ABOUT ME

I'm Lena Nguyen. I'm an author who writes both interactive fiction (stories that change according to your choices) as well as conventional fiction--usually of the fantasy or speculative variety. My work has won multiple awards, and my debut science fiction novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, was published by Penguin Random House and DAW Books in July 2021! And now, my love of role-playing games and choice-based narratives has led me to my biggest project yet: Shepherds of Haven, an interactive fantasy novel about a Mage living in a world where magic has been outlawed, but demons are invading anyway.

ABOUT MY PROJECTS

Shepherds of Haven is a dark fantasy game that follows the Order of the Shepherds: a group of soldiers and investigators sworn to use their powers to protect the city of Haven from demonic invasion. The only problem? The use of supernatural powers has been outlawed for the past two hundred years–and the populace of Haven fears the Shepherds almost as much as they fear the demons themselves.

In Shepherds of Haven, you can play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, bi, or pan; as well as aromantic, asexual, aro-ace, or allo. You can customize everything about your character, from their appearance (short hair or long hair?) to their racial heritage (Elf or Hunter?). And you can recruit, befriend, or betray up to fifteen possible companions (with ten available for romance). Each character has their own separate story arc, personality, and relationship to explore–and each has many different endings that are intertwined with your own.

You can find out more about the game on its official blog or play the demo here.

WHY PATREON?

Shepherds of Haven as a single game is projected to be over 1,000,000 words by the time it's complete: that's more than the entire Harry Potter series combined! In the meantime, I'll be working as a solo developer, writing, coding, designing, and commissioning art and assets for the entire project on my own (with the help of my wonderful Patrons and testers), all while juggling my own professional work, other creative projects, and expenses. Supporting me on Patreon will not only help allow me to keep the project going for as long as it takes to complete it; it will also vastly expedite the process of finishing the game, all while giving invested supporters an exclusive look and heavy influence on the game's development. Since starting this Patreon, I've already been able to complete over 800,000 words on the game in the span of several months: that's eight times more than I was able to get done in the two years beforehand!

WHAT DO PATRONS GET?

I've thought up as many goodies and bonus content as I can without compromising my ability to work on the main content for Shepherds of Haven. Please check out the tiers of rewards, which include character goodies and codex entries, access to side games and concept art, early access to the alpha version of the game, story-related merchandise, exclusive short stories and Q&A sessions, and polls influencing the game's trajectory and development! By supporting me here, you enable me to dedicate more time to this project and get the finished version to you in as timely and polished a manner as possible!

(Also, I do invest a significant portion of the funds I receive from Patrons back into creating more content for them: this includes commissioning various artists and freelancers to help develop various Patreon-exclusive goodies that I can't make on my own, such as special game and character illustrations, seasonal art and events, music and theme songs, maps and documents, tarot cards and merch, game and social media assets, and much more!)

Thank you. Your support means the world to me, and if you're not in a position to become a Patron, sharing and spreading the word is also an enormous help. Thank you for stopping by, and an especially-huge and heartfelt thank you if you do decide to lend your support!