Projects

The Stable Instability

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Hello readers! Never fear, I’m still alive. Just hard at work on episode #10 of Fireteam Freelance.

Episode ten? Why yes, I am getting that far ahead. Which is good, because these last episodes are probably going to be pretty titanic. “Season finale” and all that.

Of course, having a pretty good buffer does mean that this Friday will see the release of the next big episode: Missing Persons. I’m pretty pleased with how this episode turned out. Not only did we get a neat view of a future cityscape, but we also got to see a seriously cool action sequence. And some more puzzle pieces clicking together …

Anyway, that will be up this Saturday, so be sure to keep an eye open. We’ve passed the halfway point with Mandatory Takeout, so things are coming together and moving with a swifter and swifter pace, and again, I’m pretty pleased with some of the action sequences from this Saturday’s episode. They’re pretty crazy.

So, moving on to further news: Facebook advertising is now rolling forward. It’s still somewhat experimental, and I’ll admit I don’t have the strongest grasp on it yet (a lot of this is very much learn as you go), but I desperately needed something to combat the abject slump that came about with the reopening of the economy. Sorry, partial reopening. A topic which I won’t get into outside of saying “It’s divisive.”

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News, All of it Good!

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Hey readers! Who’s ready for some good news?

I know, it seems like that’s been in short supply this last month, but I’ve worked my hardest to try and bring you all some good stuff even when there was bad that had to come as well. But today it’s all good news. You ready?

First up, we’ve got a new episode of Fireteam Freelance dropping this Saturday! It’s already in the queue and ticking down the clock! Repeat Performance sees the team journeying to, of all places, Hawaii. The Big Island … though perhaps a little different from it is now. The same client that sent them to Mexico has another strange request of them, but for twenty-five million Euromarks, well … Let’s just say you can fulfill a lot of eccentricity with that kind of money …

So yeah, this Saturday will see the launch of episode four of Fireteam. Free to read, here on the site. That’s good news!

What’s next? Well, I am happy to report that after the terrifying and almost utterly complete slump of sales following the Covid-19 quarantine … Things have recovered! It didn’t last—and there was a very real fear that it might!

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The First Seven Years: 2013-2019 in Review, and the Journey Ahead

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Hello readers! No, there’s no Being a Better Writer article today, since I’m still on break. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any content to be had! No, as we’re about to head into a new decade, 2020 now just two days away (less, depending  on when you read this), it’s the perfect time for a look back. Two looks back, actually! For one, we’ve got 2019 to look at, to see how it stacks up against 2018, but we’ve also got the decade as a whole. Well, minus seven years, as my first book—One Drink for those that have joined us since then—was only published in 2013. But as we look back today, I’d be remiss not to look over the decade as a whole and see where it’s taken both myself and you readers. To see the growth of this grand adventure as it continues to build!

So then, let’s dive right in and talk about the year! How’d 2019 stack up?

Jungle CoverObviously, the big elephant in the room is Jungle. The titan (literally, check out that word count) of a Colony sequel that landed in November. Jungle was 2019’s only book release but … what a release!

Jungle was a titanic effort, taking months upon months of work from myself and dedicated Alpha and Beta Readers to polish and prepare. But in the end?

Jungle has been a titanic success. Though only out for the last two months of 2019, it’d be impossible to talk about the state of things without it. While not quite reaching the pre-order and high-burst numbers  Colony did at its release, Jungle has instead remained a steady seller, even as it garners reviews with greater speed than Colony ever did. Reviews which have so far entirely been positive. As of today, Jungle is still sitting with a perfect Five-Star score across Amazon and Goodreads, with a lot of praise lauded on it in its reviews for how it moves the story forward while taking it in surprising new directions!

Of course, this means good things for sales as well. Jungle catching eyes has only brought a renewed resurgence of interest in Colony as well, which has seen a nice sales increase as a result of Jungle catching reader’s eyes and then going on to read both.

