With so many balls in the air, I had to lurch between multiple projects this week. Here’s the rundown of what I accomplished and where I’m heading for the next few weeks.
“The Clouds, from Afar”: The first Tales of Ciel companion short story will debut in Amazon Ebook on March 17, so I spent several hours polishing up the manuscript and preparing it for distribution. The layout still needs to be designed, but I don’t expect that to take very long. I’m ready to call this one finished, and you should be able to find it on Amazon in the next few weeks.
The Politics of Fear: With the artwork in hand, we’ve almost reached the finish line here. The proofreader returned the galley last week, so I started my own compulsive scan through their changes. It’s not that I don’t trust my copyeditors, I just have a low opinion of grammatical strictures. Sometimes I break the rules intentionally for considerations of cadence, flow, or just obstinate creative preference. Great copyeditors (and we only work with great copyeditors) will usually recognize these aesthetic choices and leave them be, but occasionally I’ll see a tweak and decide to reverse it. That’s what I’m up to, and when finished, the book will be ready for print. Those of you who requested an ARC, the time is nigh. We’ll have the eARC configured by the end of next week. I’ll reach out directly with your download link.
Shattered: The Girl Who Woke the Moon:This one’s release date is a bit further off (September 8, 2026), but we already have the artwork finalized, so I don’t want to be the source of any delays. I spent a couple days inside the polish draft, working toward a galley copy ready for proofing. I’m about 50% of the way through the polish. This manuscript has been around for a long time. It wound its way through an agent and several editors, so the polish draft is moving very quickly. The major story beats are all undisturbed, but I’m making consistent stylistic tweaks throughout. As it turns out, I learned a few tricks between 2019 and now. Not my highest priority, so I’ll likely continue to work through this polish intermittently whenever I need a break from the more pressing projects. You can expect this one to be available for pre-order in Ebook, Hardcover, and Trade Paperback in mid-April.
The Compact Cycle Book 2: While travelling last week, I came into possession of a few rare windows of focus time–the kind of time I need to write new prose. When the moment arrived, I was knee-deep in proofing The Politics of Fear. With my head already in the Compact Cycle universe, I decided to dig back into the Book 2 manuscript. I had a blast reconnecting with this one–it really is fun to write. I got through a few new scenes, some of the first in the novel following a set of principal characters from Book 1. I can’t fully commit to this manuscript yet, but it will quickly become top priority after….
What Lies Between: This is the big one. I did a reread of the first 80%, and I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing for a first draft. Once all the upcoming projects are proofed and safe with the printer, I’m going to dedicate a couple weeks to wrapping this one up. Getting through the novel’s climax will require complete focus, and I don’t have that to give at the moment with so many deadlines bearing down on me. But I will. Soon. The Divine Heretic series continues on May 19.