Free Is Ideal

After giving my opinion on recent political events, I’ve toned it back down to covering my process in writing novels once more.

There is a lot of backend work that goes into creating books, such as planning the series and which covers to reveal ahead of time.

Now that I’m not tying my releases to release dates, I feel I have more freedom to write how and when I want.

My books will come out when the quality threshold has been reached, when they are satisfactory to me.

The next novel I’m releasing is Crown of the Orphic Queen. My plan is to launch it around Valentine’s Day week for a specific reason that makes sense for the story being told.

I’ve increased the character ages to college-aged men and women, seeing as the old story paradigm had them as seniors in high school, and I don’t want an It situation in my books. I’ll die before I have a situation like that novel in my body of work.

You know what I’m talking about if you’ve read the novel. No disrespect to Stephen King, who is a brilliant writer. I may not agree with his political takes most times, but damn, can that guy write a story.

I still have internal deadlines I want to hit—meaning I have some discipline worked into my freedom.

I recently reread Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami on the process parts of the, well, process.

He advocates that writing is the most freeing form of the arts, not that he considers novelists as artists in the traditional sense of the term.

After learning most successful indie authors don’t launch with specific dates and just release their books when they’re ready-to-go, I’m feeling free.

Free.

I hope we all feel free in the effort we decide to undertake.

I’ll be releasing around six novels this year, ranging from 60,000 words to 150,000 words.

Two Orchestrylus Odyssey books, as well as standalone books.

The Noted Colors of Silver Wings picks up where The Voided Promises of Noble Songs leaves off, concluding the Treblesong Arc of my epic-fantasy series.

This series is going to be massive when it’s all done. Multiple branching B-plots, different casts that diverge from Stanzielle, Violeste, Tenoria, Lutee, and Timbre—and even books that expand the lore so much I must include an in-universe dictionary.

The Euphonious Phoenixes will take the leading role of lore in this next novel, bridging the supernatural aspects of the world of Orchestrylus with the normalcy of the party.

Some of the factions introduced in the next two books will be featured in many upcoming books—to help build the world and make it feel alive.

Political machinations of empires and kingdoms, city dynamics, the science of the world, the School of Reasoning, and the Ensemble’s deeper secrets.

But I think the operative word for all my books is freedom.

I want that flexibility to make a story worth remembering in the time I need to take it to the next level.

I’ve been political because of the way the world is lately, but I’m going to find my groove back in the swing of writing and faith.

I hope politics hasn’t turned people away, but I feel some things must be said, otherwise I’m not shining the light I’m called to shine for others.

It won’t be my default setting.

Haha, I didn’t start a fourth sentence with the word I, just the letter.

I’m looking forward to releasing my next stories and hope people find them fun and full-of-depth.

Happy writing!