Queen’s Journey is up to about 52,500 words, and is going strong! I will warn that due to where things ended it might be a bit… emotional in the first parts, but hopefully it’ll calm down as things go.
That said, it’s national novel-writing month, and normally I’d ignore it because I write 50,000 words per month most months. However, as my wife decided to participate, I decided I’d do some writing for it in solidarity, so this month is going to be busy for me. I’m going to be picking up Broken Chains and trying to get at least 15,000 words in over the month, which should be doable!
Beyond that, I’ve got quite a bit of other stuff going on. I’m still waiting on the audiobook of Hives & Heroism to be approved, but recording on Dusk Gate has begun! I also got two pieces of art back this week, which I’ll share below.
Ancient Dreams 
I’d expect the beginning of Queen’s Journey to be a bit of a roller coaster – the ladies did have some nasty things done to them by Amber after all. Things will probably not be the same, even if outward appearances suggest otherwise. I’m looking forward to it.
Re: artwork. I like the Paragon City artwork (although why there’s an amusement park ride attached to a skyscraper is a little disconcerting – certainly wouldn’t want to have an office or a condo there).
Good luck on helping your wife with writing, and blessings to you and yours.
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Yeah, the first part is definitely going to be something of an emotional roller coaster. *bites his tongue* I’ll leave it at that, though. Too much to potentially spoil.
As for the artwork, I’m trying to decide on that huge tower myself. I’m half-thinking it’s a space launch facility at this point, since that building is enormous. The POV is from about 1,000 feet (~300 meters) above the city proper, which makes the building /insanely/ huge. I gave the artist a lot of artistic freedom, since I like his overall style (he’s done quite a bit of sci-fi work under an older profile).
But thank you for the well-wishes! I’m going to do my best!
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I went back and re-read what you had of Broken Chains – quite enjoyable and I’d love to see it as a novella or a full length novel if you wanted to go that route. Andrea’s not quite like Xandra, but she’s certainly no-nonsense and fairly practical.
re: artwork. I was thinking the same, although the lack of support for the launch curve is … concerning. Then again, it’s sci-fi, so everything’s made of fantastic materials or reinforced by force fields. At 1000 feet, that’s roughly 320 stories of building. I could see it being the local spaceport/control/government building.
Anyway, hope this finds you and yours well, and enjoying your time writing together.
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I’m not sure that I’d put Andrea in the same category as Xandra, personally. Practical, certainly, but she’s very much a ‘softer’ personality in general. We’ll see how the story goes, though! I’ve finished writing for Queen’s Journey today, so I’m going to start on Broken Chains after lunch.
On the artwork, I’m mostly thinking of that curve as a sort of scenic tram for people going up to the top at this point. Whether there’s a launch pad at the top or not… I can address that in a book, if I ever feel like it. Definitely governmental, though.
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I know she’s just a book character, but I feel for Lilith so much! The amount of times, she’s been torn down and recovered is insane. I know that Queen’s Journey is going to be hard, but I hope it makes her stronger for it. *grabs tissue* Lilith is my favorite character (you write many great characters) as I greatly identify with her (though I am no engineer) and Born a Queen was released at a very important time in my life.
BTW I agree with the comments on the picture of Paragon City, and would also like to say it’s what I envisioned a high tech city would look like in the Stars & Shadows universe
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I don’t blame you. What’s happened to Lilith is absolutely horrid, and I don’t want to pretend it isn’t. And, in my opinion, the entire /point/ of Queen’s Journey is to make her stronger. I hope that I manage to portray it properly, but the only way to know is for me to write it.
I’m glad the book was important to you, though, and I will do everything I can to do her justice.
As for the artwork, it’s something I’ve wanted for a /long/ time. I just couldn’t justify the expense until recently, but the World Anvil site changed that.
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I figured that was the point of Queen’s Journey. I believe that and the impending meeting are why some felt Queen of Diamonds had a cliffhanger ending (I disagree, but I could see why).
I’m sure you will do her justice. I’ll definitely say that you do a great job at keeping characters consistent (flaws, strengths, and growth) among everything (including other works too). They may or may not get the best ending (Through the Flames is a great example), but that’s life. Life is messy and complicated which no amount of planning and analyzing will overcome. I’ll still be hoping and rooting for Lilith (and any future MC’s you cook up)
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Yeah, I was worried about that. It’s part of why I wanted to get the next book out this year, but it’s looking like that probably won’t happen. Maybe, but I sincerely doubt it.
Anyway, thank you for the kind words!
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That is so cool about your wife! And I am very excited for the new lilith book. You have created such an awesome series with lilith. And you write the books and you progress them, it would be very hard for you to screw them up. Only way you really could was if you keyboard mashed half the book, even then I think others would be worried about your well-being more than the book.
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She’s trying! She took one of my old, abandoned ideas, and is working on it. She’s doing pretty well, too, though I haven’t read what she’s got so far.
As for messing it up, it’s always possible. I’ve seen authors do it before, sadly, but I’m going to do my best to avoid it!
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