S.L. Rowland's Blog

Here is my tentative schedule for Dragon Con this year. I really hope there aren’t any typos because it took me an hour to format this for all you lovely folk.

As of right now, I will not be selling books at the con, but I am happy to sign anything you bring. You can always find the litRPG authors hanging out at the Westin after hours.

If you’re attending, let me know in the comments.

The below information is the TENTATIVE program schedule for S.L. Rowland
Convention Dates are Thu(8/28/25), Fri(8/29/25), Sat(8/30/25), Sun(8/31/25), and Mon(9/1/25)

Title: Go Down, Level Up: A Completely Inappropriate After-Dark LitRPG Apocalypse
Description: In this wild LitRPG showdown, top authors face off in raunchy, no-holds-barred challenges that blur the line between game and debauchery. Witty, wicked, and wildly unpredictable, only one will rise from the chaos to claim the crown of ultimate LitRPG legend! Mature (18+) audiences only!
Panelists: Matt Dinniman, Robert Royl(M), Ryan T Rimmel, R. E. Carr, S.L. Rowland, Rose Reynolds, K.T. Hanna, Kacey Lyn Ezell, Jez Cajiao, Melissa Olthoff, Nathan Ameye, James A. Hunter
Time: Sat 10:00 pm
Location: Capitol Ballroom N/C Courtland Grand (Length: 2 Hours)

Title: The Decennial Annual Tea Duel
Description: The American Tea Dueling Society is proud to present this year’s tournament in the sport of Tea Dueling. Duelists from the audience can see the dueling mistress to sign up at the beginning of the tourney. Space is limited. May your biscuits be crisp and your nerve unwavering.
Panelists: Wilhelmina Frame(M), S.L. Rowland
Time: Sun 10:00 am
Location: Capitol Ballroom N/C Courtland Grand (Length: 1.5 Hours)

Title: LitRPG Raid Extravaganza! Scavenger Hunt and Silent Auction
Description: The scavenger hunt raid returns! PCs (fans) will enter the Dungeon to complete their quest cards as they interact with amazing NPCs (Authors/Narrators). We will also have a Charity Auction to benefit the NAMI, the Dragon Con 2025 Charity. More NPCs will be randomly generated than we have listed.
Panelists: Nicoli Gonnella, Dakota Krout, Rose Reynolds, J.D. Blackrose, Jez Cajiao, James A. Hunter, S.L. Rowland, K.T. Hanna, Michael Chatfield, Jay Boyce, Aaron Michael Ritchey, Jeffrey Falcon Logue, Jeff Hays(M), Neil Hellegers, Jessica Threet, Ryan T Rimmel, Noret Flood
Time: Sun 07:00 pm
Location: International North-South Hyatt (Length: 4 Hours)

Title: Sometimes Fantasy Just Feels Cozy So Grab Your Blankets & Tea & Comfy Socks
Description: Not all quests or challenges need to be world changing sometimes they are just about growth and personal journey.
Panelists: Liz Delton, David Boop(M), S.L. Rowland, Jay Boyce, Marshal Moore, T. Kingfisher
Time: Mon 11:30 am
Location: Embassy CD Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

I’m super excited to share the announcement for the new deluxe special editions of my 3 Tales of Aedrea novels.

These will have tons of premium features such as faux-leather covers, colored endpapers (with map), gold foiling, foiled edges, ribbons, and plenty of illustrations.

If you purchased the previous special editions of Cursed Cocktails and Sword & Thistle, those were a ton of work on my end, and the process wasn’t sustainable as I released more books in the series. So I decided to kick things up a notch and partner with someone for fulfillment on these beautiful new premium editions.

This will be the format for special editions going forward. I’m exploring options to offer a discount to those who backed the previous kickstarters if you choose to add these to your collection.

Follow along to be notified when the project goes live, probably sometime in September.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/slrowland/tales-of-aedrea-deluxe-special-editions

I’ll have more info on these in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

The second Sentenced to Troll Compendium has arrived!

It’s been almost a year since I released the final book of the series, and now I’ve bundled books 4-6 into a second compendium.

For the launch, I’ve put both Compendia on sale for $4.99 (70% off the regular price of the individual ebooks).

The Audible box set should be available in the next week or so, and I’m also looking to fit these chonkers into paperbacks sometime in late-June.

I’m happy to announce that my online shop is up and running at shop.slrowland.com

There are shirts and hoodies, as well as signed books, and audiobooks.

Currently, I only have the Tales of Aedrea paperbacks available but will be updating with more titles in the future.

For the audiobooks, I still have some titles that are Audible Exclusive, but I aim to have my entire catalog available by late summer/early fall.

Last week, I received an email from Bonfire about doing a limited edition collaboration for a Cursed Cocktails themed shirt.

What really impressed me was that they had 2 designs ready for me to choose from, and the one I decided on features a quote from the book.

It’s from the first time Rhoren and Kallum meet one another. “There may be a beer for every occasion, but there is a wine for every mood.”

