Moving forward

[James]

What's next? Will we see Stagger and Infidel again? Just how many primal dragons are there? Any questions about the future of the series are welcome.

[Danielle]

Will we see the creation of new primal dragons? or another primal elemental who is not even a dragon?

[James]

I will say that, if primal dragons can die, it must follow that they can be born. Just because Verdant, the primal dragon of forests was killed long ago doesn't mean that the elemental power of the forests has vanished, and it's still possible that some dragon--or perhaps some other intelligent being--might claim it. By the end of Hush, there may be a few job openings for elemental beings. By the end of Witchbreaker, the line-up of primal powers will be significantly different than it was from where Greatshadow began. Whether that's a positive development or a negative development for humanity we'll have to see.

[James]

Currently on the last chapter of the second draft of Witchbreaker. It's been a long, weird trip. Curiously, I've made it to the last chapter without killing a major character... yet. It just feels strange.

[Jim]

Will we see any standalone books based on the Wanderers? Specifically the Pirate Wars? Even if it's not a full fledged novel, what about short stories?

[James]

The Romer family of Wanderers play a major role in Witcbreaker, where we learn more of the back story of the pirate wars. I will also say that Witchbreaker ends with the Romers well positioned to play an important role in the 4th book as well.

I doubt I'll be writing many short stories any time soon. The second I turn in Witchbreaker, I have three novels competeting for my immediate attention. There's the fourth Dragon Apocalypse book, tentatively titled Soulless, another superhero novel in the Nobody universe titled Covenant, and an as yet untitled steampunk novel that I'm really excited about. Between these three projects, my writing world is pre-booked for at least the next year.

I'm really proud of the short stories I've written to date, but short stories take a disproportionate amount of time in comparison to a novel. A 5000 word short story can take me several weeks of work, while a 5000 word chapter of novel is often a one or two day project. If I get an idea that absolutely must be told as a short story, I hope I'd write it, but for the foreseeable future, it'a nothing but novels.