Quick (Again) Updates

Hi, everyone

Good news first – I’ve only got three chapters to go for The Thin Blue Line (TEC 9). I hope to finish it tomorrow, then send it to be edited and get it up within a week or so. I also need a cover, which hopefully will be ready on time too. This is a stand-alone piece, of sorts – it might be a good idea to reread When the Bough Breaks beforehand, as Belinda reappears in this volume.

After that, I’m going to write a short story (5K-10K) for an anthology of MIL-SF writings. I’m planning to do one set in either the Ark Royal universe or The Empire’s Corps universe. Which one would you like?

-One story would be the origin story of the hero of Warspite – basically, a ‘what I did during the war’ story. He would be pitted against a remorseless alien foe, all alone in the night.

-The other would be centred around a small Marine detachment in the middle of a city, during a war. I’ve got several separate ideas for it, but none really gelling yet. The core one is basically ‘Christmas in wartime’ when the Marines try to celebrate despite being under heavy fire. Another one would be more sentimental, I think.

Paul suggested one featuring Roland, the former Crown Prince. I’ve given it some thought, but it would really be more of a character story as he makes his way through Boot Camp. How does that sound? But it would be less exciting than either of the other two stories, I feel.

That said, my life is seeing more changes. <grin>.

Hopefully, we will be going to the UK for a year or so, after long battles with the UKBA to get permission for me to live there with Aisha. There’s a complete lack of actually useful communication from them, so while we have the stamped passport I’m still left a little unsure of the exact procedures. They start by demanding a lot of documents, then they give us the stamped passport and … what? Do we still need the TB form? <bangs head off wall several times.>

So I’ll be going to LonCon on Saturday and Sunday coming, then heading back to Edinburgh (after having made a few bookshops in London a little bit richer.) Then …

My current plan is to write Barbarians at the Gates II next, then go on to either Hard Lessons (A Learning Experience II) or Warspite (Ark Royal V2) Let me know which one you’d like.

It’s been a busy month for my publishers, in other news. Both Study in Slaughter and Necropolis have been posted on Amazon. Paper copies of Schooled In Magic should be available within a week or two. If you liked them, please write a review.

I’m probably going to be working through the edits for Work Experience (Schooled in Magic IV) in the next couple of weeks, then hopefully have it up in a couple of months. The School of Hard Knocks (SIM V) has been accepted, but no publication date yet.

I also have the planned titles for the next three books in the series. 6 – Love’s Labour’s Won, 7 – Trial By Fire, 8 – The Parting of the Ways. Assuming everything goes according to plan, Trial By Fire will serve as the end of the first story arc. Then things really start moving.

Anyway, back to the writing for me.

Chris