In This Issue
A new Brainship book is released
A massive Valdemar Humble Bundle drops
Grab a free download of Misty’s new “Fundamentals” recording, by S.J. Tucker
Read a 5000-word interview with Misty that annotates unanswered questions from Heralds of Valdemar
Rewatch Misty and Ben’s free Crowdcast webinar on publishing history and crowdfunding for authors
Reminder: the Heralds of Valdemar Deluxe Omnibus drops soon!
Don’t forget about the new pre-launch reservation bonuses!
New Brainship Book
Available now at all major platforms, The Ship That Dared brings us the continuation of the story of Hypatia “Tia” Cade, the Brains half of a Brain & Brawn partnership in the Brainships series founded by the late great Anne McCaffrey! After a nearly 30 year break we dive back into the dystopian future of the Federated Sentient Planets universe, where the parents of disabled babies and children are encouraged to put them in a program that trains them to become the “brains” of spaceships, hospitals, mining operations, and vast complex cities. Tia and her Brawn partner Alex are working for a courier service trying to pay down their debts (and help other Brain & Brawn partnerships) when they are offered a deal that seems too good to be true, to test an experimental new singularity drive for the military. The catch however is that the new drive has an alarming quirk of making random jumps.
Valdemar Humble Bundle Launches
We’ve got an ebook bundle full to the brim of Lackey’s biggest and best, from her bestselling Valdemar saga and beyond! Dive into the Kingdom of Valdemar with the first entry in the series, the magical adventure Arrows of the Queen. Reawaken the lost magic of the land in Winds of Fate. Solve the mystery of a young mage-in-training’s secret past in the dark academia adventure Intrigues. There are 37 books in total to explore in this bundle, so get it now for the price of your choice, and ALA’s Freedom to Read Foundation will benefit with your purchase!
“Foundations” Recording - Early Access for Fundamentals
The work on Misty's next BackerKit project for the Deluxe Heralds of Valdemar trilogy (Arrows of the Queen, Arrow’s Flight, Arrow’s Fall) continues apace, and we have a special deal for early followers!
Anyone who follows the campaign will immediately receive a free download of the new version of Misty's song "Foundations", the second release from the upcoming “Music of Valdemar” album, by S. J. Tucker, Mercedes Lackey, and Ben Dobyns.
The Deluxe Heralds campaign launches on June 2nd.
Interview With Misty
We are excited to share with everyone the first exclusive interview in a new series where Ben chats with Misty, asking questions from fans about Valdemar and the world of Velgarth. Today’s interview focuses on the first Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, where Misty discusses her writing process, some of the inspirations behind the world-building and the origins of some of our favorite characters.
We also get some tidbits about Gifts, magic, Lifebonds, and Companions and what makes the Grove-born Companions so special. She also talks about the Arrow Code which has been developed into an actual working system that will be included in the upcoming Deluxe edition of the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy.
Crowdcast Webinar
On March 27, 2026 Misty and Ben spoke with Crystal Turnau about the Grandmaster BackerKit book and how authors can crowdfund their own projects without sacrificing creative control or quality, setting up a campaign and connecting with fans to give them the best experience you can. This free webinar is available on Crowdcast now.
With that, we’ll close out our second official newsletter.
Stay in touch; we’ll have more to share soon!
Misty, Larry, and the support team