Chronicles of Cahill 2025
- Ryan Cahill
- Dec 31, 2025
- 13 min read
II | What will 2026 bring?
IV | Conclusion
"This job is a privilege. It is an honour. And seeing what this series means to people lit a fire anew within me."
Introduction
Well, here we are. The end of 2025.
I've done an end of year post every year since I started writing. Though, my previous 4 are unrecoverable now due to my website absolutely shitting itself earlier this year and imploding. So I guess we're starting from scratch here."
This year has, without a shadow of a doubt been the most challenging years of my career, and probably my life, in terms of workload, stresses, balance, and general ups and downs. But it has also been one of the most amazing years of my life both professionally and personally.
Four and a half years ago, I released Of Blood and Fire into the world. Unbenknownst to me at the time, my wife (then girlfriend), Amy, had purchased ebook gift links and sent them to her family, essentially forcing my book on them to ensure that I didn't end the month with no sales. That's where this journey started.
Of Blood and Fire was the first thing I'd ever written in my life. I wasn't an author. I was a biochemist. And in all my life I'd never truly taken a risk on something as crazy as a dream. I'd always dipped my toes in things, too afraid of failure to genuinely give myself a chance. I had a decent job, a safety net, something I'd be silly to give up.
But something about this was different. Right from the start, I could just feel it. This was the dream I needed to chase, the risk I needed to take. I learned that one thing is eternally true, and it is something I will hold fast to for the rest of my days and tell every aspiring author: Doubt has killed more dreams than failure ever could.
You should have seen my mam's face when I told her I was switching careers and from this point on I was going to be telling stories about 'Dragon's and shit'.
So I did it, I took on authorship full time with the first book I'd ever written. I allowed myself to fail.
And now, four and a half years on, with over half a million books sold, soon to be translated into seven languages, multiple special editions, and a community of truly amazing readers, I look back and think: imagine if I never took that risk, imagine if I never chased that dream.
It's unthinkable.
Sorry if I'm rambling a bit and being a touch more introspective than usual. This is kind of what these end of year posts are about, no?
I | What happened in 2025
In January I saw an event that would change my life forever: the birth of my beautiful baby girl. If there is one thing that is going to turn your year upside down it is the introduction of your first child to the world, and my god has it.
My daughter was born right into the last leg of writing Of Empires and Dust, with the launch date set for March 31st. I wrote over 100,000 words to the sounds of newborn screams and the smell of shit-laden diapers. Though, it was the sleep deprivation (as I'm sure most new parents can attest) that nearly killed me. At one stage I was sleeping about 2-3 hours a night, while writing 2,000-4,000 words a day, every day, while dealing with plenty of unexpected complications. Now thankfully, I was far from doing this alone. My wife, my Ayar Elwyn, is a literal god-forged champion born of flesh and blood. And together we made it through!
In March we finally saw the launch for Of Empires and Dust, book four of The Bound and The Broken, and the penultimate main novel in the series. I don't have words to explain how amazing that launch was and how much of a relief it was to see readers love the book so much. As it stands, Of Empires and Dust is the best reviewed book in the series, still holding a 4.8 on Amazon after over 4,200 reviews with 99% of reviews being 4 or 5 stars (88% being 5 star). Even Goodreads has 95% four or five stars after nearly 5,000 reviews. Those numbers are insane to me. As an author, it's important to know that you can't please everyone and that no book is for every reader. But if 99% of my readers are telling me something is good, then I know I've created something to be proud of.
I love Of Empires and Dust and I personally think it's the best book I've written, and I'm just so damn happy that translated.
After the launch it took some time to work through small bits and pieces for the physical books, and that was followed by me taking a few weeks of a much-needed break... or so I had hoped haha. I took a little break from writing, but this was also the year where we were selling our house and moving about 18,000kms (~12,000 miles) across the world from New Zealand to Ireland.
