R.D. Pires's Blog

Heyo!

Spring 2026 is well underway, which means book fairs are popping up all over the place like daisies! This season I will be participating in two book fairs in the Northern California region: the Sacramento Book Festival and the Bay Area Book Fest.

This is the first year I’ve ever participated in any such festivals, so I’ve been having a fun time gathering advice about what to bring and what to expect. Regardless of sales, I’m sure it’s going to be a blast and I can’t wait to be around...

This past Friday, the Kickstarter campaign for the launch of my series, The Tides That Reign, wrapped up after raising an incredible $7,959! Including late pledges – which will remain open until the end of today, Tuesday, March 31st – that total has risen to a staggering $8,249.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported my Kickstarter! This total blew past my expectations, and will help so much in recouping the damages caused by the original publisher.

Spring is in the air and so is the smell of Kickstarter fever.

After launching on March 3rd, I’m happy to announce that the campaign for The Tides That Reign Special Authors Preferred Editions reached its initial funding goal of $3,000 in less than 24 hours! That is a spectacular start and one that I could never have imagined achieving so quickly.

We have now crossed the halfway point of the campaign duration, which will close its digital doors on March 27th at 9:00 am PST.

Crossing th...

Today is the big day! The Kickstarter for the ‘The Tides That Reign’ Author’s Preferred Special Editions has officially gone live!

This newsletter is coming at you a day early, but I would be remiss if I didn’t celebrate launch day.

And what a journey it’s been.

From the story’s inception back in 2019, building the world, drafting the first two installments, getting picked up by Midnight Meadow Publishing in 2023, releasing Design of Darkness and Sparrows Sing of Dying in 2024 and 2...

Well folks, here we are. The last newsletter before the campaign launch for The Tides That Reign! What a lead-up it has been.

Thank you to everyone who followed the pre-launch page already – it’s not too late to sign up if you haven’t. A follow keeps you up to date on the project details and sends a reminder when the campaign goes live on March 2nd! You can find the pre-launch page here.

This Kickstarter has already blown away expectations from my previous campaign for Of Chaos and Eternal...

With just under a month to go until the launch of my Kickstarter campaign for The Tides That Reign, I’m happy to unveil the new cover for book two, Sparrows Sing of Dying.

Illustrator Maria Areta once again captures the dark tone and grandeur of the novel despite the intimate framing of the cover, as well as the fierce defiance of the depicted character, Queen Yiscel.

The second installment of The Tides That Reign suffered the most from a lackluster original cover, I think, which was the ...

This past week, I had the pleasure of reviewing the final edits for Before the Ghost Sea, the upcoming third installment in my dark, epic fantasy saga The Tides That Reign.

When I say that it got me shaking with excitement for its release, that’s an understatement.

The penultimate Reign chapter just might be my favorite of the series (for your information, the final book is mostly completed, though there is still much work to be done). It probably feels typical for a...

As you’ve probably gathered by now, my epic fantasy series The Tides That Reign is undergoing a rebranding in anticipation of my Kickstarter campaign. Along with other goodies, the main signifier of these self-published new editions will be their gorgeous new covers, illustrated by the wonderful Maria Areta, who created all the promo artwork for the original releases.

Without further ado, I would like to present to you the new cover for Design of Darkness i...

Well, 2025 is finally, and unbelievably, drawing to a close. What a year it has been – filled with the lowest of lows and some really good highs.

To start off with, I had an incredible experience running my first ever Kickstarter campaign!

My dark, coming-of-age novel, Of Chaos and Eternal Night successfully funded $2,378 over a $1,600 goal!

With 55 backers from 5 different countries, it was truly an eye-opening experience that expanded my knowledge of self-publishing...

With the end of 2025 fast approaching, it’s time to give some updates on the various projects I’ve got in the works.

The big one, of course, is the upcoming The Tides That Reign rebrand Kickstarter! At the time of writing this newsletter, my pre-launch page is sitting at 48 followers! Considering my last Kickstarter for Of Chaos and Eternal Night began with only 22 pre-launch followers, this is a massive upgrade.

I’m hoping to do better though.

Most successfu...