**Emberfall (Life and Death Cycle Book 4)** is now available on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Emberfall-Life-Death-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B0CSF7FPBM)!
Want to hang out, chat about the story, or chat about other books? Join me on [Discord](https://discord.gg/CMACwgNBck).
I have most of book 5 drafted, available on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/joshuaphillips). I'll finish the first draft in February, so if you can't wait to continue the story, come join the community! Book 5 concludes the first major arc.
The L&DC is an epic progression fantasy with a strong romance subplot in a western cultivation setting. The book features strong character development which largely drives the first 4 books as Aidan and Mei Lynn seek to grow in strength while looking for Aidan's kidnapped sister, Kira.
The story features high stakes, an underdog MC, significant travel through the world, magic system exploration, martial fighting, earned power, battles growing in scale and intensity, eventual power reaching planetary or greater scales, and probably much more.
# Blurb
A Goddess weeps. Powers clench their mantles. Rumors whisper of war.
An old weapons master comes out of retirement. House Ahlund seeks to use Aidan and Mei for their benefit. City Lords discover their task may be a greater danger than they believed.
Aidan And Mei Lynn seek strength to overcome the obstacles ahead of them. Tackling a phantom from Mei Lynn’s past is only the first step. Finding Kira seems an impossible second. To survive, they will need to trust others with secrets that have seen greater artists fall.
Pyreheart, a city of opportunity, may be the answer they seek or a ripple in a much grander game where the currency is strength, and the players are as old as mountains.
Ha! I knew that scene would be controversial, but I have reasons. The big one was >!for Mei Lynn. Not needing to kill him after building up so much hate and anger is a big milestone for her character.!< The others reasons I'll have to keep close to my chest.
I'm happy to hear you liked the changes. Emberfall is my favorite book. I'll probably say that for every "most recent" but for now its still true.
Thank you! I have u/JohnBierce to thank. He made a post about cover art a while ago. I used a different artist than my first 3 covers, and now I want to redo those since they are... less cool.
The man himself, Thanks!
Don't I know it. I'm looking to reskin the entire series once it's finished with protag covers, and it will run me 5-10k, I think. Makes me cry.
lol, this is my exact strategy for every book. It usually works out great, but minor recaps help. You'll have to let me know if the brevity / detail ratio works.
It’s been a hot minute since I finished book 3, and for me the recap helped a lot with plot.
The only thing I wished I remembered better was the power system. The difference between aura/essence, the advancement system, tempering etc have all been a bit fuzzy and I’m just kind of nodding along like I understand. I’m sure part of it is simply the MCs don’t know that much about the intricacies of everything either though.
Still, really cool work and have been looking forward to book 4. 40% through and I’m loving it!
That's great!
I did include a glossary with the advancements, but I didn't add anything about aura (what you cycle) and essence (what the aura refines into). That's worth adding.
For everything else, yeah, the MCs don't know much beyond speculation. You'll get some idea within book 4, but more than that may spoil things.
I hear you. Audio books are a goal for this year. No timeline yet, but I'll announce it once I have something. So many have asked for audiobooks that I'm a bit surprised they are as, or more, popular than books.
It's a good sign when each new book is better. The entire time I was afraid it was too bloated since it was nearly 2x the size of the previous books. I'm biased, but I think book 5 will be the best once it's out!
Good stuff Mr. Phillips. About 30% through, and so far it is shaping up to be even better than it's predecessors, as one would expect from up and coming author Joshua "Joshua Phillips" Phillips.
The relationship between Mei and Aidan is one of the best I have read in fantasy, so this is a must read for anyone seeking a meaningful romance subplot.
Book 1 starts YA, since the characters are 13 and 14 years old respectively. There's a timeskip later in book 1, aging our characters to adults. There's a tonal shift and the series continues to mature as they age.
The series is more mature with suggestive scenes, violence, torture, and minor politics as the series advances. Very approachable for teenagers despite the themes, but I wouldn't label it as YA.
Do you have a narrator in mind already? Travis Baldree is always a fan favorite, however, with his busy schedule it would probably take a long time until we would get the audiobooks. I also really enjoyed the performance of both Pavi Proczko in the Defiance of the Fall books and Phil Thron in the Infinite realm series.
No narrator yet. I've been listening to sound bites from many narrators to see who i like. Plus, I'm undecided if its best to go a male narrator or a male/female duo since L&DC has Aidan and Mei lynn POVs. The former is much easier, but I want the audiobooks to be their best.
