What Have I Been Doing: October 2023 Edition

Right. Hello. Been a little while. There’s good news, and less good news.

The good: within a couple of weeks I should be able to finally be able to tell you about at least one, and hopefully two, of my upcoming short stories. One launch party is scheduled for early November, and while I don’t have a date for the other, it should be in the October/November issue of said magazine, so fingers crossed…

They’re both pieces I’m rather proud of, so I’m excited to finally be able to share them with you. And next year, even more…

I’m also fairly pleased with the second instalment of my snappily titled ‘Experimental Choose-Your-Own Adventure Story Thing’, which concluded last week. There will be another. It’s quite fun to put together. Even if you missed the live unfolding of this tale, it still should be a bit of fun to read, so check it out. Writing in second person is weird but cool.

Onto the less good, then.

Last time I did a big update, I said Boiling Seas 3 was still on track to be out this year. And I have been making progress, good progress, even. I had a week off in September and I not only wrote over 6000 words, I came up with a title and made a cover! (To be revealed later, don’t get overexcited.)

But there’s a lot still to do. A lot. I’m approaching the end of the narrative, but that doesn’t mean the book is anywhere near done: there was already a lot of editing and trimming that needed doing, and given the current and ever-expanding length of Part 3, there’s going to be an awful lot more. And then it needs proofing, and I need to do those edits, and all the formatting and KDP nonsense…

I’m going to finish the manuscript this year. I am holding myself to that. It’s not quite close enough to taste, but I can smell the end for certain. As for getting it published and in your hands before 2024? At this point, that’s not going to happen. I’m sorry. Writing the end of a trilogy, it turns out, is bloody hard work. I won’t make any promises about a new release date, even a vague one, for that way lies Rothfuss madness. But next year looks good. Next year I can do.

Again, sorry. I want this book to be good. I’ve put too much of myself into the Boiling Seas to let it end badly. I owe you that. I’m just sorry it’s taking so long.

BUT.

That doesn’t mean I’m not publishing a book this year. For I have taken my tiny red hammer, broken the glass case, and dusted off the Backup Novella. And that will be coming out very soon indeed. The text is pretty much ready to go, awaiting one more reader to let me know if it’s decent (so far, so positive feedback). The cover is ready. I’m basically tinkering with the title, and then I just need to format the hell out of it and hunt down as many people who might like to review it as I can. (If you are one of those people, let me know!)

Who could they be? Wait and see..

It’s a bit of a change of pace for me. It’s a slower, quieter story than I usually write. There are no battlefields, no daring escapes. Instead there are… people, living their lives, in a place that should be very peaceful indeed. It’s a bit different. But honestly, I think we all need a little peace and quiet now and then.

Once I’ve got a title nailed down, I’ll tell you all about it. Until then, stay tuned.