Dear #XaviVerso fans,

We are all about to celebrate Christmas and be able to say goodbye to 2024 and face a new year full of challenges, emotions and adventures. Half a year ago I wrote to tell you all my news while I was in Vietnam. Since then, a thousand things have happened that I don’t even know where to start!  The first thing is that since October I have been back in Spain, at least temporarily. And from now on I will be in time split between Seville and my new home in Hanoi, where I have settled new projects. I teased something this past Tuesday, in the first test we carried out of live broadcast on Youtube, which I encourage you to see if you prefer it to reading this letter.

For those of you who like to read, that’s why, you are readers of the XaviVerso, let’s go for the main news.

The Dark Hybrid

Just a week ago I finally published ‘The Dark Hybrid‘ in Spanish, the first bonus chapter of ‘Mark of Odin: Ragnarok‘. I know I said I wanted to share it a year ago, but you know what they say, battle plans only survive until this one starts. Although its idea, concept and story was something I came up with many years ago, until this past summer I could not have time and tranquility to give it its initial shape. This is another of those chapters in which I have literally lost my mind, and, I hope, that you will also lose it.

That is why after finishing the final draft I wanted to present it to my group of selected reviewers, to see their reactions and to be able to check if I had gone too far or not, or if there was room to improve the idea so that I could meet the objective I set myself with this story. That meant extending the deadlines, but I think the final result has deserved it. It is not the longest chapter of the saga, but it is one that I think will not leave you indifferent at all, if you survive reading it, of course.

Another reason for having delayed its publication was to be able to have a cover of my beloved Manu Nieto. This was to be made from an audiovisual production in which he has been working for a long time, focused on one of the darkest characters of ‘Mark of Odin‘ and who stars, together with you, in this bonus chapter. In the end it was unfeasible to have everything finished on time with the quality we wanted, so we had to change our mind. Even so, don’t worry, since you will be able to see this new work in one way or another, possibly accompanying an extended story focused on that character (I don’t name it so as not to spoil it, although most of you already know who it is).

On the other hand, I had intended to accompany it with an audio edition, narrated by me, but in the end, I postponed it. I have tried my best to produce it and I confess that last week I had two different versions ready, but I am not satisfied with the quality. So, I hope to be able to resume it as soon as I have a little more tranquility and spark. My intention is to be able to produce the audiobook version of all bonus chapters throughout 2025.

New editions of the XaviVerso books

As I told you in my previous letter, in these months I was going to work on completing my plan to release new editions and translations into English of my books. Thus, I was able to publish the Third Edition of ‘Mark of Odin: Ragnarok’ and the English version of ‘Yes, They Will Pass!‘. Not only that, after six years since its original publication, ‘Mark of Odin: The Awakening‘ in English already has a new edition for a month.

Each edition or translation involves a lot of work behind the production, especially considering that we work on paper, ebook and audiobook at the same time. In my ideal roadmap, I would have liked to reach this end of 2024 with ‘Road to Valhalla‘ and ‘Ragnarok‘ published in English. As you can see, this is not the case, since its productions are more complex as they have a larger page length than the other books. My goal is to be able to have them ready throughout the first four months of 2025.

After Ragnarok on Odinpedia

Another of the great pending tasks he had was to take up the extended stories of Volume 3 of Odinpedia. Two years ago, I shared a first one, with that ‘Chronicles of the Heroes of Earth #01: The Ghost of Kyiv‘, but since then nothing. Until three weeks ago I finally brought you a new one, with the second installment of this series of chronicles by the journalists of Noticias Directo WebTV. In ‘The Guardian of the People‘ I show you how the events of the final part of ‘Ragnarok‘ were experienced from an unprecedented location: Vietnam. Each of the following stories in this series will offer new visions and characters from other corners of the world.

From there, I have already planned more than forty extended stories focused on the main characters, locations, organizations, vehicles and special chronicles. All of them designed to offer clues and fill in the gaps in the time gap that takes place between ‘Ragnarok’ and the fourth book in the saga.

