So …
Pilgrimage to Skara, my second completed novel (the first shall never see the light of day), continues to garner, uhm, “stellar” reviews. See here, here, and here, for the latest reviewer feedback.
Muse: You did earn all those reviews, you know. It’s your own damn fault.
By the way, if you have a morbid curiosity, you can check out Pilgrimage right here on Amazon for Kindle.
Anyway, nothing to do now but move forward. Here’s kind of a list of ongoing projects:
I started a four-book series with a working title called Princess of the North. Not sure if I am going to keep that title or not. The series is told in alternating POVs between a woman and her granddaughter. The draft of book one (tentatively titled Scion of Andoya) has been done for a few months and I have one more beta reader from which to collect feedback. It will undergo some major changes. I am about 3/4 of the way through the first draft of book two (Empress in Waiting). When I finish that, heavy revision time on book one. And I admit, I am going to try and agent/trad-pub this series. Goal is to get it out by the end of June.
Muse: When you submit to agents, are you going to mention Pilgrimage making it to the final round? Given the feedback, you might be better off not.
Good question and I have not decided.
On that point, I am going to do a few things to clean up Pilgrimage. Going to get assistance with line edits, put a new cover on it, and make it available for print. It won’t make it more palatable for those who don’t like it but at least it will be cleaner.
And on that note, does anyone have a cover artist they love that works with independent authors? I’ve looked at a few but nothing has jumped out at me yet.
Muse: That’s–
Yes, that’s all shit I should have done in the first place. Live and learn. If I self-pub the Princess series, I will do it right.
I also finished a short story called Five Hours to Lake Champlain. It takes place in a universe where demons, angels, vampires, imps, and other mythical creatures walk among us openly. I have two stories set there and am thinking about intertwining a series of episodes around the same handful of people who experience it when all the visitors go nuts at once.
I also tore out a 12K word story in two days that could only be called erotica.
Muse: You mean smut.
Yes, and it was awkward as hell to write at first. It was something totally different for me and not sure yet how I feel about it. At least I tried something new.
Lastly, I started outlining a series involving an epic war and conquest but told from a common footsoldier’s perspective. Of course, he doesn’t stay common forever, but we’ll see how that goes.
Ambition and ideas. I got that going for me. Now if follow-through and execution would keep up, I would be in business.
The Flint Hatchet 