Transitions can be trying times, truly.
City of Angles is simultaneously dead and alive. It’s dead in that I’ve completely and utterly finished writing it; the last chapter has been finalized, the bonus story is written, and now it’s off in the hands of my editor. Soon the book will be in the store and that’ll be all she wrote. And yet… now that it’s complete, it’s like it’s fully sprung to life. New readers can dive in and swallow the whole thing in one binge if they like, because it’s all there. The long tail kicks in and the whole unit is going to be discovered and enjoyed by people long after I’ve moved on, much like Anachronauts. Feels… strange to me.
Still, CoA’s a hell of a thing, isn’t it? Two and a half years in the making. Born out of anxiety and depression, fear and uncertainty. I worked my life into the pages during the long road of recovery and came out the other end considerably improved. It sings true of my optimism and my faith in humanity, that we can be more than we are. The City’s potential is within all of us, after all. I’m quite proud of the work and I’m glad you were with me for the ride.
While the wheels are turning behind the scenes to raise up the last of City of Angles onto the stage, I’m in the back drafting up the next project. It’s a slow burn; an hour or few a day of pondering, imagining, drafting up characters and concepts. I’m not ready to dive head-on into full chapter production, but that’s okay, I could use the time to rest and dream and imagine new things.
Would you like a sneak peek? Let’s assume yes.
Now, this is all VERY tentative, as plans can — and do — change. For instance, my first idea for this project was an alternate history of earth where Edison invented magic instead of electricity, but that was riddled with holes and simply unworkable. But the idea I’m grooving on right now, that one seems to be clicking and seems quite viable so far.
For the deep geeks in the crowd who remember the crap I was pumping out back in high school, I got my start in cyberpunk writing. It’s high time I returned to that.
Welcome to Floating Point, a lone oasis within a rolling sea of ever-shifting data known as Netwerk, a digital environment populated entirely by sentient programs. The connectivity of social structures yearning to be participated in opens up before you, beckoning you to laugh and cry and mock and jeer and lol and wtf. And if you should sense something dark and strange within servers disrecommended by the Sysops, just remember… everything has its own internal sense of scale. What can be tiny and unimportant in one context can be a maelstrom in another. Not much comfort when caught in the middle of that storm, but hey…
But… that’s for later.
Meanwhile, I’ve heard your calls in the reader survey (and am continuing to listen to them, if you haven’t filled yours out yet). You seem to be quite keen on additional blog material, such as analysis of writing tropes, or simply off-topic ponderings. I shall provide. In the chapter-free weeks ahead, the dead weeks between projects, this blog will be very much alive with updates. It’s high time I got back on top of that blogging thing, for longer form content than 120 characters can allow. These words you’re reading are the start of that, with more to come.
So much more to come. You are here now, with me, on this journey. Shall we see where it’s going?