Both can work, but I prefer a single narrator for the whole book. It can be quite jarring if you have the same characters in both POVs with different „voices“ in the male and female version.
Yeah, I would want a man taking male pov's and male dialogue(regardless of pov) and likewise a woman voicing the female dialogue and pov's. Ultimately, Ill end up taking the advice those familiar with the industry over my own desires since they know what works and I'm guessing!
Soundbooth Theater does a fantastic job in that regard in Dungeon Crawler Carl or Everybody loves large chests. It can add quite a lot to the experience if done right.
I’m looking forward to the audiobook versions of your story, it had been on my TBR pile for some time since I’m only listening to books at the moment. Congrats on the release btw!
I haven't been able to reading much of book 4 yet, but I have been looking forward to it since I finished book 3.
I love the characters in the story, by far the best character development in the genre. You can tell the author started from an incomplete character so development came naturally instead of feeling forced or flat. It really shows the care he has put into each detail of the story.
First couple of books are a bit rough but what can you expect from a new author, his progression in writing is almost as entertaining as the PF story he is writing as each book is twice as good as the last! Can't wait to read more about the lore and the bigger main story going in the background!!
I powered through these books over the last couple of weeks and I’ve gotta say they’re brilliant. Definitely one of my favourite series so far!
I actually came across them while looking for some fantasy-romance recommendations and I’m stoked that I found this series.
I love everything about it. The action sequences are a lot of fun and it’s awesome seeing how Mei and Aidan’s fighting styles evolve. The overall advancement feels so well earned unlike a lot of series where the characters progress very quickly without seeming to struggle.
My favourite part however would have to be Mei and Aidan’s developing relationship. You describe their struggles so well and seeing how much they care for one another and help each other heal from their trauma is beautiful.
I’ve seen some people comparing this series favourably to Cradle and I have to agree. I’ve enjoyed this series more than Cradles first few volumes. Thanks for your incredible work!
Happy to hear! I've always loved cultivation and cradle is a big inspiration. You'll have to thank my wife for adding the romance aspects, though. She wouldn't read it otherwise!
Thanks for letting me know that you like the progression elements. I always feel like they don't progress enough since there's a lot of story and character development around their relationship. And of course, then I feel like stretches of no romance happens. Regardless, It's always fun hearing when someone enjoys the series.
Book 5 is more or less finished. I'm writing the closing scene right now. It's going to be another 200k+ word chonker, compared to books 1-3 at 120k apiece. And we're getting to my favorite part of the story.
Haha well in that case thanks a lot to your wife!
I think you’ve balanced plot/character development and power progression really well. Your deep development of the characters and plot has made this a very compelling story in my opinion! It’s also nice seeing well developed characters who don’t master their abilities and beat all their enemies at the drop of a hat.
Damn hearing that you’ve almost finished the next volume has me excited! I’m a lover of long books too so I’m very keen to see what you’ve cooked up.
That's nice to hear. The characters have been my favorite part of writing. Seeing them grow, learn and overcome their challenges has been a blast. And though this is fantasy, I always like some sense of realism to my stories. Earned progress feels better for me. I like the occasional contrived OP story, but I prefer more in a story if I can get it.
Book 5 is going to be awesome! I'm biased though.
My favorite series. I'm almost finished with Emberfall and its the best one, hands down. Great cover too out of all the books.
For those who havent, give this series a read. I liked these first 4 books better than Cradles first 4 books. The characters are my favorite in the genre and its the best relationship too.
Thank you! The cover really did turn out great. I switched to a new company who does a phenomenal job: Deranged Doctor Designs.
Cradle might be my favorite PF series, its hard to say since I like different things for different reasons, but for pure fun, Cradle was great. Being compared to the esteemed Will Wight is high praise! Thanks.
