Well, the third book in the ARES series, ARES Virus: Phoenix Rising, was shuffled off to the editor late last night. However, it takes them three weeks to a month to put their bloodied marks on my chicken scratches as they attempt to turn it into something readable. Once it returns, I have the last round of editing before I can hit the publish buttons. So, we’re looking at sometime in the middle of next month if everything goes well.
This book was an interesting one to write. Bruises mar my forehead where I repeatedly hit it on the keyboard. However much I tried to pull the story line back into something character-driven, it wanted to be a story-driven adventure. It ended up a series of stories involving a multitude of characters. Yes, Emily and Brown are still a part of it, but the focus is on the story as compared to the characters. Overall, I’m happy with how the book went, which is worrisome as I haven’t been a fan of how any book has turned out so far. Well, let’s just say I worry over how each new book.
So, as I wait for the bleeding manuscript to return, I’ll be heading off to write on the next book. This one will be a stand-alone one with a whole new set of creatures. I’m actually kind of excited to get to it as I love these new ones. I’m currently a little over a quarter of the way finished with it, so hopefully it will be ready before too long. At some point, Mark Tufo and I will take a look at the third book in A Shrouded World.
I hope everyone’s new year is off to a great start and thank you all for your wonderful support.
John
