…Silence…

It’s been over a year since I’ve posted on this blog. That’s not what I would call ideal, but I will be making a return in a number of ways.

Why have I been so quiet for a year? I’d like to say that it’s because I’ve been in creative delirium and have cranked out seven new novels, but sadly that is not the case. My time and energy have been largely otherwise directed (although I have still been working on creative pursuits, more on that later). Last year I was promoted to a full time position at my day job which, while providing a little more money, sapped away a lot of the time I’d been using to write and to blog. Additionally, we started the process of buying a house. This process is apparently a long and stressful one that successfully took up any remaining time I thought I had. Who knew?

That being said, we are now moved in to the new place. While some rooms are still decorated with piles of boxes, dust sheets, and half painted walls, I’m writing this at my desk set up in my new office surrounded by a surprisingly small number of boxes. In addition to that, I’m working to schedule my time more strictly, such that I should have blocks of time with which I can reliably sit down and write.

So what does this all mean for my writing? Well, here are four pieces of strictly writing related news:

• Blog posts will be appearing again. There was a time when I was posting one a week. With my new schedule that isn’t necessarily realistic, so I’ll be shooting for once a fortnight.
• Some time ago I said I was working on a short story that would serve as a prequel to Kingdom Come. And then there was silence. That story is still in the works, but when I started out writing it I envisaged it being around 3,000 words. It is a touch longer than that, and is probably more accurate to call it a novella as the current draft is over 12,000 words. I’m currently editing this story, and will work out distribution once it is completed.
• I’m also working to varying degrees on two novels. One is a fantasy novel that I have mentioned before. I’ve made some good progress on it and I’m really excited about where it is going and being able to share it with you all in the future. I’m also working on the (long-awaited?) sequel to Kingdom Come. Jasper has some trials ahead of him that I think you’ll enjoy reading as much as I did coming up with them. There are some hints about where that novel might be headed in the novella, too.
• Kingdom Come has been off the shelves for a long time. I’d like to change that. Once I have finished editing the novella, I plan to once again begin soliciting agents. It’s a long and tortuous process and I don’t expect any positive responses soon. But we’ll see what happens.

That’s all for now. As this was a more general update, the next blog post is going to come quick on the heels of this one, and then I’ll be on to my more spread-out schedule. Keep an eye open for the return of my (surprisingly popular?) “A Brit in America” series.

I hope you all have a good book in your life and that it treats you right.

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