With Down with the Queen at the Alpha Team, I’ve been trying to distract myself with other projects and clear my mind. I’ve had additional time in part because two members of my team have been sick or busy, but that’s just how it goes.

That being the case, I’ve worked on two projects so far. In one case, some time ago I mentioned that there was a story I was considering called Ashes of Time. This story has haunted me for years, conceptually, but I was hesitant because in most ways it’s a tragedy. Yesterday I wrote up what I would consider about how I’d want it to end, the final chapter or epilogue. This hopefully will get it somewhat out of my head for now. I may still write the full story at some point, but if I do, it’s going to be a single, over-sized volume, since I don’t want people to have to wait on potential cliffhangers. Incidentally, the only reason I dare consider writing it at all is because Marin’s Codex has done so well on the whole.

The other project is likely to be familiar to those of you who are on my newsletter. A few months ago I shared a series of four chapters called Broken Chains, a story of the heroes who rescued a princess from the evil wizard… but with a twist. Alas, they weren’t in time, and Princess Andrea had been killed and turned into a minor demon in the mage’s service. They rescue her regardless, and that’s where my explanation of it is going to end, save to say that I consider this closer to a redemption story than anything else.

I’ve chosen to continue writing on Broken Chains to pass the time and expand the story, so those of you who enjoyed it will likely be able to look forward to additional chapters in the future. I’m not sure if this will ever turn into a full-blown novel… no promises, but as the magic 8 ball might say, signs point toward yes.

Finally, I’m not sure what project I’ll be working on immediately after finishing Down with the Queen‘s edits at all. I’ve asked my Alpha Team to tell me if it needs another book in the series immediately, but I truly, seriously don’t know. Superhero-styled books, in my opinion, need to be designed so you can always add ‘another episode’, or another book. What I want is for it to be at a good stopping point in the story arc so I can start on the next series, because I don’t want to leave all of you with a massive cliffhanger while I work on something else.

Okay, that’s enough rambling for now. Have a good day or night, everyone!