So, I’ve had a project going for a while, now. I haven’t spoken much about it and I couldn’t really even explain why until now. Neither of these two situations is a revolutionary, awesome and surprising factoid.
If you follow me at all, you know 2023 is the year of Mage Breaker. It releases in November (preorder in August) and it’s a book I’ve been sitting on for probably four or five years. It began as a side project while I was writing Descent Into Madness and continued to be a tasty diversion during Ascent Into Light.
Once I thrust AiL out into the world, all shiny and new, I worked full-time on Mage Breaker but, once, done, I decided to sit on it and query agents. A year and a half later, Mage Breaker found a home with Creative James Media, and I’ve been working on making it shinier than before.
So what does this have to do with my “super secret project”? Everything! You see, I found it silly to announce a sequel to a book that hadn’t been published yet.
Yes, a sequel. But Mage Breaker still hasn’t been published yet, you probably know. While this is true, I often break my own rules, which is what I’ve done this time.
I didn’t set out to write Mage Breaker as a series. I planned on a “one and done and let’s write something else” book. My publisher, however, asked me if there was more. Preposterous!
The truth was, yeah, there was more. I’d already written several chapters of the next book, but not for reasons you’d expect. You see, I simply wanted to see how later events would play out for my own satisfaction. Mage Breaker concludes as a one and done. You can read it and never pick up the sequel and be super happy. Likewise, you can skip the first and read the sequel and understand everything. I’ve written them specifically this way.
But I needed to know. I wrapped everything up nicely in Mage Breaker, but my brain wouldn’t let me stop. Somehow, it knew there was more story to tell and, in fact, there is! Only, I really don’t even know where it’s headed. I’m a pantser, but I usually have major events and the end already in mind when I write.
Not this time. Stuff is happening with little to no thought and, honestly, I’m thoroughly enjoying the journey.
Anyway, TL;DR: There’s a Mage Breaker sequel being written that I hope to have in front of my publisher this summer.
So, if you read Mage Breaker and want more of Ellyne and Nicole’s adventures, you’ll want to keep an eye out for Mage Breaker: Eight Bullets! I’m nearly halfway done with it and it’s shaping up to be quite a ride.
❤
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