A Writing Update

Oh, boy. Where do I begin? For one, unlike the last update I did, I don’t have any pretty beach pictures to share, for obvious reasons. I came home from Texas on February 29, on what was likely one of the lasts normal flight in the country, and…I haven’t really left town since. Well, that’s not quite accurate (I sold a house and drove to Florida to close), but pretty close. My state is pretty open at this point, but I work from home, so not much has changed for me and likely won’t until…well, until things get a whole lot better and I can travel again. So what have I been up to? Homeschooling, obviously, but we’ve been hitting the outdoors on the weekends to kill time and get some fresh air!

But back to writing. I’d be lying if I said the isolation plus a crippling case of what most people say is impostor syndrome wasn’t making it pretty difficult to draft anything. Imagination? Meh. It’s hard when you’re pretty stuck in one county – for me, at least.

What I discovered I can do is edit and publish stories, even if drafting is a tad difficult right now. In March, I released a novelette and short story, which you can find here and here. I decided I don’t have the ethical issues with short work in Kindle Unlimited that I have with novels, so both are free if that’s your thing.

I did get Treason’s Crown out before its May 12 release date, so I was pretty happy with that. There IS a sequel in the works (I’m thinking a trilogy of novellas), so stay tuned.

So…works in progress. Oh, what do we have?

The Stars Wait Not is humming along, though I’m not rushing it much. I’ve run into some roadblocks, so it’ll probably be a last-minute kind of release. Its sequel, A House of Nebulas, needs some expansion to match the length of the prior book, and that includes a subplot I’m frankly too tired to deal with right now. It’s looking more and more like a 2021 release. I have an idea for a third book in the series (East of the Sun, West of the Moon, anyone?), but nothing written down quite yet.

‘Leaving Humanity’, the short story I released in March, is getting a companion novel! Or might be, because the characters don’t want to to cooperate. Ever had a character debate you on the actual genre you’re writing? Yeah. That’s where I am. One main character is perfectly happy in her space opera playground, and the other? The other is bound and determined to turn the book into military scifi, which is just not my jam, y’all. But I suppose that’s what you get when you try to mix space vampires and a futuristic Coast Guard.

Ahem. Anyway.

So, what about Faded Embers, the untitled fifth Shadows of War book, and the in-progress companion novella?

Yes, Faded Embers released in January. No, it did not do well. Yes, the entire series is currently down while I reevaluate things. I know some are disappointed, but Asrian Skies just isn’t getting the feedback I wanted, and without that, the rest of the series can’t follow. To be honest, I’m not sure I’m can get it to where it needs to be without changing the story and characters completely, and while that hurts, I have to do what’s right for the series. What I was able to do (for now) is leave the box set up. Again, I know that’s not something everyone’s into, but until I can get Asrian Skies where it needs to, it’s where I’m at.

That’s the bad news. And the good news. All the news, I suppose – beyond the fact I recently closed down my Facebook reader group. I’m still getting requests to join though, so I’m wondering if it’s worth restarting. It seems arrogant to think people care, but I’m open to opinions. Are reader groups something you enjoy? What do you like to see in them?