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It would seem that I've become somewhat enamored by end-of-the-world type stories, with The Facility being my most recent entry into that genre. A novel-length story, I've been working on it since early December and can finally start publishing it now that I've completed a number of shorter works, including Rhiannon's Rectal Rescue, Annie Girl, and my Valentine's Day contest entry, Dream Girl. Thank you to those who read and voted on that last one, by the way, and congratulations to the winners.
In many ways, The Facility is a return to form for me. It's a lot more fun and lighthearted than my last two novels, and though the cast of characters is quite large, I've managed to keep the plot narrowly focused and the pace snappy by writing it in the first-person.
So, what comes next? I anticipate that 2024 will be a big year in terms of total output for me, as I expect to cross the one million word mark, so here's a roadmap of what you can expect and when:
Early to mid-March: The Facility
Mid-March to early April: Completion of The Protégé
April: Completion of Forbidden Fruit Book I
Summer: The Wings of Daedalus, the sequel and finale to The Arrow of Asterius
Fall: The Honey Pot, a sequel to The First Timers Club
End of year: Forbidden Fruit Book II
Along the way, there may be a short story or novella squeezed in, along with a contest entry here or there, but the titles in the list above will be my primary focus this year, with my first priority being to complete the two works in progress that have languished for far too long.
To those who've taken the time to send me private messages and comments over the past few months, I can't express how appreciative I am for your words of encouragement and support. It is for you that I write. To anyone who's taken the time to read, vote for, or comment on one of my stories, I give you my sincerest thanks.
Here's to an exciting 2024. Happy reading.
Presented for your reading pleasure in this, the season of love, is a romantic novella that I've been toiling away on for the past month or so.
Fear not, dear reader, for the story is complete and will be posted over the next few days in three parts. Part I is up now, so grab your tissues, curl up under a blanket, and settle in for a heartwarming love story of a man and his very special Annie girl.
And don't forget to tell your special someone just how much you love them.
After long consideration, I've decided to conclude The Arrow of Asterius and mark it complete. A sequel novel, The Wings of Daedalus, is currently in progress and picks up right where Arrow left off. Wings introduces several new characters and a host of threats and challenges, both internal and external, for our heroes to deal with as they make preparations to leave Scirewood in search of a new home.
Several factors contributed to this decision. First, as written, Arrow more than stands on its own as a complete novel. It's 225k words long, with a definitive beginning, middle, and climactic ending, plus has several hooks set for a sequel. Second, I want to take my time with Wings, and didn't want to leave Arrow standing incomplete for an interminable period of time. Finally, I wanted to stretch my creative legs for a while and work on a few smaller projects.
I just posted a fun little short story titled Rhiannon's Rectal Rigmarole, which I hope you'll enjoy. Up next is a romantic novella titled Annie Girl. Following that will be a short novel titled The Facility, which has just a few chapters left to complete.
After that, I may (I haven't decided yet) wrap up Forbidden Fruit and The Protégé before I start posting Wings. It doesn't sit well with me that these two stories have languished, incomplete, for more than a year, and I think it's long past time to finally put them to bed.
Look for Annie Girl to post mid Feb and the first chapters of The Facility to post sometime in late Feb or early March.
Until next time.
Some insights into the writing process.
After completing Part III, I set to work immediately on Part IV and banged out 28,000 words in 8 days. Then I had to take a break for while. The story is starting to delve into realms that are a lot darker and heavier, both emotionally and thematically, then I'm used to. I typically write frivolous stories. Fun little escapist comedies.
Arrow has become the most serious story I've written in years, and the second half is going to be quite emotionally taxing for me, I can already tell. I don't particularly enjoy writing about death and suffering and misery and sexual assault, and all the other nastiness that comes along with post-apoc stories.
It sucks for the writer, because for ever hour of reading you do, I've done 8-10 hours of research, writing, and editing. So I've spent 8X to 10X the amount of time considering all of these horrible topics and scenarios. But it's necessary, because the story just won't have the realism and emotional heft I'm looking for without it. In order for the story to properly resonate, people need to get hurt, and people need to die.
After a while, though, all of that starts to take its toll. So I needed to unplug for a while, and that's what I did. I took several days off just to think about other things. Nice things. Fun things. Sexy things.
I started writing again last week, but I didn't go back to Arrow right away. I still needed space to clear my head, so I started combing through the SOL archives, in search of works that appeal to my particular tastes. Then I was daydreaming about a story concept and started searching for it. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that no one had ever published a story on SOL about a fat camp for teenage girls.
I immediately sat down and, for the next 7 days, wrote the first 17,000 words of a fun little escapist story about exactly that. A fat camp for teenage girls titled, appropriately enough, Fat Camp.
Fat Camp was really just a palate cleanser. A little vacation for my mind. Something frivolous to have fun with. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, and it doesn't really matter. It did its job. I wrote a totally fucked up yet humorous story about a scum bag who runs a fat camp and takes advantage of chubby little teenage girls, and suddenly I was happy again.
After that, I reread the first three parts of Arrow, and now that I've given it a little distance and had time to reflect, I remembered how much I've loved writing this fucking story. Oh my god, I love it so much. So now, I'm finally ready to get back to it.
I'm not sure when I'll start posting Part IV because, unlike the first half, I want to get waaay out ahead before I start publishing. Since I'm writing the conclusion of an epic-length novel, I need to make sure I leave myself plenty of room to maneuver, in case I need to go back and rewrite something. Maybe add a new twist, or make a revision to a plot line.
My number one goal is to leave all of you with the most satisfying conclusion possible.
I figure a 50-60k word head start should be sufficient, so maybe in another week or two, I should have something ready for you. Thanks to all of you for your patience. Of course, there's no shortage of content on SOL to keep you occupied in the meantime.
Speaking of which...if you read something on SOL that you enjoy, please take a moment to rate the story, and consider leaving a comment, or dropping the author a little note to tell her or him how much you liked it. You'll never know how much we appreciate that. It keeps us motivated to write more, for you.
Love, peace, and chicken grease. Y'all have a wonderful night.
Greetings folks.
First of all, the Staff Sergeant asked me to pass along a belated happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there, retired, active, or otherwise, reading her story. Hope you're all enjoying a pleasant weekend with family and friends.
The final two chapters of The Arrow of Asterius Part III have been posted. We've reached the midway point in our little tale of the Scirewood society, with many more trials, tribulations, and sexy times in store for Mike and the gang.
I'm at a crossroads, and contemplating a decision. The first three parts comprise a complete story, with hooks set for a sequel. I could end here with Book 1, and begin a new, second book. Or, I could simply continue the story with Part IV Chapter 49. What to do?
I know there are some who refuse to read a story before it concludes, so there may be some of you out there waiting for Arrow to finish, and that little yellow "in progress" tag to disappear. Others refuse to rate a story until it's complete. So, this question is for you, I guess.
Perhaps it doesn't matter either way, but it sure would feel good to finish something. At nearly 240k words, it's certainly long enough to be its own book. Plus, I have two other in progress stories still waiting to conclude. Ugh, decisions, decisions.
Either way, it's going to be a little while before I post again. I want to get several chapters ahead, so maybe next weekend at the soonest. In the meantime, please enjoy the first three parts, and message me with any typos, grammatical issues, and other errors or omissions you discover, for I am certain there are many.
To the 1,300 or so folks regularly reading this story, thank you for sticking with me so far. There's a lot more to come, so grab your coffee and enjoy the ride. Cheers!
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