First, the story updates:
Free Trader Mary's Dream has had Chapter 19 Posted. We're about to get Captain Alex and the crew back into space, and some very bad lawyers (ethically, not bad at their job) are about to learn that their are worse things than Ethics Board Complaints. (More on this in a moment)
Rogue's Rules Chapter 10: Has been submitted and is in the posting queue. Arin gets to travelling "The Vagabond's Highway", and we learn a very important unwritten part of the city's legal code. Plus he ends the chapter getting to meet his Auntie. Why does that sound so foreboding? Everyone LOVES their Auntie.
And finally: Starting Tomorrow, and will be posted over the next couple weeks, is a new 2026-written novella, with a background dealing with a science fiction MMO called "World of WarMachines". It's kinda like the webnovel "The King's Avatar" (If you don't feel like reading all the chapters, watch the Netflix series, it's rather good), but instead of your average Wuxia MMO, it has giant Science Fiction robots shooting and hitting each other instead. Which makes it officially 143.25% cooler. (This has been scientifically proven). It is a complete arc/novella/book, so those of you who are worried that I might have yet another story in limbo, don't worry. I made sure to complete this one before I officially announced it.
Now: Onto what's to come!
I have workflow-ed the remaining chapters of Mary's Dream. So all I have to do is follow the work flow and everything will be fine.(this, I will not guarantee). I will say this, I've already had to revise the workflow once. It looked all neat and proper on paper when I said "Ok, this is what Chapter 20 will contain". Then after I finished writing, and started (ugh) editing. I came to a sobering conclusion. It really needed to be cut in half. It had reached something like six thousand words by itself. Thankfully, there was a natural stopping point in the middle (Both parts needed to be part of the story, but each part needed its own chapter to breathe). I compared it to a farmer looking at a large field he needed to plow and get rid of some pesky gophers (There's always Gopher holes in these fields, trust me). Now the field has a narrow narrative road running through it to separate the parts where they can be tended properly.
The gophers have decided to move on to the next chapter I am writing, have acquired a boombox, and are dancing to "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins (kids, if you don't get the reference, look up Caddyshack. Book a couple hours to watch it.) That means writing work continues apace, and you should see more of it coming in the near future with those two chapters "In the can" and to be posted in the next couple days
I have done the same for Rogue's Rules Book 1: Arin can breathe easy. He now knows exactly what I'm going to do to the poor guy. Actually, he's not breathing easy.. but he IS breathing. That has to count for something, right?
World of WarMachines is the first Book in that series, and I've already laid out the lines of where the story's going in future books. You might even get to meet Kevin. Kevin's a fun guy. You probably know a Kevin or two if you play MMO's.
If it sounds like my brain is full of Daffy Duck like plot ideas bouncing around, off the walls going woo-hoo woo-hoo woo-hoo? You've pretty much nailed it.
I think I've figured out my problem with writing. The muse never left me, she just had despaired of getting all these ideas through the small door in my brain marked "To fingers" in an orderly manner. She's installed some new procedures, and while the plotbunnies are still all getting cozy and listening to Barry White on repeat with comfortable lighting, at least they're polite enough to at least take a number and wait their turn. Mostly.
She wants a raise. And vacation time.