Introducing: The Forgemasters!

Support the Forge. Shape the Stories. Join the ranks.

Falden’s Forge is growing…

I’ve been thinking long and hard about ways to not only make this project sustainable, but also to give my subscribers a real stake—a real voice—in what I do here.

To that end, I’m opening up paid subscriptions.

Technically, I’ve had paid subscriptions open since I first began this newsletter. But I offered nothing in return. Up until now, taking out a paid subscription to Falden’s Forge was pure patronage, a goodwill gesture of generosity.

But now the time has come to be more intentional about it, and to give my generous patrons something worth paying for.

This is a big step for me.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know what I’m trying to build: something long-term, worth the time, and most of all sustainable.

Now, you can be a part of that in a big way.

Introducing… the Forgemasters

By taking out a paid subscription, you’ll join the ranks of the Forgemasters. You’ll belong to a core group of readers who are rapidly becoming the lifeblood of what I do here. They’re the partners in my work, invested readers who help shape what gets written.

If this is a creative “forge,” the Forgemasters keep the fires of creativity burning and the hammers of this wordsmith swinging.

As of this month, paying subscribers will get:

• An exclusive short story every month

• The ability to vote on what stories get written next

• Access to a new, monthly “Lorework” series which includes behind-the-scenes & worldbuilding explainers

• First access to limited edition books, like The Samyuzot

• A voice in choosing future fantasy reviews

All of that comes with a paid subscription: $5.75 / month, or $59 / year (USD).

Forgemasters support my work here so that I can keep growing this project, make it sustainable, and continue delivering everything you’ve come to love about Falden’s Forge.

More support means I can give more. Now, tomorrow, next year, and over the long haul.

I’ve got big plans. Forgemasters help me make them real.

What About Free Subscribers?

Nothing changes!

None of my existing posts will be moved behind the paywall. Not one.

Free members are, and always will be, a core part of Falden’s Forge, and a huge reason I write.

I’ll still be posting every other Tuesday—free for everyone.

You’ll get short stories when I have them, plus the usual essays on the fantasy genre, historical deep-dives, commentaries, and the occasional piece of craft insight. Business as usual.

But if you’re ready for more—and want to directly support my writing—now is your chance.

Here’s How It Works

From now on, the average monthly publishing schedule will look like this:

Week 1: Paid Subscribers 🔒 Lorework Series

This post will unpack the lore and craft (work) of one of my existing pieces of fiction. It will be part worldbuilding/backstory and part author’s notes.

As you know, all my stories take place in one shared setting: Cethanwald. This is the chance to explore it with me, and see what lies over the horizon…

Lorework posts will also have voting polls:

• I’ll share three story hooks: memorable images or premises for a distinctly Falden story.

• You vote for your favorite; I write the winner.

• Unchosen hooks stay in rotation until it’s clear no one wants them.

Sometimes I’ll also ask for input on non-fiction topics you want to see, or share polls on what I should read, watch, or review next.

All of that is ONLY available to Forgemasters.

Week 2: Free Post

This is business as usual, the regularly-scheduled programming. We’re diving into history, exploring fantasy works, and enjoying epic fantasy in bite-sized stories.

Week 3: Paid Subscribers 🔒 Exclusive Short Story

Here’s where I’ll deliver the story that my Forgemasters most wanted, as voted on in the Lorework poll. These will be the stories that you help shape, the stories you most want to read.

As this library of exclusive short stories grows, it also means that eventually, most of my short stories will only be available to Forgemasters. Paying subscribers will get fiction far more consistently than what I’ve been able to put here in the past…

Week 4: Free Post

Same as Week 2. Normal fare. The regular posts that you’ve already come to love.

Week 5: Wait, that can happen?!

On the occasional month where there are five Tuesdays instead of four, I’ll deal with it on a case-by-case basis. In all likelihood it means everyone’s getting something for free that week.

You might expect newsletter updates, livestreams, seasonal wrap-ups, cross-posts, or something from the archive. Or maybe I’ll just announce paid subscriptions on the first Tuesday of a month in order to avoid that issue. You know, like today.

Which means the first Lorework will drop on Tuesday, July 8!

Why Am I Doing This?

Because I want to keep building.

That’s no empty aspiration.

To take just one example: I want to create special edition books of my stories, like The Samyuzot. Hundreds of you have read and enjoyed that collection, and many have requested the ability to read it in a hard copy. I want that too, of course. And I want to add maps, bonus stories, some custom art, and maybe even illustrations.

I want to create something you’ll be really proud to have on your shelf. Something to remember.

And that’s just what I hope for the latter half of this year!

The support from Forgemasters can make that possible. That’s how I can carve out the space, time, and margin to not just keep this project going, but to keep it growing.

Not just this month. Not just in 2025 or 2026. But for the long haul.

Becoming a Forgemaster means investing in this project to help take it to the next level.

I’ve set the price at $5.75/month or $59/year. I want the price to reflect my belief in valuing fiction, and more than that, that I believe in building this into something sustainable. Something that honors the time you spend reading, and the time I spend creating.

I’m investing more than just my time into this project, but suffice to say the additional investment from the Forgemasters will make those memorable things possible.

You can make it possible. Some of you already are.

If you’ve gotten something from Falden’s Forge—if the essays, or the craft insights, or the stories have meant something to you—then now is your chance to invest in what comes next.

Join the Forgemasters. Keep the fire burning. Help me craft something that lasts.

Next week, we’ll see our first edition of Lorework. I’ll be unpacking one of my first and most popular stories—One Head as Tribute.

That also means polls will open for our first Forgemaster story. That story will drop on July 22!

You won’t want to miss it.

Want to keep reading? Read the post below, or see the rest of my writing on this page.

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