About — Jackson Tran
Jackson Tran

The AuthorPersonnel · author of record

Jackson Tran
Anaheim, California

Jackson Tran

I write about institutions and the people they spend. The Orion books started with a question: what does it cost to be the one everyone leans on? Jo Byrne can hold a roomful of minds together, and she can sit with a dying stranger and keep them calm on the way out. That’s the gift. The books are about the cost.

I was born and raised in Southern California and live in Anaheim with my wife and three daughters. I have an M.Div. from Southern Seminary, and I’ve worked as an associate pastor and as CTO of a cybersecurity startup. Those two jobs explain my systems thinking and my psychological and theological fixation.

I’m currently writing The Knight of Orion, book two of the first trilogy in the Orion Universe.

The PlanSchedule · programme

Why serialize first

Book one is finished. It could go straight onto a storefront tomorrow and land in front of nobody. So it goes out an installment a week first, in public, where readers can tell me what isn’t working while it’s still cheap to fix.

One The serial is the edit Weekly chapters with a live comment section find the slow parts faster than any solo revision pass. Every chapter posted is a chapter tested.
Two Readers before launch day Self-publishing into silence is the default outcome. A serial audience and an email list mean day one has people already waiting.
Three Free while it runs Paying moves you ahead of the queue; it doesn’t unlock the story. Every installment reaches the free feed — then book one comes down and becomes a book.

See the full release ledger →

Questions I GetQueries · standing answers

Do I need to pay to finish it? No. Every installment reaches the free feed on Royal Road. Patreon buys time, not access. Book one does come down in March 2027, so the free window is real but finite.
Will the book differ from the serial? Yes — tightened, corrected, and with the material readers asked for. The story doesn’t change.
How often do chapters post? One installment a week from September 1, 2026 — twenty-eight of them, prologue through epilogue, finishing February 2027.
Can I review or interview? Please do. Email below and I’ll send an advance copy.

ContactCorrespondence

Get in touch

Reviewers, booksellers, and anyone who wants an advance copy: email is the fastest way to me. Readers with questions about the world are welcome too — the Codex list gets a reply.

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