I don’t know what to do. Should I do National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) in November? I’ve done it many years, and it’s a fabulous way to reach 50,000 words in 30 days. I have some problems, however.
For one thing, it turns out I have two novels in draft. Like a Continental Soldier, the next Waking Late book, is with beta readers, and it is possible I’ll start hearing back from them any day now. If that happens, it’s got to be my top priority because I’m hoping to publish it in January. That might not happen in any event because my cover artist isn’t available until then. So there’s that. Mercenary Calling, the sequel to The Sky Suspended, has been sitting in my computer for two years. I’ve not wanted to look at it because I was writing, finishing, and publishing Out of the Dell, and then Soldier. However, I’ve just finished re-reading Mercenary, and it’s just a little messy, not the out and out Mess that I had feared. I could get that published within a couple months of Soldier. I’d polish up Mercenary this week and then find an unsuspecting beta who said she’d be happy to read it. Our conversation took place over a year ago, but she might still be amenable. We’ll see. No beta reader would finish that in November, so it’s not really a barrier to NaNo.
There is a bigger barrier to NaNo. I have no idea what I’d write. I have very inchoate thoughts on the next Calvin Tondini novel after Mercenary. Waking Late will be done with the third book. I have ideas for more seastead stories. I really want to write Shut the Kingdom, which is a follow on to Manx Prize. Kingdom is about Charlotte and Ethan again, lunar property issues and Chinese shenanigans, and may have thriller overtones. I’m not sure. Regardless, I have a huge file to read about lunar rills, lunar landers, water, lunar geography, and whatnot. I have a globe of the Moon, so that’s a start.
by 
“Waking Late will be done with the third book.”
I now, officially, have the sadz. (insert sadz face here, with small, quivering tears)
When stressed or in the grip of sadz, I eat (I need to switch to single malt). The next 5 pounds are on you. It’ll all be eggs anyway, in tribute.
Still gonna buy it though. Fer shur.
The Sky Suspended is next, after finishing a two book set in progress now. I guess that will set me up for Mercenary Calling, so all is not lost.
As for NaNo – obviously, if you’ve already got something in the mental pipeline, you can thrash on that. Not knowing what’s coming in Soldier, naturally I am unaware of the ultimate resolution.
However, from the first book in Waking Late, it seemed to me (as a reader) that there was a broad tapestry behind the immediate tale. Think Niven’s Known Space, or the universe for many early George RR Martin stories (before the rampant blood-fest of GoT). In Martin’s case, there were tales as diverse as “A Song for Lya” and the “Tuf Voyaging” stories, all set within a common history and familiar landmarks, albeit generally distant from one another in time and physical space.
Or I could invoke Heinlein’s Future History tales, containing gems such as “Misfit” and “If This Goes On–“, which do not, as stories, intersect, but live within the same framework. Of course, you know this already.
My point is that from the first Waking Late book, I’ve always felt like there was much more beyond just Gilead and his group; or perhaps I’m engaged in wishful thinking.
Regardless. Write what you will, and I’ll likely buy it, read it, and be grateful for what I can get.
Best Wishes,
Scott
You are very kind, and I do appreciate the egg tribute. I do apologize, however, for the sadz.
I am glad to hear you say that about feeling like there’s a lot more to the Waking Late world. There is. I just don’t have anything coherent in terms of a plot in the Waking Late pipeline other than a short romance, and even that is not coherent. It’ll get there. I’m also glad to hear there’s interest in non-Gilead stories, because some other folks are floating around in my head. Hmm. Maybe my mind will wander. Sometimes I get the people first. Sometimes I get the cool idea. Every now and then I can match them up.
The Ground Based Universe is much more in a future history set up. They’re all stand-alones at the moment, but Sky and Manx will have sequels.
Thanks for stopping by, Scott!