Noodling Newsletter

Because an update is in order, I think...

All right, it’s been a while, things have happened, my head’s getting back on straight, but I do have to just get this off my chest first:

I’m tired of working full time, going to school full time, and trying to still find some room for my books and other assorted hobbies.

There, I said it. I’m pushing hard to graduate next year and finally be done with school. And we’ve peaked for the season in the entertainment venue, so while we still have some things going on, my weeks will steadily decline in their busyness. Breathing room will open up, but I’m still tired right now.

With that, then, on to the news.

New Releases and Upcoming Events

Right to Bear Arms (The Akari-Bearer #2) came out earlier this month. I was also able to start my summer circuit of events and craft shows. I have two huge events coming up back-to-back at the end of August/beginning of September, the Mackinaw City Arts and Crafts Show and the St. Ignace Arts Dockside events. Then, shortly after that, I will be back in little ole’ Cheboygan for another Made in Cheboygan again. I will be there for their last event in October. And my final event (so far) is tentatively the Holiday Gift and Craft Show in November, way down at Odawa Casino Petoskey. Please come see me :3

Planning Ahead

I was truly amazed that I was able to get Right to Bear Arms out as fast and as well as I did after my dad died. Yes, it was basically done at the time, but I also didn’t touch it for a fair chunk of time. But when I did get back into it, I almost couldn’t get enough of it. It was a bit surreal, honestly.

Well, the next book I had in the lineup was Famine (The Fifth Horseman #1), supposed to release in December just in time for Christmas. This is the first book in the final series of The Timekeeper Chronicles. Everything is coming down to the wire. There was a tiny tease for some things in Winds of Change, but overall, 90% new characters, new adventures, but way higher stakes and a finality to it that will let the universe end (so I can move on to other things).

The truth is, the writing that I’m doing now is astonishingly better than where I started. And I’m not saying that in a bashful way; it’s true, and it is a very good thing. If I haven’t improved after ten years and two dozen books, then I should probably just walk away right now. Part of that realization is that my schedule and my progress so far, combined with falling behind because of early-year catastrophes, I don’t think I can get Famine to the level it needs to be in just a few months. Other series were different. Aside from being simply inexperienced and naive, those other series all fed into The Chivalrous Welshman which was the backbone of The Timekeeper Chronicles. Even The Akari-Bearer feeds into things already established there. Essentially I was working backwards. If TCW was the backbone, the rest of the series were the limbs. But The Fifth Horseman is the head. It is far more complex and meaningful. It must be, because it is taking all of those stories, all of those characters, and wrapping them up. Although it has a very different setting and characters than the others, it is still the spiritual successor of TCW and the overall climax of TKC. It requires different handling.

Now, with that thought in mind, although I am not ashamed of The Chivalrous Welshman, it could definitely be better. Time to Kill is, admittedly, a little rough, looking back. I’ve kind of wanted to do a rewrite on it, told myself no because of in-universe lore reasons that are directly related to the existence of the books, wrestled with the idea for a long time.

Finally, I’ve decided that I am going to do a rewrite of Time to Kill specifically for its 10th anniversary next year. Honestly, I might end up doing rewrites of Tick Tock, Windup, and Stopwatch, too. Free Time is where I think things actually got coherent. There is an idea noodling around in my brain of how I might even be able to integrate the 2nd edition into the in-universe lore during The Fifth Horseman, which would be super exciting.

Gaslight

What would this rewrite look like? How could I do that to a book which is number one of ten in a series, of a series that is the backbone of this entire Timekeeper universe? What changes would actually be made?

This isn’t me changing the plot. If you’ve read Time to Kill, all of the major plot beats will remain the same. There isn’t going to be a secret alternate ending, nor will I introduce any new subplots. This is me revising the prose, tightening up the story, bringing later ideas backward to introduce some things a little earlier so it feels more coherent and less like the late-stage ideas that they were. Specific scenes might be a little different, specific dialogue may change, but the characters will still be who they were at the time, the beginning will still be the beginning, the kickoff will still be the kickoff, the ending will still be the ending. It’s just going to read a lot nicer. Remove some of the preachy bits, add in some of the later ideas or at least references to them.

Taking Time

All that said, there will be no December release. Time to Kill (2nd edition) will be slated for a July release of next year. I personally don’t think that it will take an entire year to make it happen; the story is already written. But I want to get that done, and I want to give Famine the love and attention it needs in order to carry TKC to its explosive conclusion.

Oh, and I still have to work on The Akari-Bearer #3.

I’m really tired of working full time and going to school full time.