Whoa! Everything's Different! (UPDATED) · 6:43pm Oct 22nd, 2014
Whoa! It's like coming back to your house after a vacation and finding that someone has reorganized the reading room. Not the living room or the kitchen so much, but mostly the reading room.
Of course, I'll probably find the same once I get back home officially. Right now I'm back from the fishing trip but not back from Alaska yet. In fact, yesterday was the last day of post-trip boat work. Also, the swelling in my my hands has yet to go down all the way yet, which is how I gauge my "this is done" meter. Don't worry if you're curious, this year I took a picture of my hands in their swollen state. They're about three-quarters of the way back to normal at the moment (making typing this a bit like flexing a, tight, sore muscle after a workout, like stretching a stiff, cold, rubber-band), but once they've reached normal size and feel normal again I'll take a second picture and put up a comparison.
Also, there probably won't be a writers guide post this Monday. I'm not 100% sure on that, however. It sort of depends on how my trip back goes, how much immediate work I have to do upon returning before I get back to work, and what my mental state is when I do return. Getting back into the swing of things after a month of not writing and working 18 hours a day always takes a day or two.
Like I said, we'll see. I don't want to put it off any longer than necessary, but I want it to be useful.
So, that said, how about this FimFiction update!? I think it's great. At least, the mobile side of it. Mobile functionality is now a real thing, so I don't have to resort to OS tricks to get functions of the page to work anymore. And I've liked the idea of the bookshelf system since I first heard of it. I'm not sure how this will change up my usual habit of thanking everyone who faves my works? More to think about. Plus, now I need to organize my own system. Still, nice to see the mass flood of Dusk Guard stories onto shelves labeled "10/10" or "Must Reads of FImFiction."
Okay, okay, okay, so writing news. I promised brainstorming while I was gone, and you guys are getting it. First up, some news some of you may not welcome. Colony probably won't release this year. I know, I'm disappointed myself, in myself. There will be a longer post on what's gone wrong with it, but the truth is that it's going to need some draft work. More than usual.
And I know why. I tried a few new things with Colony, and unfortunately, some of them didn't work. I've learned a few lessons from it as a result (and that'll be a writing post, I guarantee it), lessons I won't forget easy.
Don't read this wrong, Colony isn't getting scrapped, like the first draft of The Phoenix. It's simply going to take some work. I'll send it out to some Alpha Readers as soon as it's done and start collecting feedback on where it falls flat and where it works.
While that happens, I move my next writing project into full attention. "The Dusk Guard: Beyond the Borderlands" is getting my full attention as soon as Colony's first draft is out. And, thankfully, it has not suffered the experimentation I did with Colony. My goal is to get the whole thing done in a month. 4-5K words a day, 5-6 days a week. Month and a half maybe? We'll see. But I'm excited to finally, finally get the next bit of the Dusk Guard out and ready. Then I can start sweating on "Hunter/Hunted."
And while I'm working on "Beyond," I'll spend a day or two getting Hunter and Dawn's side stories published on FimFic at last. I promise. Look for those very soon. They're both done, they just need editing work and covers.
Anyway, and past "Beyond?" 
I've got my next project.
My next book will be titled Shadow of an Empire, and I'm excited to start work on it. A western fantasy—by which I mean Wild West, with outlaws and guns, not Western World—set in a shattered world where The Empire reigns supreme. Those who choose to live in the next to lawless outskirts of its territory are fast with a gun and quick with their magic, but always mindful that no matter how far away it may seem, the Empire's shadow has a long reach. Magic, six shooters, good, and evil; they're all going to collide! I'm still working out a few details (wait until you see THIS magic system, it's RAD!) but I can tell you this for certain: this one is going to be a blast. Plus, like "Rise" and "Beyond," I'm not trying anything new as far as writing techniques go, so it should be a straight start to straight finish project.
Anyway, it's good to be back on land and on the grid!
UPDATE: Oh, and next week is Halloween! And I've got something coming for that! Keep an eye on this space!
Woo! Those stories sound good. Also, lucky you are checking in now. Apparently the mobile features were kind of a rough ride right after the update happened.
Welcome back!
Yeah, the notifications were kind of nuts for a while, there. They've died down considerably recently, though.
2549672
Thanks! Shadow of an Empire has me excited. Very excited. In fact, I don't think I've been this excited about a writing project since "Rise." Excitement is good!
2549681
I had a chance to check in via my phone while we were refueling and had, after a week of being away, 400+ feed notifications and 50-60 direct notifications! I kind of boggled and did my best to sort through them on my five-inch screen, but it wasn't easy! Still probably missed a few comments and whatnot.
On the flipside, the new stat-tracking! I love it! Now I can easily see where my fics are sitting (in a very high place, awesomely enough)!
Magic and six-shooters? Sounds awesome.
I still haven't made myself actually start sorting things into different bookshelves.
For those of us who can't remember, what story is Colony?
Edit: Could you give a refresher of all your stories. I think I am confusing some of them for others. And getting an overview would be better than confusing myself further, or asking about them one at a time.
2550134
Colony is the sci-fi story I was working on about a corporate investigator, a mercenary, and a hacker in a slightly dystopian future who are hired to track down a computer programmer who left for one of Earth's colony worlds. It's one of the works that's going for full publishing.
Now, as for the others...
Published/To Be Published Works:
One Drink: An urban fantasy/Detective Noir novella. Jacob Rocke, a professional paranormal investigator or "Spook," is hired by a woman to discover why a ghostly wolf is attacking her family. 4.5 stars on Amazon!
Dead Silver: An urban fantasy/Detective Noir novel. Hawke Decroux, Rocke's associate from One Drink, takes center stage in a new mystery centered on a small New Mexico town. When he takes a vacation to help Rocke track down a chupacabra, things rapidly spiral out of control. The first problem? Rocke has gone missing.
The Phoenix: Unpublished, still in first draft stage. A story centering around a man known as "The Phoenix," who cannot die, at least, not permanently, and his dealings with the foundation, formation, and falling out of the Ghouls, an Unusual mob.
Colony: Unpuiblished, still being written. See above.
Shadow of an Empire: In preliminary phase. Fantasy Western.
Forthcoming Fanfics:
Hunter's Side Story (written)
Dawn Triage's Side Story (written)
The Dusk Guard Book II: Beyond the Borderlands (In progress)
The Dusk Guard Book III: Hunter/Hunted (Preliminary)
2550427 Thank you very much.
2550427 2550430 indeed.
happy to see ur back! at least partially. and ur books sound fascinating! it sucks that i can't buy them
but at least i get the dusk guard saga in full. 
anyways, happy reading! (and writing)
2550427
Thanks! I thought that Hunter/Hunted was the name of Hunter's side story, but now I know that it's the the third Dusk Guard story. Happy to see you back!
Welcome back!