So that took up a huge portion of time, while trying to be as present as humanly possible for my new family was a key part of those few months. In honesty, I was a bit tired. I'd spent 4 years grinding like crazy, and Of Empires and Dust's release marked 1.5 million words published in The Bound and The Broken in those 4 years. I needed a rest.
So over the rest of the year I spent time with family, got our house ready to sell, sold it, packed our entire house into a shipping container, and moved across the world (I obviously did not do this alone).
While doing this, I went through a light edit for Of Blood and Fire and The Fall with my new print publisher – The Broken Binding Publishing. And I went on a mini tour across WorldCon, DragonCon, and DragonSteel Nexus.
Oh, and in the middle of all that I also wrote 5 short stories. One for the Unavowed Anthology, one for Dragonsteel Nexus Grimoire, one for next years Emerald City Comic Con Grimoire, one for the Unmbroken Anthology, and one I can't say yet.
And at the end of the year I got my ducks in a row for writing The Truth in January and getting ready for Of Gods and Ashes. Though I'll talk more about that soon.
Conventions and Inspiration
I thought this needed a small section of its own. I feel conventions are extremely important for me. Not for the obvious networking and public appearance reasons, but for job fulfillment. Getting away from my desk and out into the world makes this job so much less of a solitary endeavour. It makes it less lonely. Seeing readers in the real life, seeing the impact my stories have on others, and also getting to hang out with other authors and creatives is quite simply fuel to my fire. I need it like I need air.
This year I was a guest at DragonCon, WorldCon, and Dragonsteel Nexus.
DragonCon, as always, was a boat-load of fun and I was lucky to meet some amazing readers and getting to hang out with some of the great friends I've been lucky to make across the years.
WorldCon was a highlight of my career. There was something in the air. It was probably the first time I started to think: wait, maybe I am a real author? I mean, I got to sit on stage with George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, and Rebecca Roanhorse. For which I will forever be grateful. And I feel like a very specific thank you to Adrian Gibson, MJ Kuhn, and Greta Kelly is not only necessary but so passionately given. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of that incredible panel. WorldCon was like the kindling for everything else that happened in the year. It was there that I got invited to Dragonsteel Nexus, and there that I met so many people that I know will be friends for a very long time.
That brings me to Dragonsteel Nexus. If WorldCon was the kindling, Dragonsteel Nexus was the fire. This convention felt like a waypoint in my career, a moment I will look back on when I'm older.
True story: A friend, Kaden Love, asked me to join an author event in Utah the day before Dragonsteel Nexus and I refused. I did so, while trying to desperately explain that it wasn't because I didn't want to be a part of the event, but because I was so worried that if I took part in the event, my readers might all go to that event and nobody would show up at my official Dragonsteel Nexus signing. Dragonsteel only gave 10 people signings at the official booth. And for some eternally evasive reason, I was one of them. I didn't want to let them down. What if nobody showed up and they thought 'well, this guy was a waste of time?'
Flash forward and that signing sold out in 60 seconds. I was in shock. We put up a second signing with Poppy Books & Gifts. That signing sold out in 5 minutes. Me. Shock. Again. We added a third, unticketed signing at Grim Oak Press's booth. And I cannot explain to you how genuinely cool it was when I went to say hi at the Grim Oak booth a couple of days before my signing, and I turned around to see someone asking for a signature. Of course I gave an enthusitic yes. It was genuinely my pleasure. Then I looked up and there was a line. Not a small line either. I stopped signing about 2 hours later and, despite my joking complaints, I could not have been more elated and fulfilled as I walked away.
To know that so many people actually cared about my writing? Yeah, this is why I write. This is everything.
At the signings over the next few days, I met hundreds of readers who held The Bound and The Broken close to their heart, who loved the characters, and the journeys, and the ideas. People whose lives were touched by this series. I legitimately got emotional. There is no greater privilige in this world than for others to allow you into their heart, to allow your words to push through their walls.
This job is a privilege. It is an honour. And seeing what this series means to people lit a fire anew within me.
