Archive for the ‘The Uncertain War’ Category

TUW update

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

After careful consideration and much back and forth, I decided to pull the plug on the TUW trilogy, indefinitely.

In spite of a new outline and fresh start, I’m struggling with the writing/rewriting and I’ve also come to think that, given how science and sci-fi concepts have evolved in the past decades, and how real-world politics have as well to a certain extent, several aspects of the story would no longer work for a modern release. In the end, there is so much to change or update that it would cause the story to lose many of the plot elements I envisioned, notably a critical event in the second book that was the main inciting incident for the third.

I’m not abandoning this universe just yet. I might revisit it with short stories, or a different story, or aspects of TUW from another POV… But after close to 30 years, maybe it’s time to realize that maybe this story, at all the different stages from 1994 to 2001 to 2008 to today, was only meant to be a training stage, and nothing more.

March being what it was (i.e. a bitch), there’s also that besides the issues with TUW itself, I feel that I simply tried to do too much too quick. Between work, family stuff, my transition, the news… I’ll be taking a break from writing altogether for the next few weeks. I need to center myself and see where I’m at, and tackle the next project with mindfulness and clarity.

Chel

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY

Thursday, January 26th, 2023

This ‘verse is coming to life, and this WIP is very definitely back “IP”.

Victory! (and other updates)

Sunday, December 25th, 2022

The Ascalon paperbacks are live again at last on Amazon! Thanks for the xmas gift KDP!

With this update now complete, I will now restore the corresponding pages here as well as the Planes of Ascalon companion pieces in the downloads section.

As for future works, 2022 having been the annus horribilis that it was, all my timelines have shifted more or less a year. Next year right now is looking to be pretty much entirely focused on sci-fi, as I really want to complete the first draft of TUW and send it for editing before the year is out, for a revised target publication date of 2024. I’m pushing The Commodore’s Gold a bit farther down the line as a result; however, French Ascalon fans rejoice, as the French translation of The Dragon Run will hit the shelves some time this year, probably in time for the summer holidays.

writing status

Monday, December 20th, 2021

While my current focus is chiefly The Uncertain War, I’m happy to say I’ve also completed the basic outline for The Commodore’s Gold, the third installment of the Ascalon Circle series. I’m not quite sure when I’ll start on the first draft, but that’s neat. Also defined a few of the planes that will make an appearance alongside the titular Commodore…

As things stand right now, I’m looking at a late 2023 release for TCG. (I’m writing the TUW trilogy as a single unit, and I anticipate coordinating everything will take most of my time in 2022).

But hey, progress is progress, right?

Coming (not quite) soon: “The Uncertain War”

Tuesday, June 8th, 2021

Since I’m in it for the long haul with the current WIP, a sci-fi / space opera trilogy called “The Uncertain War”, I’ve got some milestones planned out. First one will be the cover reveal! With a planned release around November/December 2022 for book one, I’ve decided that I’ll give you this little teaser a year ahead, on my birthday no less 😉 Stay tuned!

Now back to work!

Let’s get to it

Saturday, May 29th, 2021

1,015 words to kick-off the rewrite of the sci-fi WIP, starting over from page one. Current wordcount (stalled since about 2013) stands at approx. 78K across the three parts, with extensive revision needed, so this will take a while… And longer to write the missing parts!

It’s only the beginning. Small steps are good steps! I’m very happy to be revisiting this universe, and I hope to give more news about it soon(-ish)!

from 2020 to 2021

Monday, December 28th, 2020

It feels funny to be talking about plans for 2021 after the chaos that was 2020, but to be honest things are looking great.

The 2020 retrospective

1. Well, the obvious big news of 2020 was undoubtedly the release of “The Dragon Run”! I’m very happy that I was finally able to finish, edit and deliver this on time for the release date that I had set, and I’m looking forward to the next one! Speaking of which…

2. The first draft of “The Kerguelen Cat” is DONE.

3. The pandemic lockdown caused a certain number of things to be delayed, chief among them the boat project, of course. However, I have good hopes of putting it back on track soon, because..

4. I got a new job! The offer came just before the Christmas break and I will be starting in January. I won’t go into specifics here, but the details will be in my LinkedIn bio when that happens if anyone’s interested in checking it out.

And coming in 2021…

1. Well, the new job is an awesome opportunity so I’ll definitely be looking forward to that.

2. “The Kerguelen Cat” is scheduled to come out on May 1st. I will be starting the editing process when I’m back from the holiday break, and it will then go to my editor in February. While it’s there, I’ll finalize the design of the cover, before putting the final touches.

3. The next WIP will not be an Ascalon Circle book! I will be working on the rewrites, edits and completion of my science fiction epic “The Uncertain War”, a work that’s been in progress since 1994 in various forms. It started off as a time travel thing inspired by Jurassic Park, and evolved into something completely different. If anything I’ve done so far can be called a magnum opus, it’s this bad boy. I don’t have a release date yet, but I’m aiming roughly at a rolling 2022 release schedule for the three volumes. Yeah, it’s a big one!

4. I will also order and supervise the translation of TDR to French for a release in Q4 2021.

5. Lastly, conditional on favorable post-covid conditions… I will finally get my hands on my dream boat, if it’s still waiting for me where I left it last March.

I might have other news, but these are things I’m not ready to share on this platform quite yet.

I feel fortunate and grateful that 2020 was not a bad for me as it was for others, and I realize how privileged I am to be able to say this, and that 2021 is looking brighter as the last days of the year pass by us. I am also grateful to everyone who bought my book or downloaded some of my free material, your support means a lot. A heartfelt thank you to all of you! I wish everyone a happy new year celebration, and a magnificent 2021!

The future is ours to take!