It's been a few weeks since I've posted about writing. The reasons are the same as usual: obsessing about writing, trying to figure out the program of the day, solving problems at work, and struggling to be the best father that I can.

That usually makes the blog posting near the bottom, right below “a few more minutes of sleep.” But then I'm reminded that sometimes my posts are the only way the rest of my family knows what's going on.

Quite a few things happened in the last few weeks.

Sand and Bone

I finished submitting the last chapters of Sand and Bone to the writing group. This will bring the end to the entire trilogy, which I've been working on for the last few years.

I worry about the ending of books in general, I really like a satisfying conclusion to a book. This is even more for the end of a series, which has to be a solid end to three books. The feedback of the writing group was fairly positive, so that will help a little.

The next steps are, unfortunately, the same as Sand and Ash. I'll put it in the queue of books to be edited and move to the next one.

Raging Alone

One of the Journals of Fedran serials was Raging Alone. It was a coming of age piece about Desòchu as he, as a sixteen year old boy, struggles with his anger over his mother's death.

This series ties into the Sand trilogy since it gives some hints of events in Sand and Ash and Sand and Bone, but no major spoilers. It also expands on my R5-D4 plots with interconnected stories.

I submitted the fourth (and last) chapter to the writing group for this week. Once I get the feedback edited, it will be added to the queue.

Lyrics

A few months ago, I found out one of my co-workers in Russian was in a fantasy metal band. It was a pleasant news since they bought a few copies of Sand and Blood, but even more when they asked for a little help with their lyrics.

I came up with a few of them and send them back. Not much happened other than the occasional feedback that they were recording. And then earlier this week, I got this link to their album.

And if you expand the lyrics, you'll see my name. I wrote Trollhunter, They Are Coming For Me, and The Last Enemy. I also did some editing on some others, but not enough for credits.

So, if you like metal bands with a fantasy feel, you might check out Gorge of IX. I don't get anything, just like to help others. And if you want to see my co-worker, he is the protagonist in their video, Death Parade.

Fictionary

As I mentioned earlier, I made a fictionary for Sand and Blood. They announced it along with dictionaries for Android (they had Kindle earlier). It is a free download and gives hints about most of the obscure names I've used in the book. I'll be creating ones for Ash, Bone, and Raging Alone in the next month or so.

Winding up for WisCon

We are also winding up for our big family trip which ends at WisCon. I'm waiting for the schedule on that, but I said I was interested in the sign-out and a few panels.

Coming up Next

I'm not entirely sure what I'm working on next. Either I'm going to work on Flight of the Scions again and get on the queue (my first post in 2006 was about it) or work on Second-Hand Dresses, a Regency romance set in my fantasy world and part of the Journals of Fedran project.