Celtic Bard: Blog

I have just submitted the next chapter for In the Darkness Falling and it should be up later today or very early tomorrow. We get to meet a couple of new and important characters in this one and the climax is beginning to build. I am hoping on another five chapters, give or take, before we wrap this one up. I was going to do some foreshadowing for you here but decided against it. I know I hate it when authors drop surprises on me but I can't help myself. I want to see the reactions without hinting. Sorry. I can tell you that my plans for the book after ItDF have changed. I have decided to move what I was going to do next with this Universe back a little and cram in another book before we get to what I have already written a little bit on, which means that book will be number four and the next one will probably all take place withing the space of the month or so following what happens in ItDF. Then book number four will fast forward in time roughly two years. At least, that is what I have planned for right now.

I noticed that Future Distorted has gone "Incomplete" on me and by October Anomaly of the Fates will as well. I want to assure the readers of those series that I will get back to them, probably after the finale of In the Darkness Fallen if not sooner. Not only am I trying to finish up ItDF and another novel I am working on to shop to publishers, but I kind of hit a block in my head on those two. I know where they are going but not how to get the characters there. I have no intention of dropping those stories, however, so I will get back to them in the not-so-distant future.

I am hoping to work up another Rage story soon as well as another Dark Wars short story that will probably either show us how John joined Alice's merry band or maybe show her fighting monsters in Oxford. I haven't decided on that one and it will be months down the line. I am hoping to work up a little appendix for Dark Wars when I finish it up as well. Something that will show the various kinds of monsters the Order has contended with over the centuries. I have that one mostly roughed out, it just needs polishing to get it into some kind of order for posting/publishing.

And speaking of publishing, I was wondering if anyone was interested in a trade paperback version of Justice Resurrected? I have not done one yet, mainly due to time and my lack of knowledge as to the interest. Justice Resurrected gets decent sales on Kindle but nothing to make me quit my day job and focus on writing full time so I never did a hard copy version of that book. Trade paperbacks go for about $15-$18. If there is interst I will see about working one up. I would probably include A Prince Too Many in it and possibly another short story that wraps up some loose ends readers e-mailed me about after it was finished.

So that is all for now. Enjoy the new chapter and feel free to let me know what you think about it or anything else.

It took me longer to type into the computer and edit it than I was anticipating, but Chapter 11 of In the Darkness Falling has just been submitted. I thought I had enough to make it two chapters but when I got to going through the written material I realized there was no real good end point, meaning Chapter 11 is a little longer than I usually make the chapters. We are getting closer to the end with this story and I think I will be skipping ahead in time a bit after the next chapter or two. So check out the new chapter later tonight or early tomorrow and feel free to let me know what you think.

I have just submitted Unexpected Adventure, a Dark Wars short story that tells the origin of Edgar, Alice Spencer-Killdare's loyal bodyguard in In the Darkness Falling. It was a story I thought needed to be written to explain the references I have made in ItDF about the incident told in the story. It is not overly long but does what I wanted when I set out to write it a couple of months ago. Life kept intruding, which is why it took so long to get it done and also why I haven't gotten the next chapter of ItDF typed into the computer yet. That is next on my To Do List and is almost done. So enjoy a peak into how Edgar came into Alice's life and let me know what you think.

I know it has been a while and for that I apologize again, but I just submitted Chapter 10 of In the Darkness Falling. We are getting closer to wrapping this one up and I am hoping to get more stuff posted this month, including another short story in the Dark Wars Universe titled Unexpected Adventure. It will flesh out a little bit of Edgar's past and recount the incident with the Weretigers in London that was mentioned a time or two in ItDF. So enjoy your Memorial Day with a new chapter of Alice's tale and stay safe.

I know I said I would have new chapters for In the Darkness Falling but I wound up sick once more (fourth time since just before Christmas) and then very busy at work. The new chapters are written but I have not had time to type them into the computer. Guiltily, I did write a new story but this was one my muse would not let me drop. I tried valiantly for almost a week to not write it but it seemed every time I saw my niece I would get whacked by my muse until I finally gave in. While it is vaguely fantasy, there is nothing going on in the story that could not happen in the real world, if we would simply acknowledge the problem as a society. Anyway, that is what Fathers of Blondes Anonymous is. As the End Note on the story says, most of the incidents the characters talk about are things I have seen with my own incredulous eyes.

As for ItDF, I will endeavor to work harder on getting that typed up, edited, and submitted shortly. I have what will probably wind up being at least three chapters hand-written and it is looking like I will blow past my hoped-for limit of fifteen chapters for this story. It is now looking more likely to be twenty or so by the time I wrap things up with the Epilogue.

I have also begun work on a short story titled Unexpected Adventure that will show a little of Edgar's back story as well as fleshing out the incident mentioned in ItDF involving Alice's and his encounter with Weretigers in London. That one I just started the other day at work and I will work on ItDF before getting that one in the computer and finished.

Sorry things have been slow and disjointed, but nothing much has gone to plan the last several months. Check out Fathers of Blondes Anonymous and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think.