Monday, December 2, 2013

State of the Universe Address (Including Spoiler!)

So, as promised, and only a day late, the next blog post/installment in the never-ending (but rarely updated) look into my exploration of the Guild Files and Grand Granger universes.

For the record, as soon as I come up with a better title for the Grand Granger universe I'll stop calling it that.  But in the meantime...  Meh.

So, where do things stand?  I'm almost done with the rough draft of the next Guild Files story.  While this one isn't a sequel to Subject 12, it does tie directly into the Subject 12 story and introduces a character or two that will have roles in Rogue.  I've had some feedback on the story and I think the majority if you will enjoy it, especially if you enjoyed Banshee.

**Spoiler Alert**

No, Banshee doesn't make an appearance.

**End Spoiler Alert**

Now then, how is Rogue coming along?  Slowly.  Writing for the Hammer character is difficult, especially with the bar I felt I set with Subject 12.  This does not mean progress is stalled, just that it's taking a lot longer than even I'm comfortable with.

Where have I been?  Busy.  Summer is a very busy time for me lately.  I have commitments, relationships, and a yard full of poultry that I have to take care of before I can write.  Chickens, geese, and ducks can look after themselves pretty well for the most part, needing little in the way of care other than feeding and watering, but I had problems this year.  When I say problems, I probably should spell it with a capital P.  I had predators that killed half my new birds all in one night, disease issues that claimed the lives of almost twenty ducks and geese, and a sharp learning curve in why I will never do business with a particular hatchery again when it comes to geese.

For those of you that don't know, geese are incredibly expensive if you don't buy random assortments on special.  Losing two birds can easily cost over $100 US.  I lost six, though one of them strangled herself in the powered-down electro-netting I use to keep the predators at bay during the summer.

Just of late, I've had major relationship issues basically non-stop for the last month, and more minor ones (but still issues) for months before that.  Unfortunately, it's very hard for me to be creative when all my free time is taken up dealing with people problems.  Even more so when I'm feeling incredibly depressed.

This blog isn't about my personal problems, so I won't go into too much detail.  I will, however, share that I was diagnosed many years ago with both low-grade manic-depressive and major depressive disorders.  I've been lucky in one sense:  I found a medication a few years ago that has prevented me from having a major depressive episode for several years now.  But between depression's cyclic nature and the unbelievable amount of personal stress I've been under for the last few weeks, I've spent the last month in a hole.  Needless to say, that's slowed progress on everything even further.

So, what progress have I made?  With any luck you'll be able to see shortly after the new year.  That begs another question, however.  Even rolling Banshee into the new piece I've almost finished, it won't be exceptionally long.  With that in mind, I have a few options.  I could delay release a while longer and write at least one more short story to include in the release, or I could publish as-is and then release an updated version of it with more content in (hopefully) a few weeks time.  I've kept you guys and gals waiting for so long with nothing more than typo corrections, Banshee, and for some of you The Grand Granger to satisfy your cravings, so the choice for me is a tough one.  I'm leaning more in the early release direction, to be honest, but things may change.  I don't want people to feel cheated, and I don't want to spend another $35 to copyright the piece twice.  I will update you before I make a final decision.

Finally, in my last post I offered to answer any question posed to me (within reason), but I didn't get any questions asked.  As such, I can't tender any answers.  Instead, I'll offer up a tidbit that I think you've already figured out.  I have a hard time coming up with titles for anything I write, be it a book, story, or blog post.

Thanks for reading!