Books I'll be publishing in the next few months
I'm putting myself on the line here, but here's my plan for the rest of 2013...
Publish FRACTURED (BOOK 1) in September 2013
Yes, the collaborative sci-fi/fantasy novel by Brian Clopper and myself is finished. I'm currently doing a final read on my Kindle (and I'm sure Brian is too) and of course I've picked up one or two words I'd like to change or delete, but otherwise it's ready to go. So look for this in September. I'll let y'all know the launch date. See here for details about the book.
Edit, beta read, and publish QUINCY'S CURSE in October 2013
This is written and I have a slew of minor edits as noted by two beta readers. Once I've put those right, I'll send this out for further beta reading around mid-September. Look for a post about this if you're interested in beta reading. This book features a vaguely traditional fantasy setting but is a fairly light read, good for all ages. It's about a boy named Quincy Flack who is cursed with bouts of good and bad luck, which can turn a great day into a terrible one and vice versa. What I love about this novel is the way each chapter is told from a different point of view as the boy and his friend, Megan, make their way across country and meet various colorful characters. It was fun to write and I think works quite well. But only readers can confirm that!
Write, edit, beta read, and publish VALLEY OF MONSTERS in December 2013
The first draft of the seventh book in the Island of Fog series is about 63% done. It's flying by! Of course, then I have a lot of editing to do. But still, it's coming along nicely and I'm confident it will be ready to go well before Christmas. I'm a little bit amazed at how well separate plot threads are coming together so seamlessly. I had only a rough summary with this one, and have been writing fairly organically, but I'm not sure I could have planned it any better. I must be getting pretty good at this lark.
So those are the three main projects for this year. But I have other things I'd like to slip in as well, including:
WONDERSTORMS
A short one-off tale for Brian Clopper's "Wonderstorms" project, which involves various other authors as well. This is such a unique idea and I'm glad to be part of it. I just need to write and polish my story in the next month.
ISLAND OF FOG WEBISODES
A number of short, chapter-length Island of Fog stories featuring not Hal but his friends and foes. These are the "webisodes" I've been promising for decades. I really need to get stuck into them, because I also have a bigger plan afoot for the series as a whole...
FREQUENCY SERIES
The first in a new series of sci-fi and fantasy novels in which our intrepid heroes (two 12-year-old boys and a slightly older girl) get tangled up in weird and wonderful adventures. Though the characters will remain the same throughout the series, the stories will be one-offs, and the overall order that you read them won't matter too much. I want this series to be accessible whichever book you start with. To this end, I plan to write Book 1 as a full novel, then include a super-compressed 1-page version in the front of every subsequent novel the way that many sci-fi TV shows do a quick "what this is all about" during the opening credits. "Frequency" is a working title for the series and may change. The first novel will be SLEEP WRITER, focusing on the girl who writes weird messages in her sleep.
This should all keep me busy for the rest of the year.
