Three days after finishing the first draft of The Xiaran Mongrel and I’ve already got some clues over where to bring the next edit of that, plus at least two new story ideas brewing in my head.
I love stories. I love listening to the hidden beats behind the stories I enjoy, and I love tearing them all apart–even the stories I don’t enjoy–to find the beating heart, if it exists. I love puzzling over what elements people respond to, how to use different techniques to take stories to another level. How do you bypass a reader’s “brain” and go straight to reactions, to their gut response, rendering the medium invisible so the story takes precedence? How do you make them care?
Puzzles, like I said. I don’t really have the answers. I talk about it because it’s the equivalent of having my voice echo in the dark, so at least I’m not running into walls as I go. I have theories, and if I remember them while writing, I’ll try to apply them. It’s easy for a writer to fool themselves into thinking that they have most of this under their control. Well, maybe to some; for me, it’s always like discussing some form of strategy before running blindly into the line of fire. Plans are bullshit–it’s do that, do this, follow that down the rabbit hole. Two parts frustrating, one part exhilarating.
Anyway, here’s the status of my current projects, for those interested:
The Agartes Epilogues: trilogy complete, sequel trilogy (Ferral’s Footnotes) still in the backburner.
Annals of the Bitch Queen: 2nd book out on June 14, 20 18. 3rd book in 1st draft and scheduled to release on April 5, 2019. Sequel trilogy (The Second War of the Wolves) planned within the next couple of years, hold tight for announcements.
Blackwood Marauders: 2nd book in pre-outline stage, but first draft should be written this year, and with any luck released in January of next year. As of the moment, this is an ongoing series, with every book functioning as a standalone. It is not a planned trilogy.
The Black Dog: on hiatus. I have plans to reboot this series to be more Urban Fantasy as opposed to Paranormal, and have up to Book 3 sort of planned in my head, but I have to wait until my schedule clears.
Chronicles of a Wandering: my next big series. I’ve delayed drafting the first book, The Wanderer’s Gift, until next year. I do need to get it out of the way, it was my second planned series after Agartes and the story is burning a hole in my brain.