At Dragonsteel, that fire was lit. I slow danced with Matt Dinniman, played arcade games with Pierce Brown and Maude Garrett, Lightsaber duelled Christopher Paolini (and beat him in a Dragon Debate, entrenching Mushu as his most hated creature of all time), got gifted an amazing foam version of Calen's sword by Forged in Foam and Paladin Creative, and spoke in front of thousands of people.
But most of all, I got a chance to meet so many of you.
II | What will 2026 Bring?
World Tour and Travel
While January 2026 will be spent writing The Truth (which I'll hopefully finish within the month), February and March are going to be consumed by the re-release for Of Blood and Fire through The Broken Binding Publishing, and the WORLD TOUR.
We're still waiting to see if we can add some Australian dates, along with maybe a few others... but I'm going on a World Tour. That's just mind boggling. Tickets are available now, and we've already had a few events sell out and move to a bigger venue.
So that tour is going to take up essentially all of February and March for me. I'm going to try and get as much writing done in the downtime as possible, but it won't be an easy writing period.
Outside the tour, I'm potentially looking at visiting some other conventions throughout the year such as Celsius 232, FantasyCon, DragonCon, WorldCon, Dragonsteel Nexus, and others! There might be a few other unnanounced things as well. All together it's going to be a very busy year, likely the busiest I've ever had. But I'm ready for it. Let's fucking go.
Releases
OF BLOOD AND FIRE RE-RELEASE
17th of February is the day. The worldwide English language print rights were acquired back in 2024 by The Broken Binding Publishing, and now the snowball starts rolling down the hill. This has already exceeded every expectation.
With four separate editions already announced, an enormous first print run, and the second print run already prepped. I'm nervous and excited in equal measure. The weight of expectation is something I've wanted to do a post about at some stage and probably will, but the long and short of it is that the weight of expectation can be debilitating. I don't want to let anyone down. Not readers, not my publisher, my family, myself. It's weighing heavy right now, but I think we can carry it.
Pre-orders are everything here. So thank you to each and every one of you for continuing to support me on this journey and for pre-ordering these new editions. Those pre-orders signal to shops that a book is in demand. Books don't just get put on bookshelves, particularly not in this timeline. The more pre-orders come in, the more chance Of Blood and Fire, and the rest of the books, will end up on bookstore bookshelves across the world.
Just under 7 weeks now.
The Fall Cover reveal and RE-RELEASE
Yup you read that right. The Broken Binding Publishing are not stopping at the novels. The novellas are being fully re-released as well!
You can expect the cover reveal and pre-order to go live in January (as long as something doesn't explode – which is always a possibility), and a release date some time around June!
Of Darkness and Light Cover reveal and RE-RELEASE
That's a second yup! There is a very real chance that 2026 won't just see the re-release for Of Blood and Fire, but The Fall and Of Darkness and Light as well!
I don't have specific dates for this one yet, but the cover is done and I begin the light edits in January.
The Truth Publication
I'll begin properly writing The Truth in January. It's currently slated for an August 2026 release. If I can make that sooner, I will. But I want to try and make sure this gets released in all formats at the same time as we're leading towards Of Gods and Ashes.
Other projects
The bound and the broken trading cards
I put an update out on my Patreon about these only yesterday, but essentially there have been some developments that might mean the card game will have to be renamed. And if that's the case, that's fine. We'll work through it.
As of now, the first batch of Patreon collectible cards will be going out in January and I'm so damn excited for them.
All things considered, the designers are still working away on creating the best card game they can and I think it's going to be amazing! We will also be looking for playtesters in January! (we'll be reaching out through The Order Discord.)
There is still time to sign up on Patreon to be part of the first batch of cards.
The bound and the broken Board Game
There is currently a The Bound and The Broken board game in development, though I can't talk about it too much right now. I've playtested it and I loved it. Though there are a few more iterations still to come. And just like the Trading Card Game we will be looking for playtesters in January!
