C...B: Blog

Good progress to be reported.

Book 4 in the world of Make the Cut is currently at 128k words. I project its a chapter or two away from its ending point. Editors have gone through the first two thirds of the story and report that so far it is not just bird cage liner quality, but peacock cage liner quality! (I assume this is good)

Stay tuned for future updates where maybe I will be brave enough to schedule something.

Thanks.

PS To my one reader who messaged me after my last update that I can only go downhill from my last story, well, downhill is the fun direction on a roller coaster.

Its been a month and I have news. Book 4 is much closer to being a thing!

After monkey-banging on the keyboard for a month I thought I had better get some feedback from one of my editors.

Good news is that he says the first few chapters are passable. Enough so that I will continue to give my muse monkey-chow and let it continue hammering away.

The bad news is that there is still really no ETA. Much remains in limbo at how to steer this ship that has just gotten underway so you will just have to wait till future updates which sadly, will likely just tell you how much longer you'll need to wait.

But, odds are now higher that there will be a continuation of Johns story.

Thanks for your patronage.

Now that the trilogy is complete and posted I have to thank my readers. Your comments and messages have been a joy to read. You are why writers keep writing. Also, my thanks to those of you who purchased the books on Bookapy is heartfelt.

Many commentators are asking if there will be more. Up until a week ago I would have said "maybe". Now, twenty thousand words later I will say "probably". Momentum is increasing and the ideas keep coming. It's a challenge as the new world is complex, but its a fun challenge.

Also, I'd like to remind everyone that the three books of the trilogy are available in 6x9 paperback. If you what a set for some reason or if you know someone who you think would like the series but does not do E-book, then send me a message and I can get you a link.

(Warning! Much bloviation follows. You are warned.)

It was with a somber heart that I prepared the last chapter and epilogue of "Final Cut" and entered it in the queue for posting Saturday morning. This final release will wrap up both book three and the entire trilogy. Note. I already anticipate that the story will not end as many probably expect. But, it's important to me that it does end in some fashion. I've seen too many stories continue on past their freshness date and become multi-million word scroll fests. Thus, "Make the Cut" will reach a conclusion. But, hopefully I've left room for more as you will learn at the end of this post.

I started posting the trilogy nine months ago and it has been a wild and fun ride ever since. I've meet a ton of great and helpful people along the way and have enjoyed plenty of interesting feedback and comments. I've also found notable success by offering the trilogy for sale, not enough to quit my day job by far, but enough to enjoy a splurge or two with the royalties.

I've learned so much along the way. While I still consider myself a hack amateur and easily dismissible by the veteran authors of the site, I still can smile as I gaze upon the physical reminders of my efforts which sit on my bookshelf. You know what? The three volumes look and feel just like the hundreds of other works sitting next to them which I've loved and collected over my lifetime.

That reminder, and the knowledge that I was able to finish a trilogy of my creation will be enough. I've wondered all my life if I could write a book and I've at least proved that I can. Of course the quality and success of that is debatable by others, but to me, what I have done still feels wonderful.

Moving forward, who knows? It's been almost three months since I have finished the final edits on the final book of the trilogy. I'd like to say that I have been busy writing follow-on stories ever since, but I have to admit that is not the case.

Why not? We'll, one big reason is that I was/am lazy. It was nice to not have to get up an hour or two early each day in order to try and jot down a few hundred or thousand words to advance a story. Another reason is that I had other things to do which I had been putting off. The third was doubt. Would I be able to come up with a story and would my writing show improvement? Fear of the failure to achieve both is very strong.

The creative side of the effort is still there which I certainly enjoy. I've been a hobbyist and woodworker for all my life and love coming up with new things or trying new techniques. Writing is an extension of that and I enjoy the freedom to create in the story as well. But, I've also been known to take breaks from my hobbies. I guess I have been taking a break from writing for the same reasons.

Now, I'll wrap this self-ego stroking overly-long blog post up with a glimmer of hope for any deranged fans stubborn enough to still be reading this. I have begun the next chapters in John's world. It's early in the process but I think it's going well. The muse is responding at times with creativity that has me giggling in excitement. I've got a rough arc imagined that I hope is both interesting, entertaining and maybe, unexpected.

If something ever does come of the effort, understand that it will be similar to what you have already read. Although amateurish, overly wordy and simplistic, I write what I like to write and read so expect little to change. Timeline? Who knows? Not soon. I'll try and update when substantial progress has been reached.

That's all. Tune in Saturday for the last bits of the John's story.

Thank you all so much!

C. Brink

Part three, The final part of the book (and the trilogy) begins posting with chapter 16 tomorrow. Chapter 15 was received well and generated great feedback. It was a fun chapter to write and I am proud of what I created.

If you want to jump into chapter 16 early, it was posted on SOL's sister site an hour ago. https://scifistories.com/

PS. I've gotten a few inquiries and yes, the Make the Cut trilogy is available in paperback form. Now, if you have a loved one or friend who does not do digital, they can read the series in dead-tree format. Its on amazon. Just search for my name Chad Brink as there are other titles of the same name as "Make the Cut"