This is a limited run, available for the next 21 days, and is available as a t-shirt, hoodie, sweatshirt, 3/4 tee, and tank top in a variety of colors.

https://www.bonfire.com/a-wine-for-every-mood

Greetings, Travelers!

I’m inviting you to try a full year of my Wood tier—the perfect gateway into my world behind the scenes—Absolutely FREE!

By joining, you’ll get to vote in the monthly story and art polls, plus early access to rough drafts and advanced chapters of works-in-progress, sneak peeks at new art and cover design, and bonus materials you won’t find anywhere else.

You’ll also unlock access to the Patreon Exclusive Discord, where we talk lore, share feedback, and I post ideas for Patreon.

If you’ve ever wanted to see the creative process up close—or just love being part of something from the ground up—this is your place.

Thanks for being a part of the journey!

You can redeem the free membership here: https://www.patreon.com/slrowland/redeem/14947

This post was originally shared to my Patreon, but I thought it would be interesting to anyone who is a fan of my Tales of Aedrea series.

Patreon Update 3/11/2015

If you’ve seen the map located in the front of Cursed Cocktails or Sword & Thistle, then you know the capitals and largest cities in each of the kingdoms. However, there are a lot more towns, villages, and outposts that make up the world of Aedrea. The Halfling’s Harvest takes place in the small town of Willowbrook.

This map includes about 30 additional locations, including outposts, pirate settlements, and notable geography throughout the realm. Even then, this is only a fraction of the true scope of this world. It’s a little overwhelming to look at, so probably not the best version to include in a book, but I thought you all would enjoy a peek behind the curtain.

Based on the names, are there any locations you’d like to see explored in the future?

I’ve also been working on a timeline of the different ages (there are 5) for the history of Aedrea as this world continues to expand. I’ll share some of that in a future update.

A little insight into my process: I do the general framework of worldbuilding up front, but a lot of the details fill in as I write more about the world. Additional cities, gods, and history are things that come to me as I meet new characters and learn about their experiences. I have more notes jotted down than I’ll probably ever be able to include, but it allows me to build a deep and rich trough of resources to pull from.

Patreon is where I post advanced chapters, month character art, and worldbuilding. Plus there are tiers for quarterly art prints, signed paperbacks, and hardcovers. You can find out more at https://www.patreon.com/c/slrowland

The Novel Neighbor, my local St. Louis bookstore, are now carrying a limited supply of signed Cursed Cocktails hardcovers. If you want to support small business, check them out here!

The artist also did sketches of Dobbin and Myrtle for my latest Kickstarter. My goal is to have a sketch a month, and I’ve just put up the poll for November for supporters to vote on. The options are:

You can follow my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/slrowland

There is a free tier as well if you want the occasional update.

This year, I’ll be attending Dragon Con as a professional for the first time. Here’s a list of panels I’ll be on. I’ll also be attending the Fantasy Gather and the LitRPG Raid. There’s a handy graphic at the bottom.

S. L. Rowland
The below information is the TENTATIVE program schedule for S. L. Rowland
Convention Dates are Thu(8/29/24), Fri(8/30/24), Sat(8/31/24), Sun(9/1/24), and Mon(9/2/24)

Title: Social Media. Friend, Enemy, or Frenemy?
Description: Some people whiz through social media platforms easily. Others struggle. This panel demystifies the process so that your promotional efforts are rewarding rather than overwhelming.
Panelists: Tyra Burton, Gail Z Martin, S. L. Rowland, Jean Marie Ward, Venessa Giunta(M), Theresa Glover
Time: Fri 01:00 pm
Location: Embassy EF Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Come Gather Round the Hearth While I Tell You a Tale: Cozy Fantasy
Description: Cozy Fantasy has become a popular sub-genre over the last few years, & our panel of authors will discuss the appeal, what sets it apart from other aspects of the genre, & what they themselves enjoy about writing it.
Panelists: Liz Delton, Tao Wong, FT Lukens, S. L. Rowland, Jennifer Morris(M)
Time: Fri 07:00 pm
Location: Chastain I-J Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: What Exactly IS LitRPG: A Primer
Description: Most readers have heard of the LitRPG subgenre, but may not know what is included and how it works. Our panel of authors who write LItRPG will share their explanations, providing some examples along the way.
Panelists: Nicoli Gonnella, J. P. Valentine, S. L. Rowland, Karen Bembry(M), Ryan Tang, Jaime Castle
Time: Sat 02:30 pm
Location: Chastain I-J Westin (Length: 1 Hour)

Title: Who Told the Characters They Could Do That?
Description: Are your characters driving the action in your books/stories? Should they be? Who’s the boss here anyway?
Panelists: D.B. Jackson, Matt Dinniman, J.D. Blackrose, Stacey Rourke, S. L. Rowland, Tamsin L. Silver
Time: Sun 02:30 pm
Location: Embassy EF Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)