Writing the series continues…

While waiting for readers to show up…I’ve still got a lot of writing to do.

The third book is based on material that’s not so much older than the first one. It was more developed, but it lacked the shape I needed to write the actual book.

For me, a story isn’t just about what happens but how it’s told. I realize that this gets me into all kinds of trouble, since much of written sci-fi, much less space opera, is chiefly concerned with just the story. Style doesn’t have much to do with it. When I wrote Seven Thunders, I approached the prologue as introduction, and that certainly didn’t get me much interest from publishers. This kind of thing is supposed to hinge on action, on a compelling narrative hook. It’s also just not what I’m interested in writing. I read a lot more literary fiction than anything else. It tends to color how I write. There’s also a strong influence from comic books rich in captions, admittedly.

When I tackled Collider I decided it would be incongruous to approach it very differently than I had Seven Thunders.  Initially that meant a comparable prologue. Eventually it took the form of most chapters written as if they were college essays. Again, not much how the typical reader is expecting to find such storytelling.

With Lady of the Horde, I eventually realized I needed to lean into that title, and figure out how. Context is everything, for me. Some of this is also integrating the Ring Around the World, the artificial ring around Earth that’s featured on the cover of Collider (and intended for subsequent volumes). The Ring didn’t exist until I wrote Seven Thunders, but I’ve since found it indispensable to my conception of the Danab Cycle as it is for most of the early series. So I had to figure out how the eponymous Lady relates her tale, and what it has to do with the Ring, which is what I’ve been doing, which brings me as close as I’ve ever been to writing it, which should happen during the course of 2026.

Which will put me three books deep. If Collider finds a readership, that will certainly give the whole thing a decent sense of momentum.