Hey readers! I’m back, this time with an update post on a lot of projects. Because I have been blasting ahead lately. I’ve got some awesome news and updates for everyone, so make sure you check through everything if there’s a story or even you’re waiting up on!
So, first and biggest piece of news? I’m almost halfway through the pre-Alpha for Jungle.
Yes. That Jungle. The sequel to Colony. I’m about halfway through the Pre-Alpha. Which means …
I will be sending out early Alpha invites next week.
Yes, you read that right. Jungle is coming at last. And sands, readers, while I’m definitely doing cutting and trimming, this is … well, it’s pretty awesome if I do say so myself.
So prior Alpha readers, check your inboxes next week. I’ll put up a post to let everyone know it’s happened, but … Yeah, the Jungle Alpha is upon us.
Which means I should probably start teasing a few things, shouldn’t I? Jungle is the direct sequel to Colony, with Jake, Anna, and Sweets arriving back at the Sol system to find they may not have gotten away from Pisces as free as they’d hoped. SoulComp is in shambles, their executives on the run after the LockOut debacle brings the UN knocking. Dozens of colony worlds are in open rebellion, fighting back against UNSEC control.
Worse, the team’s actions have caught the direct attention of the General Security Director of UNSEC, Syrah Eidre, a powerful woman determined not to let a single world slip from UNSEC’s fingers … Or for any hint of what really happened at Pisces to slip free. And she’ll use any means necessary at her disposal to make sure of it.
Meanwhile back on Pisces, Didem watches as the world struggles to make sense of recent events and find its own path forward while dealing with internal strife, the constant threat of UNSEC’s overwhelming reach, and the shocking revelation that mankind is not alone in the universe.
And that universe is waking up …
Jungle is aiming for a late summer/early fall release depending on how quickly I can go through the editing, readers, so get ready!
Alright, so that’s Jungle news out of the way. So what about some of my other projects? What about Hunter/Hunted?
Well, I am pleased to report that the Alpha edit of Hunter/Hunted is nearly finished. Only something like 4-6 chapters left. Which means … drumroll please …. BETA!
That’s right. The beta call will also go out next week. So I missed my April release date, but I’m pretty sure that by the nature of what kind of story Hunter/Hunted is, this means those fans here waiting for it should be ready, because if I can start the Beta this coming week … we could be seeing Hunter/Hunted come out at the middle of this month.
That’s right. The Dusk Guard Saga: Hunter/Hunted this month. Are you guys ready? This weekend I start work on getting the cover done, and the base blurb up, and … well, are you readers ready for a lot of teasers? Because they’re about to hit.
So yeah, if you’re one of my old-guard Dusk Guard fans … get ready. They’re back. Book three is about to hit.
Okay, next update: The Halo novel pitch. The Alpha is done. Beta for that will also be going on, but I’ll be handling it myself, since this is just a pitch. It doesn’t have to be perfect since it’s not intended for a release without an actual editing process. This is, after all, just a proof of concept.
Good news though! The Alpha readers enjoyed it quite a bit, even those that had no familiarity with the universe, setting, or characters. Once I polish it up, I’ll be sending it off to see what happens! Best case scenario? I put Fireteam Freelance on temporary hold while I blast out the rest of the book.
Speaking of which, what about Fireteam Freelance? I haven’t spoken about this one in a while because I’ve been busy with a lot of other projects, but rest assured, this one is coming.
Fireteam Freelance, for those of you that have forgotten, is an experimental, episodic side-story I’ll be working on during the Alpha and Beta for Jungle, following a team of gun-for-hire mercs on Earth during the events of Jungle. The goal is to post each new chapter here on Unusual Things as its written, glitches and all, just as kind of a “throw it at the wall and see if it sticks” thing. But once Hunter’Hunted is done and out, and the Alpha for Jungle is underway, I’ll be starting work on Fireteam Freelance. We’ll see what comes of it. You might like it, you might hate it.
We’ll see. But that’s coming. I can’t promise that it will be done by the time Jungle is out, but hey, you’ll be able to read it for free on my site as it comes out, so …
Okay, just a few more updates to get through. First of all, Patreon Supporters! There will be a new chapter of Stranded this Saturday! I’m no so sure on next Saturday, as I can only work on it in my free time/weekend, and I have to work my weekend this week, so it’s up in the air. But I do hope you’re enjoying Stranded so far.
On the review goal: I am now sitting at exactly 200 reviews and ratings out of the 400 end-year goal! I picked up a couple of more 5-star reviews since the last time I updated the count, and it was just enough to push me to the halfway mark! Let’s see if we can hit 300 by the end of Summer!
All right … Is there anything else?
Oh wait. There is. Two things actually. One is that Early-bird tickets for next year’s 2020 LTUE are almost gone! If you order in the next week, it’s only $50 to secure your three days at one of the best, if not the best, writing conventions in the whole of the United States!
You can grab your early-bird registration here, and I’ll see you there!
Final bit of news. I promise. There are two more projects that are coming for me later this year, after Jungle. The first is a novella I’ve mentioned before. Axtara: Banking and Finance. This was a project that grew out of my entry for A Dragon and Her Girl. This one is … well, it’s just goofy fun. A young dragon moves to the edges of civilization. Why? To open her own bank, of course! What could go wrong?
Oh. Right. EVERYTHING.
The second is … I am finally going to start figuring some things out for Tales from the Last Frontier.
I’ve hinted about this one before, but at long last, I’m going to do it. I’m going to gather up every funny story I heard growing up (or in a few cases, was around for) about Alaska. Every bizzare anecdote about fishing, every goofy tale of 4th of July celebrations gone too far … everything I can gather. And I’m putting them in a book.
A very funny book. I have heard some great stories about the wonderful and wacky things that used to happen in Alaska. So … why not pile them all into one possibly exaggerated book?
And that’s it for the news. WHEW! Now, I’ve got some PT to do, and editing. Plus, work in two hours.
There’s a lot of great stuff coming, folks. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you all next time.
Unusual Things 