Well, here I am, about a month and a half since I first published Inner Lives: Three Short Stories. I am still very fond of that collection but the breakout hit has been my short SciFi/Horror story Sleep. I think I hit a ground rule double with the cover and description. And the reviews have absolutely blown me away! Such high praise is definitely not what I was expecting for a short story that made the rounds of the fiction magazines and was rejected by them all without so much as a "how do you do." Now I only hope that my future work is received as warmly.
About that future work. My last post introduced you to Sullivan's War. This series will span four books of varying length. The prologue, Sergeant Riley's Account, will be out this coming week. It is a novelette at about 10,000 words. Part I of the main story line, All Good Men Serve the Devil, is currently sitting at around 30,000 words (a novella) but there are some scenes I need to expand (not to pad, but because it is needed). Parts II (A City Without Walls) and III (Edaline's Dawn) have yet to be written. Part II has been outlined and looks like it will come in as a novella as well.
So, since each part will probably be less than novel-length, I am going to hold off on producing print versions of each title. Near the end of 2012, when the series has been completed, I will then compile them all and release the whole story arc in print.
In short fiction, I have recently completed a story called "Main & Church." It is a quiet, literary story like the ones in Inner Lives and I am quite happy with it. I will be revising and editing it before too long and will then submit it to a few markets. If it doesn't sell I'll then think about releasing it as a stand-alone ebook. I also have a collection in the works called Visitors. I have three stories about alien visitation that I am still tweaking and if I get to a point where I am happy with them Visitors will probably be out sometime next year.
And then there is Chrysopteron, my epic, generations-spanning saga chronicling the triumphs and failures of the human race. This is my baby, I've been hand-holding it for a long time (it's been in the works about two years) and I feel so strongly about it that I want to be absolutely sure that it is as perfect as I can make it before releasing it out into the world. It may or may not be released in 2012. It will depend on how long Sullivan's War takes to complete. But have no fear, Sullivan's War will be completed by this time next year. That is my major goal for 2012.
I have one other SciFi novel (and, as always, many short stories) that I want to work on sometime within the next few years as well as a non-speculative fiction novel called Disreputable. If you have read Henry James's The Aspern Papers think of an updated version of that with some very important differences.
Watch for the release of Sergeant Riley's Account this coming week. I hope you find the description engaging and that you'll take a chance on it. As always, thank you to all who have bought my ebooks, reviewed them, mentioned and RTed me on Twitter or even just browsed my blog. Without all of you I am nothing as a writer.
Best,
Michael
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