Dreaming with Origin

This is when it’s time to talk about what I hope will be the next book I publish. After ‘The Stone Lotus‘ and ‘Yes, They Will Pass!‘, it is time to conclude once and for all the main saga of ‘Mark of Odin‘ with his fourth book. My plan is to be able to start production of the final draft sometime in 2025. I would like to tell you that I will try to get it ready to be published before the end of that year, but I can’t promise anything.

My idea is that in these coming months we will warm up with the new extended stories and the next two pending bonus chapters. If things go as I hope, I aspire to ignite the spark so that I can start giving the final shape of the new book. I burn with desire to be able to share with all of you Origin and the epic conclusion of the story that began with a somewhat egocentric young man whose only problem in life was having strange nightmares that tormented him.

Will it be the end after this novel? Well, what the main saga is, yes, but not what I have called the 1st Line of the XaviVerso. Although there is still time for that. In fact, before all that, the next thing to come will be a new thriller from the 2nd Line of the XaviVerso with the return of a certain character who is very stubborn.

Working on my passions

Although it has not been a bed of roses and has involved many sacrifices, I can say that I have been working on my passions since I was seventeen years old: video games and books. Now, in 2024, I can also add food, drink and, especially, offer unique experiences. Why do I say this? Well, because one of the results of my trips to Asia in recent years has taken shape in the Barbaros Group, a restaurant group that I have helped to create and shape, in Vietnam. Since this summer I have had the opportunity to get involved in the restaurant business and offer my vision and experience in communication, marketing and business development.

This has allowed us to develop brands and concepts that have generated a great deal of attention in Hanoi, offering unique ways to ensure that people can enjoy a memorable experience, beyond eating and drinking (even if that is done in abundance). In these few months I have been able to help develop and give birth to projects such as Barbaros Restaurant, Truc Bao, Bun Cha Khoi or the imminent Bianco e Nero. 

Not enough with this, now I have also made my debut as a sporadic talk show host, to share my impressions about the current situation of this Españita in the program of ‘Castillón Confidencial‘ with the journalist Albert Castillón. In fact, in November I already had a first approach with the interview he did with me to talk about ‘Yes, They Will Pass!‘.

And as if all this wasn’t enough… Do you remember that I’m also involved with my Norwegian friends from Megapop Games? Well, it’s time to launch a new video game very soon. And it’s one very dear to me, the remaster of our first title: Trolls vs Vikings Reborn. We have been working all this year to give it an audiovisual improvement, a lot of new content and make the leap to Steam (originally it was a mobile game).

So, this start of 2025 looks very intense and crazy, but, as a good friend says, it seems that I am not happy if I am not ultra-stressed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2025

I conclude by wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2025. I know that we continue to live in dark, dystopian times, in which you often feel suffocated. You only have to look at what has happened in Spain with the DANA disaster and the lack of reaction from the different administrations. Can you imagine what would have happened in ‘The Awakening‘ if we had had the same leaders? We would have been nothing more than organic detritus for the Hekkars for a long time. That is why it is more necessary than ever that we unite, that we support each other and that we do not lose faith in ourselves. We have to fight and fight, until the end.

I end as always, thanking you for your support, your messages, your purchases. Each new reader is an essential support, so you know, if you still have to make the gifts for this holiday season, remember us and our collector’s editions in the XaviVerso store.

 

No os olvidéis que podéis uniros a nuestra comunidad de Discord, al canal de Telegram y también añadirnos a vuestra lista de contactos en WhatsApp (Saludadnos en el +34 671 48 96 90) y, por supuesto, compartir vuestras impresiones de los libros. No solo en la sección de Opiniones, sino también en las plataformas externas como Amazon, Google Play, Apple, Kobo, Lektu o Goodreads. Tener una buena valoración y opiniones ahí nos ayuda mucho a atraer nuevos lectores.

Don’t forget that you can join our Discord community, the Telegram channel  and also add us to your WhatsApp contact list  (Greet us on +34 671 48 96 90) and, of course, share your impressions of the books. Not only in the Reviews section, but also on external platforms such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple, Kobo, Lektu or Goodreads. Having a good rating and opinions there helps us a lot to attract new readers.

Remember, everything is connected.

Xavier Marcé