Mattias von Schantz

And... we're done! With today's post of Chapter 43, the entire novel "Echoes of Fallen Gods" (https://www.wattpad.com/story/396567622-echoes-of-fallen-gods) is now available to read. If you haven't read the book yet, now is the perfect time to start! Or, if you prefer, you can also listen to it as an audiobook: https://www.youtube.com/@LordsOfTheStars
          
          But the story of Taeron isn't quite over yet. If you've read the novel, I have a bonus for you. In a couple of days, I'll post the companion short story "Defender". It's just a small thing, but I hope you'll find it interesting nevertheless.
          
          A friendly word of warning, though. If you haven't yet read "Echoes of Fallen Gods" and think the short story might be a good place to start to see if the Deepwell Chronicles is something you'd enjoy, I would advise against reading "Defender" first. The short story takes place during the final chapters of the novel, and is also told from a perspective that offers something of a behind-the-scenes look at events in "Echoes of Fallen Gods". As such, "Defender" contains very heavy spoilers for the book, and I strongly encourage you to read "Echoes of Fallen Gods" first if you haven't done so already.

Hi, I'm from Discord and I must say that I like your story

I was going through some of my followers in an effort to help another writer out. If you’re interested in space sci-fi, another account recommendation to follow is @repiercewriter :) This writer’s story  STARFIGHTER updates weekly! And since I haven’t followed you back yet, I gave you a follow too. Happy reading and writing!

Just to let you know I haven’t abandoned Prelude to Retribution. I need to rebuild into something stronger with a better hook for readers. 

Over the past weeks, I've posted the first chapters of my new dark fantasy novel, "Echoes of Fallen Gods" (https://www.wattpad.com/story/396567622-echoes-of-fallen-gods).
          
          With today's release of Chapter 6, titled "Healing," all the major players have been introduced, and we're ready to get on with the story.
          
          If you haven't started reading the novel yet, now is the perfect time to do so, giving yourself the chance to become familiar with the main characters before we turn our attention back to see what they've been up to when the next chapter is released on Saturday.

Last week, I posted the final chapter of "Soldiers of Heart and Steel." That means it is now time to start posting my next story.
          
          I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. So far, every single story I have published here has been set in my Lords of the Stars universe, but my new story is not. More than that, where Lords of the Stars is hard science fiction, the next tale I will tell here is instead a dark fantasy/horror hybrid. Then there is also the matter of length. My previous stories have been short stories, novelettes, or at most, novellas, while my next story is a full-length novel. It's going to be quite different from what you have seen here before.
          
          The truth is, I don't actually know why you're here. Are you following my account because you want to read Lords of the Stars? If so, I feel a bit justified in being nervous about how you will receive my new novel.
          
          But perhaps you're here because you simply like my stories? I hope that is the case, because my next tale is still very much a Mattias von Schantz story. You'll get the same detailed world-building you're used to, and I can promise you the story will be full of my trademark subversion of expectations. And just like my other tales, this one will also touch upon themes like identity, racism, conscience, and free will, only in a different setting.
          
          With that, I welcome you to begin reading "Echoes of Fallen Gods". The first chapter is available today, with new chapters being posted every third day. In total, you will get 107k words and 43 chapters.
          
          I hope you'll like it. Happy reading!

Last week, I published the final chapter of my Lords of the Stars novelette "Choices of Steel". Today, I'm excited to present you with the first chapter of my next story, "Soldiers of Heart and Steel", which is a companion piece and immediate prequel to Choices, telling Myan Lami's origin story.
          But wait, you might say - don't we already have his origin story in the short story "Soldier of Steel"?
          Yes. Yes, we do. But Soldier was the very first LotS story I ever published (though not the first I wrote). Written in 1993 as a school assignment, I don't think it's exactly bad, but it's also not that great. It's too short, and shows very clearly what an inexperienced writer I was thirty years ago. It has always bothered me that I had to point to it when people wanted to read about Myan's beginnings.
          Still, I don't want to throw away Soldier, both for nostalgic reasons and also because it still is canon to the LotS universe, with references to it having appeared in several other LotS stories since it was first written - most prominently in the recently published Choices. That's why I instead decided to retell the story in Soldier from another character's perspective. Doing so gave me the opportunity to keep Soldier as part of the canon, but still be able to point to a newer, better story when people wanted to read about Myan's origin. Thus, "Soldiers of Heart and Steel" was born.
          If you've read "Soldier of Steel" before, I hope you'll find it amusing to spot all the events that take place in both stories, and see how they are expanded upon in "Soldiers of Heart and Steel". And if you haven't read Soldier... well, you're not missing out on much. :)
          Whether you've read the original short story or not, I hope you'll enjoy "Soldiers of Heart and Steel". Happy reading!

I just finished writing the second draft of my upcoming novel. I'm really happy with how it's turning out, and I'm hoping you're as excited to read it as I am to be writing it.
          
          That said, I'm also a bit nervous. So far, every story I’ve published here has taken place in my Lords of the Stars universe. This new full length novel will be my first story set in an entirely new world I've crafted - The Deepwell Chronicles. More than that, where Lords of the Stars is hard science fiction, The Deepwell Chronicles is dark fantasy. It'll be quite the leap from my usual work.
          
          Still, I hope you’ll look forward to reading it. It's not ready for publishing just yet - in fact, another Lords of the Stars story will be coming first - but keep an eye on this space in the weeks ahead, so you don't miss my new Deepwell Chronicles novel when it's ready. And yes, the novel does have a name, but I'm keeping that a secret - for now.

Hey! I noticed that you have a Sci-fi book, would you like to participate in the Strawberry Ice Awards? We desperately need more people on that category. You can sign up through the awards book on my account! 

I've recently made some changes to the graphical style of the covers for my Lords of the Stars stories. I've long felt that the title elements didn’t quite have the kind of punch I was looking for, so I went out and bought a couple of fonts I really liked, and I’ve redesigned all the covers. In the process, I also took the opportunity to fix a few minor issues with the image elements.
          
          For those of you who have been reading my stories, rest assured—this is just a visual update to the covers. Nothing inside the books has changed.
          
          I hope you like the new style! And hopefully, it'll help attract some new readers as well.