Argon: Blog

This morning I posted Chapter 14 of DoN. Chapters 15 and 16 returned from editing and will undergo final preparation over the weekend. They will be posted together since #16 is rather short. That will finish the story.

I have no clue which of my ongoing projects will be finished next. My money is on The Story of Will Potter, another naval yarn, but from the viewpoint of a young man who volunteers for the Navy to avoid flogging and possibly prison. No knighthoods for that young man, but rather a landsman's rating in a tiny sloop headed for New South Wales.

Another possibility will be Hot Chocolate, a story in my Knights and Commoners universe, about a young merchant whose most popular merchandise are cocoa beans from New Spain.

Ricky Rover, often referenced and featured briefly in SRK, will also have his story told at one point.

Have fun with the final chapters of DoN!

The final two chapters of Double or Nothing will be delayed. I sent off chapter 14 yesterday evening for editing, and chapter 15, the final chapter has not been written yet. Therefore, for the time being, no new chapters will come forth. Sorry.

This is in fact the first time since I finished Ellen that I started posting an unfinished story, and this delay is one of the primary drawbacks of the approach.

Yet, the strategy has its advantages, too. For instance, I was able to react to readers' ideas and suggestions (see Chapter 13). I was also able to maintain my focus on the story much better without the distraction of another four stories in various stages of development.

To those, who wait for the last chapters of DoN, my apologies. I shall finish it as fast as I can, but I don't want to neglect research and quality over rushing out chapters. Good editing and finalising also takes time, so please, be patient!

Added: Thank you for the understanding!

This is a premiere for me. I took a story off this site. All About Gisele is gone, from SOL and hopefully from the collective memory of my readers. It is bad. It is cheesy. It is constructed. It represents what I dislike in other people's stories. I hung on to it all these years out of nostalgia. After all, for a day after its posting, it had held a perfect score of 10, back when scores were inflated, in May, 2006. Yet, when I looked it up again after years of ignoring it, I positively cringed.
Do not worry (or get hopeful?) - I shan't pull any other stories. I like the remaining ones.

Dear all,
I will change the posting schedule of Double or Nothing slightly from twice weekly, to every three days. Chapter 3 is already in the posting queue, and Chapter 4 will be out on Tuesday.
Have a good weekend and stay healthy!

Dear readers, thank you for the kind reception of Thomas Grey and the Year Without Summer. Also thank you for the numerous heads-ups regarding the glitches that slipped through, and a great, big Thanks to Old Rotorhead, my editor!
Today, I posted the 1st chapter of my next story, Double or Nothing, another entry into the Anthony Carter Universe. Readers will find themselves reunited with a number of characters from my earlier stories such as In The Navy, Ellen, and His Lucky Charm, the latter sharing the setting in the mid to late 1850s.
Although the subject matter of the first chapters does not really fit the Happy Easter mood set, I decided to get started with the posting whilst the last chapters (11-12) are still in the draft stage. Postings will be twice weekly.
I hope that you will not be turned off by the sombre mood of the first chapters, but the events described therein are the catalyst for the MC's return to a happy life.
Summary
When Captain Sir Charles Tolliver learns of his only, estranged son's death in the Crimean War, he has to take in his daughter-in-law, Suzanne and her daughter Alice, whom he had never seen before. Through the years of mourning, the strangers grow to respect and like each other, but it takes the sudden reappearance of Suzanne's long lost twin sister Paulina for Charles Tolliver to embrace life again.