Hey all! Long time no post – sorry about being quiet for a while. Lots of big things have been, at the same time, front & center and the backburner.
I finished college in June of this year, which led me to an intense struggle with applying for jobs to no avail, yet. Breaking into a new industry at 31, almost 32? Not easy.
Even though I have an extensive writing history, it doesn’t seem to apply to the same thing as narrative design in video games. I’ve spent months building and adding to my narrative design portfolio, working on independent projects, and applying for new positions every day. I have a folder full of resumes and cover letters that is beginning to get out of hand. Nothing yet, but maybe there’s still hope.
I’m still working in an unpaid internship, and I’ve done some good character and mission writing for them. I’ll be able to elaborate more on the project I’ve helped Marshmallow Jetpack in once the game nears, or reaches, release.
In other news, I did participate for the first time in 2023’s NaNoWriMo! Here’s the link to my NaNoWriMo profile, for anyone interested. I’ve participated loosely in NaNoWriMo before, but this was different, I went in officially and with a goal in mind: to finish Book Two.
There’s good news and bad news to unpack here, so we’ll start with the bad news. Book Two… isn’t quite done. But the good news? It’s really, really close. Despite getting sick in the thick of it for two weeks, I managed to dish out 38,479 words towards Book Two in the month of November. Right after the end of the deadline – because apparently deadlines are the death of me – I dished out 21,056 additional words, putting me within arm’s reach of the end of the book. Like, really close. As long as I stay on this roll, Book Two will be done the writing stage by Christmas 2023. (If not within the next few days!)
In other bad news, currently Book Two is looking long. Like Monday, eight o’clock, your full shift and work week ahead of you long. I know it’s really bad luck to be a relatively unknown author trying to push out another huge book, but I think I’m going to stick with it, for the most part. I’ve had a few ideas tossing around about what to do about this, but we’re going to leave that kind of thinking to future Anthony.
Coming up next is the mighty edit. I have a history of making big changes in the edit, but I’m real tired. For anyone who’s stuck around in my writing journey, I technically already published Book Two: Hierarchy of Lars in 2016, and Book One: Akin Minds in 2013. Due to a complicated publisher deal and general unhappiness with that publisher, I delisted my first and second book, choosing to do a solid edit/rewrite of both books under a new publisher. With that, I released the newly titled Sovereign Soul Book One: Akin Minds in 2019. After COVID, college, and an assault of all things life, I’m gearing up to release Sovereign Soul Book Two in 2024.
Since the new Book Two is a complete rewrite of the old one, I feel like I’ve edited this book so many times. On top of its original release, I once concepted Book One and Two as one singular book. I’ve written, edited, rewritten, re-edited, rewritten, and am about to re-edit this book again. I’m just going to be checking for the basic stuff: spelling, grammar, consistency… the usual. I do have one spot where I thought about axing a character and brought them back in later, so there’s just stuff like that to fix. I always describe things better on the second go, too. Given how many times I’ve done this, I think the new Book Two is going to be almost perfect – as far as I can do, anyway.
For anyone just tuning in, Book Two picks up on the journey of Ryoku Dragontalen after his failure to save Chris Olestine from the clutches of Orden. Given his failure, though, he learned something exceedingly valuable: his lost sister is there, and he has to get stronger and try again. It won’t be so easy, though. Chris’ execution has a date. Lars Ordenstraum, the serpentine emperor of Orden, is a known and feared dark knight. Worlds wound in this new structure are beginning to collapse. Ryoku has to travel to and assist more worlds, making new friends and strengthening old bonds, investigating the secrets and lies hidden in his mind, and helping the world of Syaoto prepare for an epic cross-worlds war with the enemy empire. Powerful enemies, dangerous secrets, and the very stampede of time stand in his way.
Book Two builds up preexisting characters to greater heights, and introduces new and lovable friends who’ll stick with – or impede – Ryoku’s quest along the way. Personally, I’ve built up some new favorites among the cast. Fates have been changed, stories rewritten, and new challenges have risen up. Book Two has come a long way, and I’m certain my readers will enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
Since I’m nearly done Book Two, I’ll also be revealing the cover very soon. I’ve contacted the original artist who created the cover of Sovereign Soul: Akin Minds for another masterpiece. There’s a couple steps left in getting to this cover, but I’ll reveal it soon. I’m very excited about it.
So, that’s all for now. Apologies for a lack of blogs this year in my frenzy to find a better job. For now, I’m just making sick pizzas, writing up a storm, and existing. I’m hoping to get back on that horse and vomit out some more blogs in early 2024, but this is probably my last post for the year. Merry Christmas, all, and hopefully to a better New Year!
Sovereign Soul 