A lot has changed over the last few months. My writing journey has never been a straight line from start to finish, but the challenges this year have certainly been a bit more than I expected. I’ll get into all that and more in the writing update below!
Writing Update
Greystone
Secret of the Stone, Greystone Book Nine, is drafted! This was a tough nut to crack, I’m not going to lie. I knew where the story was headed, where all my players were positioned, and the stories they were set to tell but, holy hell, did it take a bit to get there.
I think it’s a solid start, but nowhere near where I want to be when all is said and done. Secret of the Stone is the penultimate chapter in the entire Greystone Saga, so you know it’s going to be huge in scope. Things go boom in a big way with this book.
I was hoping to be hip-deep into the editing phase by now. Life has thrown me a few curveballs of late. I’m going to shut myself away for January and February to make this bad boy sing the way I want. It’s all there on the page. It just needs some TLC to make it shine.
Coventry
Two new Christmas adventures are heading your way starting on December 12th! It’s the Twelve Days of Coventry, leading up to the big holiday where both stories will drop in full for those not wanting to read the stories chapter by chapter.
It’s been fun revisiting these adventures. (I wrote them in May and June.) So much so that I’ve scripted another tale! Hope’s Flame will be one of two adventures coming your way NEXT December.
Why am I putting these tales out like this?
A couple of reasons.
1. I want to reward the readers who have stuck with me and who have followed the Patreon page to support my writing. Who doesn’t love a freebie, right?
2. These stories are actually helping me flesh out the world of Coventry. By the time I’m ready to dive into the main series and the five books I have planned, everyone and everything feel more lived in.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I wish I could write them all right now. But I’m patient. I am. Sorta. Hope you will be too. It’s going to be a fun series to put together.
The Challenges
Has anyone else noticed that this year has been a massive pain in the ass? No? It’s just me? Great…
I went into this fall season excited about my writing slate. I love what I do, so actually having a few hours every day to do it is immensely satisfying. Those hours have not been present as much as I was hoping. I’m still feeling my way through this new dynamic, but I have to say it has been a frustrating experience, to say the least.
Now, there have been ridiculous circumstances in some cases. My website has been a chief culprit in stealing time away from the writing. The new site being up and running has been a true blessing.
Sick kids. Days off. Holidays. They all seem to crop up weekly. Part of the issue is me. I’m trying to do more than I can. It’s showing. So, 2026 has to be the year I figure this all out. Every project. Every aspiration. Every convention. All has to be factored in and planned better, so that there will always be time to write. Because if I’m not doing that, what the hell am I doing here, right?
What does this mean for you? A couple of delays, but nothing major. I was hoping to launch Greystone 9 in June. It will be out in August. Greystone 10 was supposed to drop next November. That’s the heartbreaker. I’m pushing it back to the start of 2027 to give myself more time with it. Not the largest of delays, but anything feels like a failure to me.
Good thing the book will be amazing to make up for my shortcomings.
I’ll be nailing down dates for these and for the start of DSA Season Three in January.