We’ve got just under two weeks until the 8th Jessica Keller novel is available in ebook. (I think you can order the paper right now.)
By now, hopefully most of you have read the CS-405 trilogy that takes place right after the end of St. Legier, when CS-405 has a jumpsail failure. Those three novels run parallel to the first half of Winterhome and then drop you in as Admiral Tom Provst is getting ready to step into the war at Jessica’s right hand.
Additionally, the ninth and final Jessica Keller novel is in the hands of Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) being read for the December release where I get to wrap up Jessica’s story. (At least for now. I left it wide open at the end on purpose, in case I get the bug to come back and add more, but this ends on a good note IMHO.)
Petron is the ninth title. At least until someone tells me they have a better idea. Coming December 10, 2019 everywhere you buy books.
I’ll probably also hold a lottery or raffle for folks in my newsletter list to get themselves a copy early enough that they can lord it over everyone else, like Dorn’s already been doing. (He read it before anyone, due to the nature of scheduling conflicts. His Shire was thoroughly harrowed as a result. Heh)
With the above in mind, make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter so you see the invite to participate when it comes. I won’t post it here or anywhere else on social media, as a way of thanking my loyal fans for all the support over the last couple of years as I told Jessica’s story. And everyone else’s.
It’s always an interesting feeling to bring something this huge to a resting point. I have more Science Officer stories in the can, beyond #8, but I had that same moment of relief when I finished Hammerfield Payoff. And Javier will return for more adventures, once I finish off some of the current projects and can circle back.
But with Jessica, I’m not sure where I’d go that would be interesting. Her story covered more than thirteen years of her life, as she went from amazing to legendary. At the same time, all the Epilogues set me up to spin off several other series if I wanted to, following folks that will surprise some of you and entice others.
But I need a break from Jessica. And her team. Handsome Rob doesn’t count, even though his timeline is roughly equivalent to Flight of the Blackbird and The Red Admiral. Javier and Henri are two that I need to get back to, but I’ve been finishing off the Star Dragon novels (June – September, with audio on drop), followed by the Longshot novels. (Oct – April, with a break for Petron in the middle).
I also have three, completely independent Novel Ones in three new universes, that I’ve been writing in between the major projects, mostly as a palette cleanser. Pretty soon, I’ll look at them and start writing Books Two for various things. Those are likely to just start coming out as supplements to regular titles on the tenths of various months, because I’m still writing around two novels per month, plus short fiction and other projects.
There’s also a patreon out there, where you can get exclusive, early peeks at some of the short fiction that I’ve been writing in my spare time. Did the math yesterday and I have nearly twenty of those that none of you have read, in about five new short story universes and various genres, beyond simple Science Fiction. They won’t be on the publishing calendar until sometime in 2020. If you would like to support me as I experiment with new forms and formats, that’s the place.
For Example: my long-suffering assistant Ollie was complaining that he doesn’t get nearly enough love, so I started a new space adventure series, putting him in command of an old Cargo Carrier named Boundary Shock. (He giggles every time I bring that joke up.) One of my projects soon is to teach myself how to write comic book scripts, and then take the Ollie & Rufus stories and transform them, with an eye to eventually hiring a team of lunatics to make me some comic books I could sell with his face on them.
We’re also shortly available in GERMAN! The Science Officer books will slowly be translated into German over the next few years so I can expand my audience base that way. (Also working with some friends on getting a few shorts into Arabic, just because this is the future and I can.) Links when I know for sure what they are.
AUDIO!!! heh. We are relaunching Awaken the Star Dragon as Birth of the Star Dragon (#1) in June, as well as dropping #2: Flight of the Star Dragon at the same time. Both will have audio on day one, as will each of the rest when they come out: Call of the Star Dragon (#3, July), Shadow of the Star Dragon (#4, August), and Trial of the Star Dragon (#5, September).
Tell all your audiobook friends. (Or fiends, whatever typo works)
Going to be a busy summer. Hope all of you are staying well hydrated and tanned.
Let me know what news you’d like to hear in the future, beyond just my regular rambling.
b
West of the Mountains, WA