Coming Soon — Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Two!
Hello there!
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted on my own website, but I’ve got news I’m more than eager to share. While I had already announced that Volume Two of Demon Healer Naberius was in the works, I wasn’t ready to say much more at the time. Thankfully, that changes now.
Demon Healer Naberius: Volume Two is currently in the last stages of its drafting process and will be available soon. Although I cannot give a release date at this time, I can at least express my joy that the second entry in the DHN series will be featuring the outstanding art of Tostantan once again. And as he was kind enough to provide me with sketches of some of the characters appearing in Volume Two, I decided a preview article was in order. Please, allow me to share what you can expect in my upcoming novel.
Introduction
An introduction to Volume One and Demon Healer Naberius in general can be found here.
Volume Two picks up soon after the conclusion of Volume One, with roughly one month passing in between. The story continues to focus on the titular Nabby, her partner Bosa, and their eternal quest to afford rent in a metropolitan area. They earn their living as adventurers who find work through the gig app, Parti, with Bosa providing support as a Songstress and Nabby patching everyone up as a Healer (read: Mage who refuses to do anything but heal).
Just like the first volume, Volume Two will follow the two as they go on various jobs, ranging from hunting down the dangerous “lionwolf” to helping clear out a dungeon. They’ll meet a variety of characters along the way—some helpful, some not so much. All the while, Nabby continues to pursue her dream of becoming Rullia’s first and finest Demon Healer while Bosa tries to move past her former life as the Seafoam Diva.
Stylistically, the novel uses a mix of light drama and dry humor—flavored with puns, dirty jokes, and a bit of satire—as it touches on subjects such as how a person’s self-improvement can be impeded by their perception or the difficulty of admitting your flaws to loved ones. While never explicit, it does feature language and concepts that are best suited for adults (eg. I have a very bad potty mouth). Please be advised if such content is not to your liking.
Interested to hear more? Then let’s take a peek at some of the fine folks Nabby and Bosa will encounter.
Characters
Sera Sullivan
Race: Halfling
Class: Whipmaster
Age: 25
Likes: Her sisters, dominating, baking desserts, mahjong, Bosa
Dislikes: Pet dander, dieting, being single, watching the news
Skills: Whip fighting, BDSM
Known as Sera the Toned, she is one of twelve students trained by legendary adventurer Kinki Shikozaki and the middle sister of the “Trio of Titillation”. She fights as a Whipmaster, binding her foes with the same skills she uses while moonlighting as a dominatrix.
Despite her suggestive attire and secondary occupation, Sera is a fairly nondescript woman whose only quirk is getting excited while “disciplining” monsters and clients. She enjoys decorating cakes and cookies in her spare time and loves seeing movies with her friends and family. She hasn’t had a boyfriend since high school, though, and she often sighs at the sight of happy couples.
She currently lives and works with her two sisters, Tousen and Mina. The three of them form the Trio of Titillation and have quickly risen through the ranks of Parti. They previously worked with another one of Kinki’s students, a goblin known as Kafei the Fiend, but he has since been banned from working through Parti due to a harassment lawsuit.
Giacomo Testa Jr.
Race: Dullahan
Class: None (Not an adventurer, though he can fight like a Warrior)
Age: 20
Likes: Himself, patrolling the streets, blackjack, lemonade
Dislikes: Obnoxious women, video games, waiting, coffee
Skills: Community service, fighting (even with his head separated!)
Giacomo is the youngest member of the Testa Family, a former criminal syndicate that has since reformed itself into a non-profit community service group. He is the son of the organization’s don—an outdated but friendly nickname for their leader—and is set to inherit the company when his father retires. In preparation of that day, Giacomo has dedicated himself to protecting impoverished neighborhoods from monster attacks in the name of the Testa Family.
His strength, his looks, his family—Giacomo is proud of every part of himself. Blunt and confident, he comes off as unapproachable, but the many people he’s helped will assure you he’s kind at his core. Yet beneath his antihero nature lies a shameful secret: he’s a genuine narcissist who has eyes only for himself. And, unfortunately, Giacomo’s father has taken notice of his son’s disinterest in romance, causing him to take matters into his own hands…
Giacomo wields a sledgehammer as the Testa Family’s premiere monster hunter. Although he’s not a formal adventurer, he was trained by his father and knows how to fight just as proficiently as your average Warrior. He spends most of his free time studying business techniques or relaxing with his friends while awaiting his 21st birthday.
