"Unseen" to be published!

Hello folks! I'm bringing in some good news... A short story I wrote in October of 2015 is going to published by Centum Press in an upcoming anthology called One Hundred Voices. The link I just provided will take you to the first volume, but my short story called Unseen is not a part of it. It will be in the second volume. I've heard back from the publisher that they intend to release it in mid-January!

Okay, on to Shadow Wielder news. I've obtained a lot of beta-reader feedback on Book 1 of The Shadow Wielder. Overall, people have loved it, which has been rewarding to hear! I have applied the last of the edits I plan on making to the story, and am still seeking agent representation for it. I might submit a query to one of Centum Press's sister companies, Snow Leopard Publishing or Wizard's Keep Publishing. I haven't decided yet. I'm not in a rush to publish, which will be explained later on here.

I've begun outlining Book 2 of The Shadow Wielder. It's going to be a fun one to write, and I'm excited to see where my discovery writing fills in the gaps and enhances the story. I have not come up with a name for it yet. I might not be able to decide what title to give it until I really get into the meat of the story. I'll keep you posted on it.

Last bit of news... I'm about 88% done with the first draft of what I've been telling people is the prequel to The Shadow Wielder series. It is called Orbs of Memory. Writing this story has stretched my abilities as a writer. It has some VERY dark moments. I have a hard time sitting in that darkness and writing about it. Half of the novel is a tragedy, and I'm approaching the end of it. I'm in the middle of Chapter 17 (out of 20 Chapters). I am hoping to wrap it up the first draft before Halloween so I can start fresh with Book 2 in November for NaNoWriMo.

Here's my grand announcement: Orbs of Memory is NOT a prequel. It is what I have termed an "In Betweequel." This story takes place between Book 1 and Book 2. Essentially, it is Book 1.5. When I tell people this, the usual response I get is "Why not just make it part of Book 2, since you haven't written it yet?" The short answer is that it would completely mess with the flow of Book 2. While Orbs of Memory takes place after the events of Book 1, it spends 95% of the time prior to the events of Book 1, explaining the pasts of 2 characters. That being said, it will only be about half as long as Book 1. I plan on writing another "In Betweequel" after Book 2. So, in total, this trilogy will actually be 5 books long. The "In Betweequels" will not be required to understand what is going on in the trilogy, but they will help answer questions readers might have as they read the series.

After rereading this post, things look pretty good. If you'd like to be a beta reader, please let me know! Until next time!

-Jesse