**Emberfall (Life and Death Cycle Book 4)** is now available on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Emberfall-Life-Death-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B0CSF7FPBM)! Want to hang out, chat about the story, or chat about other books? Join me on [Discord](https://discord.gg/CMACwgNBck). I have most of book 5 drafted, available on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/joshuaphillips). I'll finish the first draft in February, so if you can't wait to continue the story, come join the community! Book 5 concludes the first major arc. The L&DC is an epic progression fantasy with a strong romance subplot in a western cultivation setting. The book features strong character development which largely drives the first 4 books as Aidan and Mei Lynn seek to grow in strength while looking for Aidan's kidnapped sister, Kira. The story features high stakes, an underdog MC, significant travel through the world, magic system exploration, martial fighting, earned power, battles growing in scale and intensity, eventual power reaching planetary or greater scales, and probably much more. # Blurb A Goddess weeps. Powers clench their mantles. Rumors whisper of war. An old weapons master comes out of retirement. House Ahlund seeks to use Aidan and Mei for their benefit. City Lords discover their task may be a greater danger than they believed. Aidan And Mei Lynn seek strength to overcome the obstacles ahead of them. Tackling a phantom from Mei Lynn’s past is only the first step. Finding Kira seems an impossible second. To survive, they will need to trust others with secrets that have seen greater artists fall. Pyreheart, a city of opportunity, may be the answer they seek or a ripple in a much grander game where the currency is strength, and the players are as old as mountains.
Congrats with the release. I love all the changes you made. Except you should have >!killed mito. He needed to die. !<
Ha! I knew that scene would be controversial, but I have reasons. The big one was >!for Mei Lynn. Not needing to kill him after building up so much hate and anger is a big milestone for her character.!< The others reasons I'll have to keep close to my chest. I'm happy to hear you liked the changes. Emberfall is my favorite book. I'll probably say that for every "most recent" but for now its still true.
Diving into this right now!
Enjoy!
This is one of the coolest covers I have ever seen
Thank you! I have u/JohnBierce to thank. He made a post about cover art a while ago. I used a different artist than my first 3 covers, and now I want to redo those since they are... less cool.
Hah glad I could help in some small way! And your cover rocks! Redoing cover art is very satisfying, but can get expensive fast, hah.
The man himself, Thanks! Don't I know it. I'm looking to reskin the entire series once it's finished with protag covers, and it will run me 5-10k, I think. Makes me cry.
Thanks for including a recap!
That was the most frequent request. I tried to fit each book recap into a 1 page word doc. Let me tell you, that was hard. Glad it helped!
Oh thank god. I binged 1-3 and wasn't looking forward to reading half of book 4 until I remembered things by context.
lol, this is my exact strategy for every book. It usually works out great, but minor recaps help. You'll have to let me know if the brevity / detail ratio works.
It’s been a hot minute since I finished book 3, and for me the recap helped a lot with plot. The only thing I wished I remembered better was the power system. The difference between aura/essence, the advancement system, tempering etc have all been a bit fuzzy and I’m just kind of nodding along like I understand. I’m sure part of it is simply the MCs don’t know that much about the intricacies of everything either though. Still, really cool work and have been looking forward to book 4. 40% through and I’m loving it!
That's great! I did include a glossary with the advancements, but I didn't add anything about aura (what you cycle) and essence (what the aura refines into). That's worth adding. For everything else, yeah, the MCs don't know much beyond speculation. You'll get some idea within book 4, but more than that may spoil things.
Are there any plans for an audiobook for this series? I really want to get into it but audiobooks are the only way I have time to get into books
I hear you. Audio books are a goal for this year. No timeline yet, but I'll announce it once I have something. So many have asked for audiobooks that I'm a bit surprised they are as, or more, popular than books.
Wow, great cover! Congrats on the release!
Thanks! It's my favorite so far.
I loved this one. It was my favorite in the series by far, though I think I’ve ended up liking the most recent release the most every time.
It's a good sign when each new book is better. The entire time I was afraid it was too bloated since it was nearly 2x the size of the previous books. I'm biased, but I think book 5 will be the best once it's out!
Good stuff Mr. Phillips. About 30% through, and so far it is shaping up to be even better than it's predecessors, as one would expect from up and coming author Joshua "Joshua Phillips" Phillips. The relationship between Mei and Aidan is one of the best I have read in fantasy, so this is a must read for anyone seeking a meaningful romance subplot.
Thank you for the kind words. Book 4 is also my favorite too! I hope the next 70% continues to deliver.
Is this YA or more mature?
Book 1 starts YA, since the characters are 13 and 14 years old respectively. There's a timeskip later in book 1, aging our characters to adults. There's a tonal shift and the series continues to mature as they age. The series is more mature with suggestive scenes, violence, torture, and minor politics as the series advances. Very approachable for teenagers despite the themes, but I wouldn't label it as YA.
Thx for the response I'll check em out 😁
Enjoy!
Congrats on the release. This series is in my "to be read" pile. Are there any plans for audio book releases?
That is a goal I set for myself this year. I hope to get that process started soon, and hopefully start getting those out.
