. For this month, I recommend you check out this selection of Fantasy books through Kobo Plus, running from now through the end of the month. Keep in mind, all of the listed books at this link are free with one monthly subscription, so you could have a ton of reading over the next few weeks if you're looking for some great books!
Books To Check Out
The Handler's Gambit by Ingrid Moon (Discounted Direct!)
Trust is a weapon in the wrong hands. And the airlock doesn't care who's right or wrong.Winner 2024 BookFest Awards, Winner 2024 Outstanding Creator Award (Best Audiobook, Best Narration)
A young officer plays a dangerous game to escape with the warlord's weapon—but his superiors are catching on, and the weapon has an agenda of her own.
If his secret gets out, they're both dead.
Play the game.
Murder the innocent.
Don't let them see you sweat.
Commander Boone's treacherous secret could save thousands of lives—if he could only escape from the murderous warlord who employs him. He wears his game face while following orders to destroy enemy fleets and handles a reckless assassin with elemental powers. Behind the scenes, he is undermining the warlord's pursuit of an innocent rival.
The duplicity and the horrors are taking their toll. Boone wants out.
In a bold gambit, he crafts a plan to escape. But his superiors might be catching on, and the plan is not without its own horrors. With everything working against him, including the woman he thought was his salvation, he may not live long enough to execute it.
Epic Space Battles, Biological "Magic," Ground Assaults, Betrayal, Unlikely Allies
The Unbreakable Bond by Lou Stardust (Review Copy)
Curious Forest Nymph and a grand adventure. Cozy Romantasy
Fawn is an outcast Forest Nymph under the spell of an evil Dark Elf. She meets two people who will change her life forever and take her on amazing adventures.
Flight of the Gazebo by Kent Silverhill (Free Book)
Can an out-of-his-depth human save his home from magic, homicidal aliens? An epic magic fantasy adventure
It isn’t easy when you find yourself lost and alone in a strange place.
It’s even trickier when that place is a different world, and you have no idea how you got there.
Drome’s top priority isn’t to figure that out. It’s to avoid getting himself killed. But his talent for making enemies as he flees the villainous courtiers who took him hostage, really isn’t helping.
He’s in an unfamiliar city, in a bizarre hollow world, and he only has one friend. Well, that’s if he can call a snarky living skeleton with a penchant for stealing royal jewels a friend.
What with every palace guard and a crazed assassin after the pair, the odds are stacked against them.
Running out of time, luck, and options, it’s touch-and-go whether they’ll make it to Drome’s village and warn them of the horror coming their way.
And then there’s the wizard. If only Drome hadn’t angered him too…
So, is Drome in trouble?
Yup. He’s screwed.
If you like Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Joe Abercrombie, you won't be able to put down the addictive Hollow series.
Spirit Summoner by TC Marti (Free Book)
An epic dark fantasy featuring the unlikeliest of alliances.
Prince Caer Cymraeg never thought he'd get tangled up with an Untouchable like Mali LaSalle...
...But after a chance encounter, he and Mali are fleeing across Tamuria together.
If they're caught, Caer will be forced to marry the Tamurian Empire's spoiled princess, and, as Caer's supposed captor, Mali will face certain death. With danger lurking at every turn, can they reach the safety of Cymraeg's border before it's too late?
Spirit Summoner is a 22,000-word epic dark fantasy novella depicting Prince Caer Cymraeg’s and Mali LaSalle’s first day on the run from the Tamurian Empire.
Closing
This has definitely been a packed newsletter (at least on my end-- I hadn't realized how much had finally finished up since last month's newsletter, whew!), and I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the developments so far. Many of these projects have been literal months in the making, and I'm so excited to finally share them. That said, there's more on the way, and I'm looking forward to sharing those with you as things get finished! (In particular, I'm excited to add to Riyati's Library Archives-- I've really wanted a series wiki for awhile, and while this isn't quite that, it's a central hub for information and a lot more accessible than the various different platforms I was trying to work with before.)
I'll see everyone next month!
Kai