The next Firefly chapter is well on the way, but even at 8300 words written is not coming quickly. The last three chapters, I found, pretty much wrote themselves as I was doing scenes I'd envisioned for a while. This time? I'm trying to thread a very difficult plot needle and so far I haven't succeeded, either according to myself or the one prereader who has looked at it. Without giving away the game, this has turned into a Fell Flight-centric chapter that's trying to set something up;

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But it needs to be perfect before I hit the publish button. Reaction to the previous chapter has made very clear I have to absolutely nail this next one to validate it and address some of the concerns people have raised. Current plans are to release tomorrow, Monday the 24th, which is Memorial Day--a time to recognize fallen soldiers as well as officially kick off the summer cookout season--here in the USA. Memorial Day should be a fitting day for a new Firefly chapter release.

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After a work-enforced two weeks away from writing, I’m finally on a weeklong vacation, and the result has been rapid progress on the next Firefly chapter, now at 6500 words and growing quickly. Though I’m uncertain of its final length, there’s a very good chance you’re going to see it launched on or before the weekend. Prereaders, stand by.

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Tentatively titled “Spoiling Strike”, it’s been very well-received by prereaders to this point, but I’m having a horrible time with the second combat section involving Kaval/Gaius, and if’s not finished to satisfaction by September 1st, I’ll release the chapter without it.

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Tentatively titled Answers, it's coming quickly now, and will likely release well before September 1st. Which is fine, because that means the second chapter can be reserved for the anniversary of the story's launch. Expect no combat in this chapter but its aftermath, and a tearjerker scene or two including another harmony-fueled song inspired by a certain famous fantasy series.

A teaser was promised. And so it is delivered:

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Target release date is Sunday, September 30th. What to expect? No major battles this time, as I think we need a break from them, but we'll get into the aftermath of the raids, including the gryphon search for the mole at Raptor, a parley at Epsilon, a check-in with Royal Navy Battle Group Four, another meeting with Sky Sentry, and... a song.

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As Silverblade5 pointed out, the duel between Gavian and Thunderbolt lasted considerably longer than five minutes. And though it's tempting to say that this simply happened on DBZ time, using their definition of five minutes (where it lasts eight episodes), I won't.

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Even after I'd been doubting I could finish the new Firefly chapter and asked others for help, it turned out I didn't need it--it wasn’t easy as the tactics and battle progression were still giving me fits, but I felt my way forward and finally found the path, grinding through the remaining 3000 words of the new chapter yesterday to complete the initial draft, to good reviews along with some suggestions for enhancements and elaborations from my prereaders.

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Currently 4300 words down. Will be putting on a big push to get it done this weekend, though it's unlikely to release before next week. But since you've been so patient, here's a teaser:

News that we were planning a counterstrike was an instant morale boost to my beleaguered troops.

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Or maybe it was food poisoning; take your pick as the result was the same ()--I'm resuming work on Firefly, with work being done on not one but two chapters. The release of the last one was a roaring success and easily the most popular chapter yet, judging by the number and content of the comments. I'd like to thank everyone who dropped a comment, and welcome new readers to the story as well. Interestingly, the story did NOT feature upon launch of the latest chapter, but

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In the end, I decided to break it up, both because of its growing length and because the lengthy opening section deserved its own chapter. On the one hoof, that means you won’t get the battle right away, on the other, it means you get a new chapter quickly, with some surprising content. Be looking for it later today or tomorrow.

With a major denouement planned, this is going to be a big one; maybe reaching 14k words or more before all is said and done. I've still got a lot of writing to do, and I'd rather not break it up into two chapters if I can at all help it. Only reason I would is if it reaches 16k words, which is kind of my unofficial limit on a single chapter.

A teaser? Sure, a brief one. I promised there would be a new perspective on this war, and I'll reveal it here:

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Prologue plus four full chapters are ready as well as two bonus chapters containing the Gryphon War Declaration and Celestia’s War Proclamation. I’ve also started work on the battle and campaign maps, which are admittedly in a pretty rough state right now. Remaining is a single bonus chapter to be posted at the end of the original Rise of Firefly detailing Equestrian and Gryphon rank structure, song selections, and the completion the battle and campaign maps followed by their

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Tentatively titled Into the Storm: The Flight of Firefly, This is the story of the first half of the Pony/Gryphon War, and it opens with a bang. Here’s a preview of the prologue:

Of all the ways I thought war with the Gryphons might begin, ‘twas not with an ambush or surprise attack.

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I'm sorry for the delay, but I had one of my worst bouts of writers' block in recent history over the third chapter of the Cloudsdale battle, unable to figure out how it was going to work--how civilians and retired veterans away from the weather factory could or would successfully fight back against the Knights and Ravens. But being down with the flu for the past few days was good for one thing; it gave me plenty of down time to think about it and I'm pleased to say I finally broke through and

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Though I find I’ve hit a bit of block and ended up deleting an entire multi-paragraph sequence last night when I didn’t like what I wrote. Let’s just say for now I’ve been presented with a slightly thorny tactical issue I’m still trying to solve, bugging me to the point I ended up dreaming about it last night. The dream even suggested a solution (involving Gavian!), though I’m not sure it’s one I can use. I’ll discuss it with prereaders later.

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The climactic Battle of Epsilon chapter is draft complete and currently tipping the scales at a whopping 15,194 words. Musical selections are also made--expect some very heavy metal from a particularly appropriate album courtesy of AJ_Aficionado!--and it's now awaiting prereader passes. After due consideration, it is not going to be broken up into two parts. It's a big chapter because it needs to be in order to tell the full story of The Battle Beneath the Storm.

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Tentatively titled “Storm Warning”, I'd hoped to have the new chapter draft complete by now, but it's not. It's about 2/3rds done, standing at around 6300 words currently. I've got the start, the ending, and the first of the middle sections more or less written, but two other sections remain. And then I have to make some graphics. Be advised, it's going to be a big chapter; probably 10k or more words.

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It's coming, but slower than I would like. The chapter currently stands north of 13.3k words and is going to be released no later than Thursday morning even if I have to break it in two--which I really don't want to do. What's holding this one is up my busy work schedule and many little scenes and battles that have to be included; they require a lot of thought and careful planning. This one is going to set a record for number of different perspectives; each one is both essential and must

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As I've been working on Nightmare Night lately and will continue to do so for at least a couple more chapters--I have momentum and a desire to keep working on it at this point since it's near its climax--I haven't put in much work on Firefly lately. There is, however, news on it. The VA work for Firefly continues, and several pieces of artwork/advertising are on the way. More guest chapters are coming, and I have made one minor but important retcon to an earlier chapter:

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