It’s been a rough few weeks.
On one hand, my planned gallstone operation got called off at literally the last minute (long story). On the other, my sinusitis has been playing up again and I’ve had a handful of days I literally couldn’t do any actual work. My grand plans for the next few months have gone splat – basically, I’m hoping to finish The Revolutionary War in a couple of weeks (I have to go on holiday first, as the school holidays crept up without me noticing) and then …
I’m not sure. I need to write Book 2 of Chimera Coup. I also want to write The Alchemist’s Secret (The Zero Enigma), but I’ve done a lot of fantasy recently and I need to get back to SF.
(On the plus side, I got the edit for All for All (Cast Adrift III) and I intend to do it tomorrow.)
This is going to be tricky. I’ve hit a writer’s block on Endeavour II – I know roughly what happens in Book III, but Book II (provisional title The Lone World) is causing a problem and I haven’t figured out how to solve it (yet). I’ve also let my mind run away with a near-future cross-time war story, which will be a completely stand alone piece of work (or a trilogy; it depends how things go.)
I have two other ideas. I have a rough plan for a pair of Empire’s Corps novels; one which will either follow Prince Roland or a new hero (let me know which one you prefer), another which will follow a small and very unwelcome planetary population fighting to survive after the empire withdraws, leaving them to their fate.
I’ve also been looking at a possible plot for a sequel to Coup d’état, which will be set in what is (now) an alternate future. Interested?
And I need to do three more Fantastic Schools novellas/short stories. Or at least two of them.
Speaking of which, we’ve planned the next three collections. There’ll will be, hopefully, a general collection (anything goes), a collection based on teacher/staff stories and a sports collection. If you’re interested in contributing, please check out the rules here.
I recently launched The Stranded and Chrishangers, the latter with a pre-order promotion. The Stranded didn’t take off the way I’d hoped (so if you liked it please leave a review) but the Chrishangers promotion worked surprisingly well (again, please review).
Anyway, that’s enough moaning. Back to work for me <grin>
Chris
The Chrishanger 
Forget science fiction. I’m your biggest fan snd I love fantasy 😃
It’s too bad you’ve completely forgotten about Kat..As the comments have proven, she was/is a very popular character..Again, it’s too bad…..
Sounds good!! I’m excited for cast adrift three. I haven’t had time to read stranded. But I plan on getting to it.
I hope you stay healthy and have a good vacation
Chris, I’m sorry to hear about your medical woes especially being lined up for surgery and it sounded like you’re practically on the table before they decided to cancel it.
As far as what to work on, my preference would be finishing the The Zero Enigma book. I do think that world has room for a few more stories.
I’m not a big fan of short stories or novelettes. As far on what to work on next perhaps something about Barb from the SIM series. She was a strong character and I’m sure she would have a lot to say.
Sorry if that wasn’t the direction that you wanted to go 😊
I’d definitely be interested in seeing Roland develop, and a sequel to Coup d’Etat sounds like fun. Take care of yourself, or you might end up with even more downtime!
Chris, I hope you feel better and your next surgery is a success. Please take this downtime to spend with your family and friends.
I must confess that I also prefer your fantasy over sci-fi in general. My question is, do you still plan on expanding Emily’s world at some point? I know you must get tired of this question.
Thank you again, and I wish you the best.
Garrett
As always – take care of your health, and that of your family first.
Roland vs a spin-off: I think there are at least a couple more books to finish off his story – you could push it either way and do more or less pretty easily, but I would prefer you to at least clean up a bit there.
The Stranded: I have to admit that I haven’t read it yet. I have some backlog from you to finish first 🙂
Coup d’Etat: That could go either way. It was rounded enough at the end that you could just move on, or you could expand it in any one of a dozen ways. I think it sort of really depends on whether you have a story-line burning a hole in your brain or not.
I do sort of want to see more on The Zero Enigma. Put that somewhere towards the top of the stack after you tackle some more sci-fi.
Philip
Despite all the health issues you have I admire your perseverance. I also enjoy your various storylines!
Nevertheless you have to look it for your own well-being so pace yourself accordingly.
Stay safe
Hope you manage to resolve all the health issues quickly and well. As far as this reader is concerned, the more fantasy you write, the better.
Love your work, but I prefer seeing a story sequence like the Emilie’s to scatter fire on a bunch of disparate characters and worlds going off in a lot of different directions. So I’d opt for further developing Rolland…. Pleased to see cast adrift III. Like the Warlord arc so far. Anyway my money is on fewer basic story lines, developed more deeply, than new tidbits…. However, you are the starving author and by now know what sells. Been busy traveling, so got to finish the stranded so I can write you a review. Hope your health continues to allow you to work, nothing quite so aggravating as being full of ideas, and health issues holding you back….. take care
Sorry to hear you’ve been ill and also need to have surgery. Please take the necessary time to look after yourself and not get overtired.
I tend to be drawn more to your fantasy series than the sci-fi although I have a couple of the sci-fi series. Overall, I’d just encourage you to write what you want. If writer’s block is affecting one series, maybe work on something else you find more amusing at that time. I’m overjoyed that you’re working on another Royal Sorceress book, but the main thing is that you don’t get to the point where writing is an unpleasant chore. Another author discontinued a series I really enjoyed because she had begun to hate writing it. Unfortunate, but she’s moved on to other things that she’s finding easier to write and which are also fun to read.
Obviously, you need to cover the bills and support your family, but you are amazingly creative. Finding stories you want to tell that aren’t a miserable task to write should be possible.
Your Empire’s Corps would be an unfinished work if you didn’t connect the Prince Roland faction with the initial group of marines that carved out a new confederation on the edge of the old empire. Who better to lead that search than Prince Roland and his group. Can you see a ‘Grand Federation’ emerging here?