Our latest novella, Fallen, is almost here!

We wouldn't be much writers if we didn't release Fallen during the... Fall... would we? 😀

And now we have a date: November 25, 2026.

Before we introduce you to our fox prince and dragon, we want to say thank you for the reception Encircle has received. We weren’t sure what to expect when we sent Rei and Haruki out into the world. Their story doesn’t fit neatly into one category, and finding the readers who would connect with it felt like a challenge of its own.

Seeing readers connect with their bond, get caught up in the battles, and ask when the next novella is coming has meant so much to us.

Here are a few reader reviews that made us smile:

A fox prince, a wounded dragon, and three kingdoms

Fallen is a danmei-inspired xianxia novella, set in a world of nine-tailed foxes, dragons, and rival kingdoms. At its heart is a fox prince who finds a wounded dragon in the forest and chooses to help him, despite his kingdom’s commitment to neutrality.

What begins as an act of compassion becomes a bond neither expected.

As with Encircle, we spent a great deal of time working through the details. From the relationships between kingdoms to the meanings behind our characters’ names, we wanted those details to carry weight within the story. Much of that work happens quietly in the background, shaping a character’s choices, a conversation, or the way a scene unfolds.

For those of you who enjoy exploring a little beyond the story itself, we’ve included a map and a character glossary.

Encircle and Fallen called for different voices. With Encircle, we chose a more minimalistic style to reflect the military environment and the discipline that governs Rei and Haruki’s lives. Their world demands restraint, and that carries into the prose, particularly when it comes to the feelings they’ve learned to keep to themselves.

Fallen called for a softer, more lyrical rhythm, with room for quiet moments and feelings that aren’t easily spoken. We wanted the language to reflect its world and the relationship unfolding between Yan Shu and Shen Yi. Finding that balance took time, especially when deciding where to linger and where to let a simple line carry the feeling.

If you’ve read Encircle, we hope you’ll feel that deliberate difference as you step into Fallen.

The Character Glossary

We put a lot of thought into our characters’ names, from the Chinese characters we chose to the meanings they carry. A reader’s question about name pronunciation in Encircle helped inspire something new for Fallen: a character glossary.

It includes Chinese characters, Mandarin pinyin with tone marks, and a simple pronunciation guide, along with name meanings and, in some cases, a poetic interpretation. We’ve distinguished those interpretations from the literal meanings, so you can see both what a name means and what it evokes for us.

We recommend exploring the meanings after reading the story. Some may carry a little more weight once you know the characters. Here’s a look at Shen Yi’s entry:

Tying the bow, crossing the t's, dotting the i's...

When we returned to the original draft of Fallen, completed years ago, we thought we’d fine-tune a few things and get it ready for publication. We’d had much the same thought with Encircle.

You’d think we would have learned. 😂

We couldn’t have been more wrong.

We’ve grown as writers since those early drafts, and returning to Fallen meant seeing possibilities we hadn’t seen before. There were relationships that needed more room to develop, choices whose consequences needed to be felt, and characters we wanted to understand more deeply.

That meant writing new chapters, rewriting existing ones, and introducing new characters. A change in one chapter often sent us back to another, making sure the motivations, details, and emotional threads held together.

At times, it felt like we were writing a new book. 🙃

What began in early January as a revision became months of writing, questioning, and reworking. We’re proud of the story it has become, and we’re looking forward to finally sharing it with you.

Through all those changes, one theme has remained at the heart of our writing: hope. We think everyone could use a little of that these days.

❤️J.J. Sin and C.C. Towers

• Encircle is available now on Amazon, Kindle and Kindle Unlimited: Learn more
• Synergism is also available now: Learn more
• Have you read The Silence that Lives Between Us? Since you're a subscriber already, it's free to read. Read now
• Interested in what's coming next? No Light Without Darkness will be published and released in 2027. Read the teaser opening chapter now! Read Now