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Being a Better Writer: Commitment

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Hello readers! Welcome back to another Monday installment of Being a Better Writer! A late one, I know. Sorry about that. Late morning.

So, really quick, before we get down to the business of today’s post, the news! And I can sum it up very simply.

I am never going to edit two 300K+ monsters at the same time again. It’s doable, but it’s an absolute pain, and overtaxes everyone involved.

Unfortunately, now I’m committed. Hunter/Hunted‘s beta is about 2/3rds done, and Jungle is about 1/3 of the way through the Alpha (and this week I’ll be opening up a second set of Alpha calls for those of you that are interested). But sands and storms, editing two books at once, especially of this size, is too much.

Never again. I’m going to get these done, but then it’s one project at a time for editing. It’s just too much. However, if I keep working hard, I should be able to keep to my original planned schedule of getting Jungle out end of summer/early fall.

Only one other bit of news. Patreon Supporters, there will be a new chapter up for you this Saturday. I hit snag in the story I’ve been dropping there that backed my brain up for a while, but I think I’ve got a way around it. So look for that if you’ve been waiting!

Okay, all said and done? Then on with the post! So, let’s talk about commitment.

Now, I realize this might be a bit of an odd topic. And title. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of you saw it, metaphorically scratched your heads, and said “huh?”

Which only makes this post all the more vital, because the idea of commitment in the modern writing sphere is one that … Well, let’s just say I’ll bet that once we get going, a number of you will have a sudden epiphany and nod with recognition. Especially if you’re part of the generation that finds your entertainment online.

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Forward

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Welcome to 2019. Be on the lookout for Replicants.

2018 is behind us. And what a year. It had a lot of highs, and it had some rough lows too. And I’m not just talking about the year globally. I’m just talking about books and stuff.

But enough about that. Let’s talk about the future. So, what’s coming ahead in 2019?

Well, first up, and early in the year, the release of Hunter/Hunted. It’s in the final act now, though just barely (I haven’t done much writing over the last week; I needed to recharge). I figure this one will be done with the draft this month, as long as my other job doesn’t consume too much time, and then it can go into Alpha/Beta and release. Rejoice, Dusk Guard fans, for the third book is almost here. Oh, and remember how I said it would probably be the shortest? I have no idea anymore. And … well, I’ll leave it at that.

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Colony Print Copy Updates and Issues

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I said I had a lot of news this week. This is part of it.

So, those of you who have run into me at various places online may know that a few months ago I let drop that after Shadow of an Empire released (Which it did on June 1st of this year!) I would be once again looking into the possibility of print copies of Colony at last.

Well, I have done so. And unfortunately … I’ve got some bad news.

Colony is just too long.

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Shadow of an Empire Progress Report + Other Reports

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Hey everyone! Just dropping you a quick update on how progress on the first draft of Shadow of an Empire is going, as well as work on getting Colony into Beta, so you all know what’s going on.

First, work has been slower these last few weeks, as you might have noticed or guessed. I’m putting in a lot of shifts at my other job to try and pull myself into some semblance of financial stability (and it’s working, thankfully, though it’ll be months before I can do more than make a $5 luxury purchase). Unfortunately, this means less time to write and edit, so my monthly production has been halved, from 80,000 words to a little over 40,000. Which would probably be less impactful if I was writing piddly little 50,000 word books like a lot of self-pubs rather than 150,000 plus juggernauts.

Anyway … that progress report, right!?

So, Shadow of an Empire has hit 145,000 words as of this last week. At the current pace, and looking at where I’m at in the story, I’ve got about another 80,000-100,000 words to go, which means that Shadow is two-thirds done!

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Unusual Events’ First Story is Done

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Tonight, I finished the alpha of what will be hopefully the longest story in my in-progress story collection, Unusual Events. It turned out quite a bit longer than I expected, graduating quickly from a long short story of 10,000 to 11,000 words and becoming a 37,000 word novella—longer than my first published work, One Drink. As a result, I think I’ll be sticking in near the back of the book.

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