Roman Annuler
Race: Human
Class: Monk
Age: 25
Likes: Streaming, educating others, cookies, video games, sneakers
Dislikes: Mundane work, dark spaces, heavy metal music, energy drinks
Skills: Mixed martial arts, teaching, public speaking
Inspired by Bosa’s success as an adventuring idol, Roman quit his job as a security guard to become the first adventurer who livestreams their quests. After a couple years of unsteady growth, he was finally picked up by a sponsorship group and able to establish himself as a full-time streamer. Yet his channel’s growth has stagnated, and he’s even begun to lose subscribers, leaving him anxious about the future.
Roman’s favorite part of streaming is educating others on how to handle various situations, and he strives to make every job he goes on as fun as possible for his viewers. But while he appears excitable and chatty on stream, he reveals himself as a compassionate—if meek—man once the camera’s off. He’s been losing sleep due to concerns over his channel’s success, however, causing him to act recklessly in pursuit of entertaining his fans.
On the battlefield, Roman enhances his martial arts with lightning-based magic to fulfill the role of a Monk. He wears gear made by his sponsors and uses a special set of sunglasses that allow him to monitor his stream while adventuring. He is followed by a special drone that records and broadcasts his adventures to his audience.
Frauke
Race: Orc
Class: Bartender/Small Business Owner
Age: 37
Likes: Her husband, teasing others, hot tubs
Dislikes: Quiet places, horror movies, people who cry too easily
Skills: Cooking, drink mixing, fencing (retired)
The owner and premiere chef of Bosa’s favorite pub, Stummelschwanz. A former adventurer who retired after she lost her right arm on the job, she decided to use her insurance payout to open up her own restaurant. While Stummelschwanz isn’t the most popular place, it has its loyal fans, mostly due to Frauke’s insistence on being open every day—even on holidays.
Jolly and frank, Frauke makes a much stronger impression than Felix, her laconic husband, or their assistant, Casimir. She loves chatting with her customers and will even sit with them when business is slow. Frauke is very proud of Stummelschwanz and what it offers its patrons, and she couldn’t be happier with how her little pub has been faring.
Where can I find Demon Healer Naberius?
Demon Healer Naberius: Volume One is currently available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats, priced at $0.99 and $9.99 respectively. Volume Two will be released there as well, with its ebook and paperback priced at $2.99 and $9.99 respectively.
While ebooks of this size and format are generally priced at $3 or more, I chose to release Demon Healer Naberius: Volume One at $0.99 as a way of offering as little financial strain as possible (you literally cannot sell an ebook on Amazon for less than $0.99 without giving up ownership) in this COVID-19-riddled world. I have every intention of keeping it at that price so that anyone interested in the series can enjoy the first entry for less than the price of a candy bar.
However, doing so also greatly reduces my royalties (my portion of the sales price). Ebooks priced at $2.99 or greater grant their authors 70% royalties ($2.10 per sale of a $2.99 ebook), but anything lower than that grants only 30% ($0.29 per sale of a $0.99 ebook). I’m beyond lucky that so many people were willing to give the first volume a try, but it is my hope that going with an average price can help the series become more self-sufficient, ideally to the point of covering its own advertising costs.
I apologize for any frustration this price difference may cause. It is my sincerest wish that you will consider picking up Volume Two despite this increase, and I swear on everything that I’m worth that all future volumes will never cost more than $2.99 each.
No matter what, though, I’ll continue to write with the same love that got me this far. Writing these books has been the most fun I’ve ever had, so I hope you’ll join me for the ride.
If you would like to keep up to date on Demon Healer Naberius and the coming release of Volume Two, you can follow my Amazon author page or my Twitter, @varnicrast. I would estimate the book will be available sometime in January, and I’ll be sure to update this page and provide a formal announcement when that time comes. Look forward to it!
In Closing
Thank you for your interest in Demon Healer Naberius. I hope you’ve enjoyed what this article had to offer and will consider picking up either volume of the series. Another quick shoutout to the art homie Tostantan—he is, indubitably, a real one. I cannot overstate how much I appreciate his help in all this.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Stay safe and healthy, dear reader—I wish you nothing but the best.
Adieu!
