I can’t keep it a “secret” any longer–yes, the quotes are appropriately applied as, if you check the date in the screenshot above, this deal was announced and went public* about a month ago. But nonetheless, I have been keeping if fairly quiet on my end and have not announced it on The Socials yet. (Though, if you’re so inclined, feel free to find me on Tik Tok, Instagram, and X/Twitter under @author_t_a_chan).

The reason: I’d commissioned some character art I was hoping to share along with the book deal. Alas, the commission has been delayed for quite a bit, and so I wanted to share this very exciting news at least somewhere…which ended up being here. Because it feels right the first place I announce a new book deal is on my author website/blog.

I’m so incredibly excited to be working with Patrick on ONE LAST GAME, and am so thankful to my agent, Karly, for securing this deal for a novella. That’s right, ONE LAST GAME is a novella (think, very short novel, ~130-150 pages or ~40k words) and for those of you who aren’t into the backend of book publishing (ie. you have not had the pure joy of querying and going on submission to editors), a novella is an incredibly tricky thing to sell to publishers (seriously, I did not know what I was getting myself into). I think novellas deserve so much more hype and love; they’re the perfect bite-sized piece of literature to read in a day while still giving you that “book” feeling. But I digress…(This is just my way of commending Karly for taking this story to submission without breaking stride.)

I’m delighted that Patrick saw my vision for ONE LAST GAME and is taking the chance to champion this story. ONE LAST GAME (OLG) started out as a short story inspired by an incredibly vivid fever dream back in 2022. It was intended to be a quick story to get the dream out of my system, but it quickly grew and grew until it turned into a novella–which is what this story demanded in order to be told properly.

I might be biased, but I do think OLG showcases some of my best writing yet, exemplifying how my writing has grown and matured over the last few years. Without further, I’ll end this post with a(n unofficial) book blurb at the end.

*public if you have access to Publisher’s Marketplace

“ONE LAST GAME” BLURB

Star Player on the Atlantic Archipelago Nation’s Battle Team, Niko Vandes wants to quit his job. Problem is, the Games aren’t just games, they’re the 22^nd Century’s environmentally conscious solution to war. Winning a match means winning a battle, and losing costs more than chips—it costs lives. With the fate of his country on his shoulders every time he steps up to the game board, the Atlantic Archipelago will keep Niko playing until it’s his turn to die by losing. He needs to escape.

Across the ocean, Imani Tenzing barely escaped alive from an isolated cult as a young teen. She’s all-too familiar with the violent consequences of human conflict left unchecked. Now, she serves as one of the Custodians responsible for cleaning up the deaths left behind by each Battle Game. When the disappearance of Niko upheaves the societal status quo she’s grown dependent on, she’s determined to find and turn him in to authorities.

Niko and Imani’s paths collide in a lethal game where lying is expected and cheating is the standard. With a world war on the verge of breaking out, they must decide when the price of peace has become too high–or if it can ever be too high.