The second book of ARES Virus is moving along, although I’ve taken the last couple of days off.  The next time I sit at the keyboard, the story will have reached the 2/3 mark, or something close.  Dean Samed has already designed the cover for it, which will be revealed once I send the draft off for the final editing.  And yes, the cover is another masterpiece and I can’t wait to unveil it.

As I found with the New World series, some characters emerge that weren’t originally supposed to be a thing.  As I’ve mentioned before, Gonzalez was a placeholder for the one of the Red Team members.  I found that I enjoyed writing about her for some reason and became fascinated with her story. Thus, she turned into a major character, becoming Jack’s confidant.  I am finding the same in ARES Virus.  The character that is filling my mind and emerging is Emily.  She was just a thought for a situation that Brown and the cadets would find themselves up against.  At first, my mind was blank, the notion of a rescue filtering in.  Then, the rescue of a little girl.  I found myself written into a corner, though.  Brown and the cadets were supposed to integrate back in, but that couldn’t happen with Emily in tow.  I tried killing her off with an emotionally-charged scene.  Tears would flow, the loss of a little girl weighing on hearts, but the story line would be back on track.  She wouldn’t die.  The more she hung around, the more she became more than a placeholder.  I liked her.  The bitten part, well, that came about as I was writing the scene.  I stared at the screen, and stared some more.  What had I done?  But, once written, it’s part of the story.  And now, Emily is off on her own adventure. Because of her, the ending I had in mind has altered.  That’s the joy of writing in this manner.  I get to be surprised and am dragged along with the story, intrigued as to what will happen next.

I’m not sure when the second book will be ready, but if I tie myself to the keyboard, it could be around the end of the month or the beginning of October.  I again want to thank everyone for all of your support and hope your week is treating you well!

John