On this page I’m going to try to keep track of my planned projects. I will note that these are the projects I have planned, it’s always possible that another project will come out of nowhere and seize control of my imagination.
- Born a Queen
- Before the Godsrage
- Follow-ups to Born a Queen (This depends partly on the reception and where the story goes.)
- Through the Fire (And follow-up stories.)
- Sisters of Radiance (And following stories.)
Descriptions & Expectation Management:
Born a Queen – Set in my Stars & Shadows universe, this is a superhero genre story, but not the usual form. It’s neither quite as gritty and dark as some of the more recent novels I’ve seen, or bright, shiny, and perfect as others are. It still subscribes to most genre conventions of the heroes rarely getting seriously hurt, and villains rarely being killed, but this is more due to an unwritten pact between both sides not to step across a few lines. Those villains who do, tend to be hunted down, even by other villains, and killed.
However, this story is about Lilith Carpenter, the genetically manipulated clone of a major villain, and her quest to find her place in the world. She comes into contact with two of the heroines who put her maker into prison, and much of the story is slice of life, with a fair amount of villains with evil plots to enslave several heroines. It’s not going to be as bad as Ancient Ruins, but it very well might be bad enough… and things will get worse in subsequent books before getting better. I’ve got a much smaller cast for this story as well.
Before the Godsrage – I’ve talked about this book before. It’s an anthology, set before the Godsrage in the Ancient Dreams setting. This will have 3 stories, only one of which is written at present. ‘Marin’s Codex’ will explore the history of Sistina’s original life, and why she was a legend in her time, as well as a bit of how the magic of the universe works… and it will also include her death. ‘Into the Eternal Wood’ has been going out to my mailing list, and details the journey of Sistina Constella into the forest around the original world tree, as well as when she gets the seed that Avendrial/Marin/Sistina eventually merges with. The only story without an outline at present, ‘The Falling Shadows’, will follow Kassandra Sunseeker, a vampire who ends up teaching at the Everium Academy of Magic while she searches for a way to cure her vampirism, and will show some of what happened in the last days of the Godsrage itself. These are novellas, most likely, and are largely going to be background and stories to explain some of the characters.
Through the Fire – Perhaps unusually, this is closer to a young adult novel than many of those that I’ve considered writing. The story centers around Ruethwyn, a young mage who was crippled in the attack of a dragon on her hometown. Her survival was a surprise, and the first book is her attending the academy of the kingdom to attempt to learn enough magic to rescue the maidens captured by the dragon. The first book of this trilogy will be centered around the academy, the second around the journey to find allies among those her teacher knew, and the third on the rescue of those who were kidnapped. The goal is not to kill the dragon, it’s to rescue the others.
Sisters of Radiance – In this story the last remaining people who follow light escape their dying universe to another, to the same world as Through the Fire is set in. The main character is an elf named Noctis, a new knight from that realm, but she arrives alone and with her faith in herself shattered, in the middle of a forbidden zone of the Derran Empire, ruled by a species that some believe is descended of demons. Too trusting of others due to them not emanating the corruption of darkness, Noctis is enslaved for her presence, but ends up being purchased by Lady Anar.
The other ‘main character’ of the series, Lady Anar has the ‘gift’ of perfect foresight. If she uses her gift, which only rarely activates on its own, she knows whether an action will lead to a desired outcome. Taxing in the extreme, this gift has led to tragedy several times through her life, and her one desire is to find a true love for herself. When she meets Noctis, she knows that by purchasing her, she will eventually find her true love. Whether that is Noctis or not remains to be seen.
However, despite each of their efforts, things are not as they seem in the Empire. Many plots are concealed by shadows, and evils are stirring as well. No character in this story is completely safe, and Noctis will take the fore (and yes, will regain her freedom) as the story progresses.
