-14-2023...unless you're in Europe. For you, it's 14-5-2023.

Okay, let's start with the results. In what is sure to be a shock to absolutely no one, our resident, mooching ghost panther, Falling Leaf, has claimed victory with more than half of the votes. I'd tell her to take a bow but she's sleeping in a patch of sunlight somewhere, probably dreaming about qi-invested treats.

Our main character and POV character for the book, Sen, has come in a DISTANT second with around 15 percent of the vote. Uncle Kho narrowly edged out Cultivator Feng. Oddly enough, Grandmother Lu and Ma Caihong are all but tied.

Author's Commentary

I certainly didn't plan for everyone to love Falling Leaf the most. Like I've mentioned before, she was basically meant to cameo in that one chapter in the wilds for comic effect. Even so, I'm gratified that everyone feels so invested in a character that has, on balance, not gotten that much screen time and has zero dialogue. It makes me think I'm doing something right. Or maybe everyone just loves big magical cats. Honestly, I'm fine with it either way.

I was a little surprised that Sen, Uncle Kho, and Feng were so close. I really thought that readers would zero in on one of them as a favorite. Although, I should probably be happy that reader affection is fairly equally spread among them. Hopefully, that means I've made them all accessible or equally likable.

Poor Grandmother Lu and Ma Caihong. Hopefully, they fare better in later polls.