First, a bit of good news: Parasexual audio is here!
I’m embarrassed again, but less so, because it finally feels like I’m starting to crawl out of the hole I fell into.
I got nothing out this month, but I think I managed to do some healing, at least. Honestly, I’m surprised that it got this bad, but I guess that speaks to the depths of my mental health problems.
Given how this year has gone, I’m going to do something a little different. I’m going to give a kind of State of the Library address and just talk about everything currently on the table. And, because it’s me, I have of course overloaded my table. But on top of all the in-progress things I need to touch on, I’ll just go ahead and touch on anything else that comes to mind. Mostly I’m doing this for the readers, but also I’m doing it for myself. It helps unclutter my brain when I assemble a generalized status update.
So here we go! I’ll try to organize this as best I can.
OUR OWN WAY: I am aiming to get this done before 2027 for sure. Our Own Way 7 remains the final novel in the series. Once it’s out, I’ll wait about a month, and then release The Complete Series, which will include the three canon bonus shorts that have already been written: THE COUGAR POUNCES, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, & INSECURITIES, as well as a new short story (novella?) to serve as an epilogue after the end of OOW7. Beyond that, I only have a couple more things to add on. I’m toying around with the idea of doing a release of the original Our Own Way on Kindle like I did the original A Warm Place. I’m also going to (at some point, when there’s time) have art done of Emily and Abby, and also another huge wallpaper featuring all the girls gothed out. And then that’ll be it.
PARASEXUAL: Basically, I’m going to try and barrel through this as quickly as possible. Going to try very hard to have all these up before 2027.
PRIMAL LOVE: This is still happening, and still in the way that I originally promised. Two more sequels, it will remain mono romance, and the complete trilogy omnibus will feature a short story epilogue. This will NOT be finished before 2027. I am, however, aiming to get to it in 2027.
PATREON COUSIN INCEST: This one is still going to be a thing, but I’m not sure when. I was kind of amped for it straight out the gate, wrote most of chapter one, and then promptly got crushed under the weight of responsibility and mental health problems. That’s all I’ve got for it now. This one will be more of a ‘I’ll add to it when I can’ kind of projects.
AFTER DARK: Still got two more. One for Holly and one for Sadie. It’s not shutting down after that, but for the time being, that’s all that’s left in the tank. I’m positive there will be more.
SHELTER FROM THE STORM: This is still happening, but it’s on the shelf.
THE LOST ARCHIVES: For those who might not remember, this project was going to be a collab between myself and Lara X. Lust. In it, we were going to collect our handful of projects that began writing, got farther than a few paragraphs, and then were abandoned. We were going to each add a new short as well. Ultimately, with everything going on, Lara and I decided to cancel this. What I have opted to do with my stuff is, I’ll put all my unfinished projects up on both Patreon and my website. For those curious about my own short written for this, it’s already on my Patreon as Love, Lust, & Rebellion. Unfortunately, I can’t post it for the public, as it has sex scenes, however, it is freely available if you join my Patreon as a member.
OPERATION - RESURGENCE: I’m a little less certain about this now as a whole. Parasexual has given me more trouble than I thought it would. That being said, I’m still committed to doing Like A Fine Wine. For the rest, I’m still thinking. A big part of the problem is that I can’t tell how much of my struggle with this was from everything that’s happened this year, or from the actual project itself. Given that I’m still…not in a good place, I’m still not able to make this determination.
SCI-FI SHARK HUNTER SERIES: This, too, is still happening, but it’s also on the shelf.
THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING, RIGHT?: I’m uncertain about this one. On the one hand, it’s drifted from my attention (obviously) and it’s fan fiction and also particularly bleak and brutal. On the other hand…I’ve got some cool ideas for it that won’t leave me alone. So, this one’s staying on the shelf. (Although I managed to get another four chapters written for it before the flame died, so I might end up posting those at least. I don’t know, no one really seemed interested in it. Which is fair. Iron Lung, even with the movie, is still kind of under most people’s radar now. Also, it’s pretty damn weird.)
BY THE HEARTHFIRE’S LIGHT: Also still happening, but shelved. I still like this idea, but it doesn’t feel right at the moment. Very likely what will happen is I’ll pick this back up in a year, after my current serial fiction series starts.