The bound and the broken Tarot cards
The Major Arcana for the Tarot Deck is fully complete. And honestly, the only thing holding this one back from going live is a complete lack of time! My focus has been demanded in so many other areas that I simply haven't had the time to bring this project forward. It will happen, I want it to happen and the artwork is complete.
The bound and the broken Language guide
This might be news to some of you, but behind the scenes I'm working with an amazing language specialist to turn the Old Tongue, or Enkaran, into a usable, learnable language. The goal is to take the already-large repository of words, and shape it into a fully formed language. We will then be creating a language guide so that any of you who so wish, can actually take the guide and learn how to speak, understand, and write, fluent Enkaran. This one is just pure, distilled fucking coolness.
There are plenty of other little side projects that are brewing right now, forming into something tangible. But none are at a level to talk about yet. There is so much cool stuff coming!
III | Schedule in the years beyond
What I'll do here is give you a tentative schedule moving forward so you have some idea what's going on in my brain. Very little is set in stone due to the fact that I never know what will happen on this wonderful and weird road of publishing. But this is where we are right now. All the re-release dates are broad windows as the publishing plan here is a flexible one.
17th of February 2026 – Re-release for Of Blood and Fire (will not change)
June 2026 – re-release for The Fall
August 2026 – Publication of The Truth (May move sooner)
October/November/December 2026 – re-release for Of Darkness and Light
Mid-Late 2026 – The Exile TBB Press edition (this one got a little delayed due to all the craziness)
February/March/April 2027 – re-release for The Exile
July/August/September 2027 - re-release for Of War and Ruin
Late 2027/early 2028 – Of War and Ruin TBB Press edition
November/ December/January 2027/2028 – re-release for The Ice
March/April/May 2028 – re-release for Of Empires and Dust
July/August/September 2028 – re-release of The Truth
2028 – Publication of Of Gods and Ashes
I have a number of other projects I'll be working on and aiming to release shortly after the publication for Of Gods and Ashes, such as The Exile and The Huntress, The Chainbreaker Chronicles, The Dawn of the Wolf, and non-TBATB projects such as the world explored in my short story When the Skies Cried Crimson Rain
Needless to say, I will not be slowing down on writing. I want this to be my job for life, and I know how hard I have to work to make that happen.
IV | Conclusion
I suppose, at the end of this year, and everything that has happened I'm finding myself feeling very thankful for being able to live this dream. Telling stories for a living, getting to reach the hearts of others, to inspire.
I know as an author I don't owe you anything, technically. I know that. But I feel a weight, a responsibilty, a stewardship. You have trust me with your time, your emotions, and your hearts. I take that very seriously.
After recharging just a little bit, I'm ready to dive headfirst back into writing and forge the path forward. I'm currently back living with my parents, along with my new little family (baby and wolfpine included) after our move back to Ireland and now a house hunt. And that constant world of change has slowed me a bit, but it's all systems go now.
One thing I'm firm on: I will not rush Of Gods and Ashes. Nor will I allow it to fade into ponderings. This book will get written, and at my usual pace, but I will not just be throwing it out into the world for the sake of finishing quickly. There is a responsibility in concluding this series with love, care, and passion. This is the last book, and it will be what I need it to be.
After that, I have so much I want to share with you.
2025 was an amazing year, a challenging one. It was a year of growth, inspiration, and change.
2026 is set to be the largest year of my career my some distance and so I promise you the same promise I made to myself when I started back in 2021:
I will not fail because I did not work hard enough.
I will not fail because someone else deemed it so.
I will not fail because I didn't try.
And so with that I leave you as the New Year dawns. Remember to always rise so that others rise with you. In this new year of 2026, be the light others look to, not the darkness that keeps them down.
Myia nithÃr til diar, akara ar vésana, I denÃr viël ar altinua.
My soul to yours, brothers and sisters. In this life and always.
Ryan (and Ella, and Amy, and Thena)