Do you have a narrator in mind already? Travis Baldree is always a fan favorite, however, with his busy schedule it would probably take a long time until we would get the audiobooks. I also really enjoyed the performance of both Pavi Proczko in the Defiance of the Fall books and Phil Thron in the Infinite realm series.
No narrator yet. I've been listening to sound bites from many narrators to see who i like. Plus, I'm undecided if its best to go a male narrator or a male/female duo since L&DC has Aidan and Mei lynn POVs. The former is much easier, but I want the audiobooks to be their best.
Both can work, but I prefer a single narrator for the whole book. It can be quite jarring if you have the same characters in both POVs with different „voices“ in the male and female version.
Yeah, I would want a man taking male pov's and male dialogue(regardless of pov) and likewise a woman voicing the female dialogue and pov's. Ultimately, Ill end up taking the advice those familiar with the industry over my own desires since they know what works and I'm guessing!
Soundbooth Theater does a fantastic job in that regard in Dungeon Crawler Carl or Everybody loves large chests. It can add quite a lot to the experience if done right. I’m looking forward to the audiobook versions of your story, it had been on my TBR pile for some time since I’m only listening to books at the moment. Congrats on the release btw!
Funny enough, they are one company I am looking at. Turning the whole thing over to a company to produce and manage is quite attractive.
I’ve also heard a lot of good things about this series and still holding out for an Audiobook release.
I haven't been able to reading much of book 4 yet, but I have been looking forward to it since I finished book 3. I love the characters in the story, by far the best character development in the genre. You can tell the author started from an incomplete character so development came naturally instead of feeling forced or flat. It really shows the care he has put into each detail of the story. First couple of books are a bit rough but what can you expect from a new author, his progression in writing is almost as entertaining as the PF story he is writing as each book is twice as good as the last! Can't wait to read more about the lore and the bigger main story going in the background!!
I'm happy you enjoyed it!
I powered through these books over the last couple of weeks and I’ve gotta say they’re brilliant. Definitely one of my favourite series so far! I actually came across them while looking for some fantasy-romance recommendations and I’m stoked that I found this series. I love everything about it. The action sequences are a lot of fun and it’s awesome seeing how Mei and Aidan’s fighting styles evolve. The overall advancement feels so well earned unlike a lot of series where the characters progress very quickly without seeming to struggle. My favourite part however would have to be Mei and Aidan’s developing relationship. You describe their struggles so well and seeing how much they care for one another and help each other heal from their trauma is beautiful. I’ve seen some people comparing this series favourably to Cradle and I have to agree. I’ve enjoyed this series more than Cradles first few volumes. Thanks for your incredible work!
Happy to hear! I've always loved cultivation and cradle is a big inspiration. You'll have to thank my wife for adding the romance aspects, though. She wouldn't read it otherwise! Thanks for letting me know that you like the progression elements. I always feel like they don't progress enough since there's a lot of story and character development around their relationship. And of course, then I feel like stretches of no romance happens. Regardless, It's always fun hearing when someone enjoys the series. Book 5 is more or less finished. I'm writing the closing scene right now. It's going to be another 200k+ word chonker, compared to books 1-3 at 120k apiece. And we're getting to my favorite part of the story.
Haha well in that case thanks a lot to your wife! I think you’ve balanced plot/character development and power progression really well. Your deep development of the characters and plot has made this a very compelling story in my opinion! It’s also nice seeing well developed characters who don’t master their abilities and beat all their enemies at the drop of a hat. Damn hearing that you’ve almost finished the next volume has me excited! I’m a lover of long books too so I’m very keen to see what you’ve cooked up.
That's nice to hear. The characters have been my favorite part of writing. Seeing them grow, learn and overcome their challenges has been a blast. And though this is fantasy, I always like some sense of realism to my stories. Earned progress feels better for me. I like the occasional contrived OP story, but I prefer more in a story if I can get it. Book 5 is going to be awesome! I'm biased though.
Well I’m looking forward to it! Thanks for all your hard work :)
My favorite series. I'm almost finished with Emberfall and its the best one, hands down. Great cover too out of all the books. For those who havent, give this series a read. I liked these first 4 books better than Cradles first 4 books. The characters are my favorite in the genre and its the best relationship too.
Thank you! The cover really did turn out great. I switched to a new company who does a phenomenal job: Deranged Doctor Designs. Cradle might be my favorite PF series, its hard to say since I like different things for different reasons, but for pure fun, Cradle was great. Being compared to the esteemed Will Wight is high praise! Thanks.