September 2026
Book 5 of the Phoenix Saga (Revelation) is finished.
The editing is complete. The ebook and paperback files are uploaded. The cover is locked. Phoenix Rising: Revelation is scheduled for release on November 27th.
It is the largest book in the series — more than 110,000 words. That still surprises me.
When I started this story in 2007, I thought I was writing a simple novella. Book 1 came in around 29,000 words. I had a day job. I had a family. I had no idea the crew would keep demanding more of me for nearly two decades.
Revelation asked for more than any of the others. More pages. More weight. More time inside the same questions that have been living in this saga from the beginning: what we owe each other, what we become under pressure, and how a person keeps going when the cost of survival keeps rising.
Finishing it does not feel like a victory lap. It feels quieter than that. The book is out of my hands now. The next part belongs to readers.
I am grateful for the early mornings that carried this one. I am grateful for the people who have stayed with Anders, Ellyara, Ariel, Bishop, and the rest of the crew from the first book to this one.
If you want to start the saga, begin with Phoenix Rising. If you have already been walking this road with them, Revelation is the next step.
The fire is still burning…
— JP
August 2026
The End Begins…
Why It Took Me 18 years to Finish the First Book:
I started writing what would become the Phoenix Saga in 2007.
At the time, I thought it would be a simple story. A novella, maybe. Something I could finish on nights and weekends while still showing up to my day job as a CPA. I had no idea it would grow into a multi-book space opera that has now lived inside my head for nearly two decades.
Looking back, the delay makes more sense than it did at the time.
Life kept happening. Career demands. Family. The quiet, persistent voice that said the story wasn’t ready yet. I would write for stretches, then set it down for months or even years. Every time I returned, the world felt bigger. The characters had more to say. The themes of rebirth, found family, and facing the darkness without looking away kept deepening.
Book 1, Phoenix Rising, finally came out after that long gestation. It was only about 29,000 words. I thought I was done with the idea of “simple.” The story had other plans.
By the time I finished Book 5, Revelation, the manuscript sat at 110,000 words and 69 chapters. The same story that once felt like a side project had become the central creative work of my adult life. I’m currently deep in the editing phase, with a release targeted for November 27.
What I’ve learned over these 18 years is that some stories refuse to be rushed. They demand time. They demand that you grow alongside them. The writer who began this project in 2007 is not the same person finishing Revelation in 2026. The gaps, the doubts, the long stretches of silence — all of it became part of the work.
I’m grateful I didn’t force it earlier. The saga is stronger for the years it spent waiting.
If you’ve been following the Phoenix crew — Anders, Ellyara, Ariel, Bishop, and the rest — thank you for sticking with a story that took its time arriving. We’re not finished yet. Book 5 is the biggest step so far, and it sets the stage for what comes next.
The fire is still burning.
— JP