Well, I'm trying to get some of these projects more on-track than less, and of course, I have to juggle them to keep from falling behind. With the addition of an anthology I'm trying to become part of, something had to give, and that turned out to be Axis of the Soul: Part One, so I am backing up the release date by about a week.
The project I'm working on in its place is also part of The Amuli Chronicles (mostly because I can't seem to work on anything else). It's a short story about an ekrim talking with a young amuli in one of the northern cities of the Amuli Republic, and it's actually the only short story I've done so far that doesn't have anything to do with the Soulbound arc or the Frendyl Krune series. It feels pretty good to stretch my mind and work on something completely independent of the other stories while taking place in the same world and at the same time as the majority of the Soulbound arc.
I initially wanted to work on an old science fiction short story I started back when I edited for Novel Publicity, but the more I tried to work on it, the more disconnected I felt with the story. Don't get me wrong: The meat for a strong story was there, the characters are interesting, and I really love the setting. Yet, the setup and the tale itself was never meant to be represented in less than 10,000 words, and the anthology I would like to be a part of caps off submissions at 5,000 words. Trying to shove something like that into half the word count didn't seem fair to the project, so I put it away and went in search of something else I could make shine.
And I found the short I began about three years ago. And I loved it. Yes, it's incomplete, but I truly enjoy the majority of the premise of the short and the subjects it touches upon. If the anthology declines to publish it, I'll release it on Amazon for $0.99 and post a URL here and on my Website. I may consider including it as a freebie in my newsletter at some point, too.
In other news, my Ekra Clan short story, Paper Sun will be finished in editing in about a month and at that time, I'll release more information about its release. Just wait and see!
I am also painfully close to finishing The Soulless King: Part One, which will be going to my amazing editor in just a few days. There are some things I still wish I could work on, but a few other glaring issues demand my attention first. The whole of The Soulless King is going to take a long time to put together and release, but it will be well worth the wait. Any fans of epic fantasy, especially the broad, arching story lines with a lot of smaller plots and weaving, intricate details will enjoy this book and its predecessor, The Soulbound Curse, as well as the short story interlude, The Crow Prince. I can promise that this series is anything but done after The Soulless King is released. The next book in the Soulbound arc will be The Throne of Souls, which will be coming out late 2017 and early 2018.
As for the Frendyl Krune series, I'm getting fairly close to finishing book four--Frendyl Krune and the Nightmare in the North--which will be out later this year. The third book, Frendyl Krune and the Stone Princess, was just released as an eBook earlier this week, and the print edition isn't far off! While I still have two more books beyond Nightmare in the North (Frendyl Krune and the Glass-Spun Moon and Frendyl Krune and the King Who Steals Hearts) and a couple of short stories, I have to say, thus far the experience of writing a Middle Grade fantasy series has been humbling.
I honestly never thought I'd reach a point in my writing career where I'd see the third book in any series be released. Just a huge milestone, and I hope next year when the last two books come out, I can look back at the entire series with gratitude for what it taught me as a writer and how it challenged me as a person.
Probably the most exciting aspect of being a published writer is realizing that people I've never even met are reading my work. People from all across the country and even in other parts of the world have decided to give my work a try, and that alone is what excites me and drives me to keep going. Being a writer has always been a difficult career, and especially today, when we're all competing in a massive flood of works from numerous people, the choice to continue writing sometimes feels like the wrong one. Yet, every time I even consider walking away, I read the reviews on my work, square my shoulders, and dive into my next project.
Thank you, one and all, for inspiring me to keep writing. This art is part of me, and I could never see myself without my writing. So, for anyone who has ever given me an encouraging word, who has bought a book of mine or any other Indie author close to me, for all of you who read and read and read so that we writers have someone to write for--thank you.
You truly are the lifeblood of this Earth.
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