And that’s that. But what about the future? Well, given the delicate nature of my mental state right now, and the fact that winter is coming, I’m reluctant to talk about the future. Despite that, I will offer a few things that I intend to do.
THE LITHIC DEEP: Time to finally talk a little bit about my new serial. Yes, I’ve finally settled on something. I’ll do a more thorough explanation a bit later in the month, but here’s a basic idea. It’s going to be sci-fi/action/horror. It’s going to be in the future, on another planet where everyone lives underground and drives huge driller rigs, grinding tunnels through the dark rock, hunting for minerals. Until, one day, someone finds something else. Something never meant to be rediscovered. Something that was on an isolated, dead world in deep space for a very good reason. I’ve done some writing for it and I like what I have so far. Another thing I can say is that I’m definitely going to be trying to keep the harem small. I’m also going to take a shot at writing a protagonist who doesn’t sleep with anyone but the harem girls. Provided my recovery continues, I’ll have this ready to go for pre-order in late October, launching November 1st. Also, I’m aiming to make these a little bit longer on average than Down the Rabbit Hole.
MY FIRST EVER (HAREM) CROSSOVER - LAKESIDE COUGARS/OUR OWN WAY: Yep. I’ve been kicking this idea around for a LOOOONG time. The concept of a crossover, not necessarily this specific one. The biggest thing holding me back is the anxiety that some people are going to automatically assume there’s going to be sharing among the harems, which would obviously be a rule break. But ultimately, what settled it was realizing that basically everyone who’s going to read it almost certainly will understand, immediately, that there’s no fucking way I’d ever do that. I’d never even hint at it. It would be an insanely stupid move, but on top of that, it isn’t a thing I want to happen. I don’t want to write about it, which is awesome, because that’s a condition of my career anyway. And so, given this thought came to me, I’ve decided to go ahead and do it. It’s still in the purely conceptual stage because I haven’t had the energy to sit down and do any kind of planning. But ideas are forming, and I think I could do a really good job. Like, this is kind of my place to shine, because it’s going to more or less be pure character interaction, and what’s cooler than seeing two groups of awesome people meeting each other for the first time? I mean, can you imagine what would happen? How Chloe would react? Ellen? Krystal? Colleen? There’s just so much potential. All I’ve really got right now is that it’s going to be a novella (probably), and it’ll basically be an encounter between the main cast of Lakeside Cougars and the main cast of Our Own Way (with perspectives from the girls, too), when Gabe takes the girls to Lakeside, Oregon for a vacation. I am genuinely so curious to see how people will react to this one. I don’t have a solid idea for a release window, but at least Our Own Way needs to wrap up completely. So, if things go well, January 2027? February? Maybe for Valentine’s Day?
MY NEXT BIG SERIES: This one is going to be a little different. For starters, it’s going to be a near future action-horror. Specifically, military horror. It’s a bit more ambitious than most of the stuff I’ve done recently. A short synopsis is: An off-the-books military unit investigates an evil corporation’s top secret, experimental lab deep in the heart of a decaying coastal city, causing nightmarish chaos to bleed into the streets. I want to have a small harem and a persistent team of secondary characters that support the main character in the field. I also want one of those characters to basically be like the main character of a DLC. How this would manifest is: I’d write novellas that take place in between/alongside the novels featuring one of the side characters who basically leads a secondary squad. It’ll also give me an opportunity to explore something I so rarely see explored: the illusive MFF relationship. I’m also considering writing a mini-series featuring another original character who will appear later in the novels, to serve as a sort of introduction to the world. I guess, if those novellas are DLC, this would be a custom demo. That’s about all I want to say about it, beyond the fact that I’m really looking forward to this one. It’s going to be exciting.
And that’s what I’ve got.
Unfortunately, I’m still reluctant to make any seriously concrete promises, and I’m still…not in a good place. Yesterday was pretty bad, and that kind of came out of nowhere. It was sort of the psychological equivalent of like a week after you’re ‘done’ with a really bad cold or flu, and you do something even kind of physically engaging, and before you know it you’re out of breath and realize ‘oh wow, I am NOT recovered, I’m just not actively suffering anymore’.
My basic plan is this:
Get Parasexual done fast.
Get The Lithic Deep comfortably into production.
Get Our Own Way wrapped up.
Start serious work on my next big project.
Once again, wish me luck. And once again, thank you for your patience.
