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- The Arcanum #18 - July 2025
The Arcanum #18 - July 2025
The newsletter of fantasy author J.H. Fleming
Hello, everyone! If you're seeing this, it means you signed up for my newsletter at some point in time. Don't worry, I'm not going to flood your inbox. I do like to give you guys regular updates, though. Let's get started!

A picture from our trip to Niagara Falls
What Am I Working On?

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash
The Queen of Wind and Wave: I’m inching closer to the 20,000-word mark on this one. It’s been somewhat slow going with all of our recent travels, but I’m still on track to finish the first draft this summer.
The Witch of Myrwist Wood: I’ve still waiting to go through the edits on this one, but my hope is to get to it sometime this month or August at the latest.
Untitled Ghost book: I’d intended to finish The Queen of Wind and Wave before picking this one up again, but the idea keeps nagging at me, so I’m considering working on it here and there between my other projects.
What Have I Been Reading?

I finally finished Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. I thought it was a fun read and could see myself picking it up again in the future. I wrote more about it on Patreon, if you’re interested.

I’m currently reading The Hermes Protocol by Chris M. Arnone. Phill and I initially met Chris at the World Fantasy Convention in Kansas City. He was a guest on our podcast, and we spent some time with him at the Nebulas in Kansas City last month.
I don’t typically read cyberpunk stories—or much sci-fi, for that matter. It’s just not my preferred genre. The story has been intriguing so far, though, and I’m curious to see where it goes.
What Have I Been Watching?

We’re in the third season of Ted Lasso now, and still really enjoying it. It’s been wild to see where they go with some of the character arcs.
We’ll most likely finish it this month and move on to something else—perhaps Resident Alien again, or maybe something new.
What Have I Been Playing?
I haven’t been playing much of anything lately. With all the trips, I’ve spent my free time working on my novel, reading, practicing ukulele, or starting to learn yet another language (I might have a problem 😂).
But I did return to The Lord of the Rings Online recently because they announced they are closing all of their 32-bit servers. My kin has already moved over to one of the 64-bit servers, so I’m currently in the process of packing up my house so I can move everything. I have until the end of August, so wish me luck!

A screenshot of my minstrel character, Aiwelin, in her summer witch garb in the forest of Lothlorien.
I also finally finished Echoes of Wisdom! I wasn’t sure when I was going to finish this game, but I decided to give myself a day off and see how far I could get last Saturday. I ended up getting through the end of it, which is great because it means I can immediately start Tales of the Shire when it releases on the twenty-ninth.
This wasn’t my favorite Zelda game, but I loved that we finally got to play as Zelda for an entire game. I remember getting to play as her for a little bit in Spirit Tracks, but it was only for a puzzle here and there. I also love that they basically made her a mage in this one, which was pretty cool.

This whole conversation—and quest line—cracked me up.
What Have I Been Listening To?
My author friend Rebecca J Harris introduced me to the band South for Winter a few months back. I’ve been listening to their music through their website and really love it, so I’ll be picking up their albums from Bandcamp at some point.
The song below has been stuck in my head for a while now. I’ll preface it by saying that Phill and I are fine. I just love a good song. 😂
July Events
June 30 - July 6: We’re taking a little trip to Chattanooga, TN. In fact, when you read this, that’s where we’ll be. This is a sort of vacation/business trip, and I’m looking forward to exploring the city and (hopefully) finding some cool coffee shops to write in.
July 12 - We’ll have a booth at North Heights Market in the Park in Joplin, MO, selling books and CDs. I’m not looking forward to the heat, but it should be fun otherwise.
July 16 - 21: We’ll have a little break after we get back from Tennessee, then we’re heading to Boston for Readercon. I’ve never been to the northeast and I’m really looking forward to it.
Wildwood Minstrels
It’s been a while since I’ve had band news, but I’m happy to report that we finally have a website!

It’s still a bit of a work in progress, but I love the way it’s coming together. We’ve also been working on some new music, which I can’t wait to share with all of you.
Language Corner
In this section I like to share words from languages I’m learning. This month I’m taking a break from Irish and sharing some Italian words. Fun fact: I grew up listening to Charlotte Church, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, and Josh Groban, and when I took voice lessons, I sang several Italian songs. After English, I know more songs in Italian than any other language.
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Patreon & Ko-fi

I post once a week on Patreon about all sorts of things: writing, books I’m reading, things going on in life. Once a month I also share sneak peeks of whatever book I’m working on. It would mean the world to me if you considered joining.

I am also on Ko-fi, which is sort of like Patreon, but with one key difference: you’re not locked into a subscription. Ko-fi allows patrons to donate however often they’d like to creators they follow. No subscriptions if you don’t want them, no commitments, and you have control over when and how you donate. I don’t post quite as often on Ko-fi, but I’ve been having fun sharing little micro-stories there, if you’re interested.
Get in Touch
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