Your Mission Aboard the Longfin Awaits!

Above: The cover of my middle grade story, Mission Aboard the Longfin.

July 8, 2025

I swear I blinked, and somehow we’re halfway through 2025. It’s weird how that happens.

Updates

The Way of the Wielder, Book Four: I passed 70k words over the weekend, putting me at about 40% through the first draft. Things are really flowing now, and while July will be a slower progress month, I anticipate flying through what remains come August.

Convergence of Connection: ICYMI, I revealed the cover of book three last month. In that blog post, I explained some aspects of the cover, revealed the blurb, and provided a preorder link to Amazon. This book comes out in just two weeks, and I’m so excited to share it with you all.

In fact, I’m so excited that I made The Way of the Wielder and Mysteries of the Material just $2.99 (eBook only) from now through July 14. If you don’t already have these books, do yourself a favor and buy them now!

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But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, for today, another book takes centerstage.

Mission Aboard the Longfin is on sale now!

I published a newsletter in May titled, All Things Mission Aboard the Longfin. In that newsletter, I went into detail about how this middle grade adventure story came to be. From the submarine museum visit, to finding the catalyst that sparks the adventure, to the blurb. I even offered the first chapter as a teaser. But I tease no longer…

Mission Aboard the Longfin sets sail on Amazon today! Print and eBook formats are available (no KU option for this one).

It feels like I’ve been talking about this story for forever. That museum visit was in April of 2024. So much has happened since then, in both my writing and personal life. I’ll write a more reflective blog post on that in the coming weeks, but needless to say, there have been many ups and downs over the last 15 months. One of the constant ups was the anticipation for this book’s release.

This time, I wrote for someone else

One of the most common pieces of advice new writers receive is to write the story you want to read. I do that with my adult fantasy stories, building on my own experiences to create characters with depth, worlds with wonder, and beauty through it all (even the chaos and trauma).

But this book was different.

Of the books I have to my name (published, unpublished, and WIPs), Mission Aboard the Longfin is the first one that I didn’t write for myself. That’s not to say I didn’t have fun writing it, I definitely did. But this story wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for my nephew. If he hadn’t asked me to write a story that he could read, I never would have dived into middle grade fantasy. And now that I have, I anticipate I’ll be asked to write others (my niece has already asked me to write a story for her).

Writing for someone else is a different experience. The story is still mine, but the premise of it was “approved” by my nephew. And as I wrote, I found myself viewing the story through a child’s eyes. My unique voice is still there, but it’s altered just a touch, to be more appropriate for him, and others of his age. The main character is more accepting of the whimsical, as children often are, and he sees wonder in the ordinary.

In my opinion, this world might be a gentler, more welcoming place if people of all ages did the same.

Encouraging an appreciation of art

Only after its completion did I realize that there was another benefit to writing a story for my nephew: he will appreciate it so much more (at least, I hope he will).

Children are curious and impressionable, and often take an interest in what their parents (or other adults in their lives) find interesting and enjoyable. I don’t know if I see my nephew enough to make a lasting impression upon him, but he does know that I enjoy writing. And while I would never push something on him, there’s a part of me that hopes this story—his story—may encourage him to try something new.

Maybe he’ll use his imagination more. Maybe he’ll see the world in a different, more magical light. Maybe he’ll draw some of the scenes from the story, and develop a love for drawing, or painting. Maybe he’ll write a story of his own. I won’t push any of that on him, but if he appreciates art a little bit more because of this story, I’ll be the happiest aunt in the world.

And if other children read this book and develop an appreciation of their own… Gods above, what an achievement that would be.

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Mission Aboard the Longfin is the story of Collin, a ten-year-old boy who goes on a mission with a submarine crew to find the source of a mysterious heartbeat. Buy a copy for you and your child, and join the adventure today.

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That’s all for now. Until next time, be well, and stay creative.

~Sarah