It’s Bloggin’ Time!
I used to feature a blog on my website for several years, but I got away from that and focused on newsletters. Recently, I’ve started looking at the amount of email I get and wondered if things were getting lost. So, I decided to bring back the blog as a way for fans and readers to connect with me in a place you’re already familiar with and focus a blog on what’s going on inside my head. Trust me, there’s a lot!
We’re on a break. No, really.
Since September 2023, I’ve been working exclusively on what I hope will be a new series, The Buzzer War. Aethon Books will publish the series in the fall of this year and I’m excited to start sharing some snippets and the cover images soon. The lone survivor of an infantry platoon finds his way to armored forces as an insectoid species hellbent on destruction attacks human colonies across the galaxy. A fighter pilot trained to operate more in the vacuum of space than near the surface runs afoul of her leadership and is sent to provide close air support. Their paths will cross and the future of humanity rests on their shoulders.
From a process perspective, writing three books in rapid succession and not releasing them was a challenge but I managed to find a rhythm. As I turned a book over to my editors, I started working on the next one. When edits came in, I stopped writing and worked on the edits and returned, fairly easily, to the manuscript at hand. It was a very different process and one I’m sure I’ll revisit, but I also managed to do a better job of capturing notes and terms used for both a glossary in the books and an “encyclopedia” file for myself. I’m hopeful the initial Buzzer War trilogy turns into a series, but that’ll depend on, well… y’all.
About the break, seriously. I’m really on a break. I’ll be back to writing soon, but the Buzzer War and the editing process for the next Four Horsemen Universe anthology we’re working on have taken a bunch out of me. That’s right. Writing isn’t easy. Sure there are times where the words fly out fast and it feels easier, but at some point during every single novel I’ve written has been a struggle. Whether it’s in the actual writing or the editing, there’s a point where it gets difficult. All you can do is keep writing. There have literally been times where I’ve been typing a sentence and thinking to myself, “this is crap.” Quitting is easy and moments like those make you consider it every time. The only way not to is to keep going because the rhythm will return. It always does.
Next up, FantaSci in Durham, North Carolina where I’m a featured guest alongside my friend and mentor, FantaSci’s Guest of Honor Kevin J. Anderson. It’s one of my favorite conventions and I get to see my chosen family and spend time with great friends and fans. The recharge it always provides will be welcome.
After that, break time is over. See you on the path.
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