I promised a while back to post some information on upcoming Crimson Worlds books. While the individual books have their own stories (or portions of multi-book storylines), the series does have its own overall arc as well. Aside from the books that are finished, and bits and pieces of future books, it exists as a big outline and a bunch of notes.
I tend to critique my own work pretty aggressively, and I also tend to be straightforward about what I liked and what I might have done differently. A Little Rebellion has been my best seller over the first 30 days by a considerable margin, and the reviews have been strong. That said, there are a couple things I would have done differently. Based on my outline, I thought the ALR story could be told in one book. It's sometimes hard to tell until you're already neck deep in the writing. As it turned out, ALR ended up being almost half again as long as the others, and I still feel I ended up rushing things, especially at the end. If I was doing the book again, I would plot it out as two separate volumes.
This is something I'm looking at going forward. I had a list of the eight books that will constitute the series, but now I'm only going to talk about a couple at a time. I may end up adding a volume if I think it is necessary to tell the story properly. I prefer to add books rather than let them get very long, mostly because I am very committed to a frequent release schedule. There is nothing I hate more as a reader than loving a book and waiting a year (or more) for the next one (and forgetting half of what went on, etc.). From the mail I get, you guys feel the same way, so I think I'm on the right track. And I just can't produce 250k word behemoths every two or three months.
In a couple weeks I will start posting some sample chapters of book four, The First Imperium. It is the first of a 2 (or 3...we will have to wait and see) book arc within the main series. It should be out sometime in March, probably toward the end of the month.
Crimson Worlds V: The Line Must Hold will be out in June, and it will be very much a continuation of the storyline started in The First Imperium.
I'm also going to be finishing the trilogy of prequel novellas covering the backstory of various major characters. The first one, Tombstone, has been very well received, both in terms of sales and reviews. I've been shocked, actually, at the sales...I didn't think a short work (24k words) would sell so many. It's my favorite thing I've done on Crimson Worlds. It's somewhat like a short version of Marines, but covering Jax instead of Cain.
The next two will be Bitter Glory (Augustus Garret) and The Gates of Hell (Elias Holm). I'm not sure which will be out first, but one should be published in April and the other in July. All three will be available on audiobook as well.
I have a few other non-Crimson Worlds things I'm working on for later this year, including a new series I'm really excited about. I'll post more on that in a while.
I'm going to start posting sample chapters of The First Imperium, with the first going up sometime this weekend or Monday.
Until then, I want to thank you all for the amazing launch of A Little Rebellion.
I really enjoy what you are writing in this series.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a great deal of how It was when I have read and re-read Doc Smith's Skylark and Lensman series.
Only difference is, when I first read Smith's works, they were all paperbacks. Now, it's electronic...lol!! Sci-Fi is life.
I am reading "Tombstone" now.
Keep them coming!!
Hi Terry,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments...they are always appreciated.
I'm a big Lensman fan. I must have read the series twenty times as a kid. It's dated, of course, but absolutely a classic.
I'd love to know what you thought of Tombstone. I think it's my favorite thing I've written in Crimson Worlds.
Later!
Jay
Hi Jay.
ReplyDeleteJust finished it tonight.
I thought it was great and I like the idea of "side stories" that let you explore a character in depth and in a way that adds to your main story line.
I also like that the reader could decide when to read these - before, during, after. Jax's story further solidified the "brotherhood" bind that belongs with Crimson Worlds and your style made me wish that I could have a beer with this guy (well, most of characters too).
Being a big fan of this genre, I wasn't dissapointed. I've followed David Sherman's StarFIST series (he told me that the publisher said there was no more market for that series is why it ended where it did); David Drake's Hammer's Slammer's & RCN series - I like where that has evolved to and he's told me that he doesn't know where it will go, but that it will, so I am looking forward to that; Rick Shelley, etc.
That being said, I've become a Jay Allan fan. So, your character study concept seems to be a winner for me. I am waiting for the next one.