Just another manic Monday... · 8:35pm March 11th
Wish it were Sunday. That’s my fun day.
Now before I get accused of copyright infringement, I just wanted to give an update on both in-progress chapters for Midnight Rising and Feathered Hearts: Continuation and Chronicles. Currently, they’re each sitting at either side of 6,000 words. I got some work done on them this weekend, but not as much as I had hoped as cleaning and other chores took precedence. Nevertheless, I’m aiming to have at least one of them done and off to prereaders by the end of this week.
The new C&C chapter is developing nicely thus far, and I’ll try to have a teaser out later this week. It’ll consist of three or four separate scenes/sections that will include a (hopefully) inspiring speech by Cipio and others to the citizens of Aricia, a surprise promotion, and Gilda starting to forge an effective combat unit out of her mixed soldiers, both old and new. But the centerpiece of the chapter will be the promised Council of War where Gilda—and readers—will learn about the overall situation the Kingdom faces.
In other words, you’re going to learn where and when the Cloven hit, where they are and what they’re doing now, and at least get some sense of how Earth and the rest of the Tellus is reacting to the threat. Can’t tell you everything there because the Kingdom doesn’t have full communications with the rest of the world right now, but I’ll try to give at least a hint or two of things to come.
Expect the chapter to move at a brisk pace, as I fully realize readers are ready for more action, and not the M-rated kind (of which there will be none). Downtime is done, so it’s back to business aside from a brief aside here and there. I’ll also be setting up future fighting using large chunks of text borrowed from DEL’s Feathered Heart chapter 10. That’ll actually be the first time in a while I’ve gone back to the original work. I can’t use it verbatim because it doesn’t fit my story any longer, but it shouldn’t take much modification to make sense in C&C’s context.
Oh, yes. And one other thing I’ll take pains to include, likely at the end: Finally picking up the loose plot thread regarding Starlight Glimmer’s earlier text to Chris. That will actually be crucial to developments later on in the story.
As for Midnight Rising, it’s coming along as well—pun possibly intended. This will finally be an instance where I can borrow heavily from the old version of the story, since I think that the original wasn’t bad at all. The main additions will be a) a new method of Midnight for dealing with Lemon Zest, and b) all the byplay around it, both in terms of asides by Sunset’s friends as comments on the doc as well as catching readers back up with the extracurricular action on the CHS side of the portals.
I still think it’s going to be a two-parter, as I have to spend a good chunk of the first part catching readers up who may not have followed the griffon arc, but I’ll try to include extra interest for those who did by introducing our two favorite principals to the peanut gallery.
Still aiming and on track to get these two chapters finished by month’s end. As always, we’ll see how well I do in keeping that schedule. I will release teasers for both stories in due course, including at least one later this week. Until then, take care.
Magnificent news, can we maybe get some Cloven inside knowledge on how they think? Or would that take away from the mystery?
I actually imagen them to be like the Hostile Eaters A.I. race or Starcraft Zerg.
Really looking forward to more C&C and hearing from Cipio now that he is no longer a jerk.