It’s October, which means Thanksgiving in Canada. I’ve found myself back in Edmonton for a few weeks due to some unexpected circumstances, and despite those circumstances, I’m enjoying my time back here. I stepped off of the plane from Montreal to find it was about fifteen degrees colder than what I was used to, but I’ve adjusted. I got to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, my brother, and the family cat. The leaves are golden here and the trees are already half bare. Fortunately, I should be back in Montreal before the snow starts!

While it’s been a difficult few months, I’ve found myself with some writing things to be grateful for. 

Into Shadow

To my surprise, I discovered that Edmonton Public Libraries purchased a physical copy of Into Shadow! As an independent author, I thought it was very unlikely that my book would end up in a library, so this was really a dream come true. Because this happened while I was home, I was able to go to the library and see it in person, and it was so cool to see my book on the shelf next to so many great authors.

In many ways, my publication journey for Into Shadow was not easy, so this was a really rewarding turn of events. Thank you, readers, for making it happen!

The Sequel

While I always planned for The Rook Wars to be a trilogy, it is now turning into a quartet. This is a decision I’ve been agonizing over for some time, but after receiving some initial beta reader feedback, I think that splitting the middle book into two books is the best decision for the story. This is not a decision I take lightly. Ultimately, my goal as an author is to tell the best story I can, and if I try to fit everything into one book, I’m not sure I’ll be serving that goal. 

Initially, I had planned for this book to be published in February or March of 2025, but because I’m splitting it into two, it won’t be ready for that publication date, and I am now aiming for a year from now (September or October 2025). At 62,000 words, I’m currently about halfway through the next draft in terms of word count. I’ve been doing the easy part so far (stealing what I can from my previous draft), so I’m expecting my pace to slow down now, and I’m aiming for a completed draft by the end of November or December.

The book has a working title, but as I’m splitting it in two, that title may have to change, so for now, it will stays as Dragons! the Sequel. 

I’ve heard that writing your second book after publishing your first is much harder, and I’m definitely finding that to be true. I thought that since I’d already basically drafted this book by the time I published Into Shadow, I would have an easy time getting this book publication-ready. That hasn’t been the case! Still, I’m working hard on it, and I hope I’ll have a decent story to share by the time I’m done.

Other Projects

The sequel for Into Shadow is taking up a lot of my time right now, so I haven’t been actively working on anything else. However, I have been thinking a lot about other projects. I have a few, nearly completed projects that I might work on after I publish the next book in The Rook Wars series if I need a break. I’m excited about those, and I can’t wait to share more eventually. The issue for me is never a lack of ideas; it’s finding the time to develop them!

As always, I am thankful for my readers who continue to support me. Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!