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
