News Post! · 9:52pm Jul 25th, 2019
Okay guys, it’s time for a news post! Your update on all things Max Florschutz! Regarding writing-related things, anyway.
Okay, first up, the elephant in the room. Or should I say, in the Jungle? Yeah, it’s time we talk about how the Jungle Alpha is coming along.
Quite well, actually. Currently half of the Alpha Readers have already finished it, and I’m on track to move it into Beta in August. Which means … still on track for that early fall release. Unless something wild comes up. There’s still a chance that there could be a wildcard out there somewhere.
But the Alpha has also said good things for Jungle so far. The other day I had the pleasure of waking up to an e-mail in my inbox that basically said ‘AAAAAAHHH! I just hit X plot point and I’m freaking out!’
Obviously that’s not what they said exactly. For starters, the “AAHHH!” was a lot bigger and longer. And the rest of the message would involve major spoilers that you’re just going to have to read to find out.
With the Alpha moving along to, I can also give you guys a much more concrete word count. Even though there is going to be some more trimming here and there, it’s not a large amount. Which means that moving into Beta, Jungle is likely going to be around 450,000 words.
For the record, Colony was 334,000 words. Jungle is a third again as long as Colony. Conversely, Colony is 3/4 the length of Jungle.
How does this stack up against other popular books? Well, Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings was around 387,000 words. The Lord of the Rings (all three books) was about 473,000. A Game of Thrones was 298,000 words.
Yeah, Jungle is thick. But packed. Seriously, this is one ride you’re not going to want to miss.
Speaking of which, while Colony isn’t as long as Jungle is, it’s still a behemoth. Which means if you were waiting for Jungle to get close to pick up Colony and finally start the adventure, now would be a good time to get started! You can grab it here!
Now, on to more news!
I'm pretty sure I know who sent you that email. Also, it was likely a flurry of emails, because you never did believe in dropping just one narrative bomb when a fusillade would do.
Axtara: Banking and Finance sounds like exactly the sort of thing I would love. Or at least the subject matter is, what with dragon finance and finding your place in the world. Is that planned as a stand-alone, or as part of your next "short" story collection?
I have really strong suspicions as to the general identity of the titular freelance fireteam. That's all I'll say on that.
Sad to hear that Twitter isn't what it used to be. Surprised to hear that you heard from that one Twitter follower who exists. I'll have to remember to look for other options for advertising if me and my buddy ever get that podcast off the ground.
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Well, I see it as less me dropping a whole fusillade of reveals and more giving the reader the single clue that tips them over from "hmmm" to "I see." To unlock and understand everything that's happened up to that point. Okay, maybe not one clue, but only a few. Those clues then have the reader looking back and going "Oh, now when I look at that ... Oh no! And that? Oh that makes sense now. And it's bad. So bad."
Etc etc. Like the bit with Grady. The first big clue you didn't even see as one (I don't think anyone has so far). Then you get that later key, and you went "Wait, does that mean ...?" and you discovered yes it does. The key tipped you off to the clue.
Axtara will be stand-alone. It's currently at 27,000 words and a third of the way through, though, so maybe novelette/novel?
As far as Fireteam Freelance ... Bwahahaha!