Update from the Terminal

It’s been a little while since I’ve given an update on things in general, so a post like this is overdue. Anyone who keeps up with me at all knows I don’t blog terribly often, but when I do, I try to give my entries a little substance. My aim with this entry is to provide a little insight into the many things I have on my literary plate.

Firstly, and what I’m sure most people are curious about, is Enemy One, Epic’s fifth installment. Progress on the book is going very well, as it’s currently Outlaw Trigger length but still with a ways to go. Though my original plan was for this to be a book somewhat longer than the first two, I was hoping to keep it under the lengths of Hero and TGB. Being as far into the book as I currently am, that may or may not be the case.

Enemy One is, without a doubt, the most difficult book I’ve ever attempted to write. One of the biggest challenges has been that, to be perfectly honest, it hasn’t even been the book that I’d expected it to be. TGB ended on a fast note, leading me to assume that book five would pick up with that same tempo. In actuality, the Enemy One experience has been quite the opposite. The more I wrote, the more it occurred to me that the natural transition from the frenetic conclusion of book four was the literary equivalent of a long, deep breath. Much needed to be digested, both by the reader and by the crew of the Fourteenth. An attempt was made to maintain E4’s action-heavy finale’s pace, but it just didn’t feel “right.” So I did what I felt was best, discarded any preconceived notions of what I felt readers expected, and just wrote the way the story asked to be written. In my experience, writing bears the best fruit when stories are given free reign to direct themselves, with me acting merely as a mediator between thought and keyboard. I think this approach as served Enemy One well. The tagline of “Run” still applies. But the concept of running is multifaceted, not simply relegated to literally running through city streets firing assault rifles. A story that would simply be that would be style over substance. As in all Epic books, there are action sets sprinkled throughout book five. They just have a purpose beyond being “action for the sake of action.”

Epic 5 is going to be different. I’m well aware of the notoriety of fifth installments (Rocky 5, Star Trek 5, etc.). Enemy One could very easily fall into the “weak link” category of the series if it were forced into the same mold that was used for TGB. Because of this, the approach has had to be different – and careful. There is a story to continue, but Enemy One can’t be The Glorious Becoming Part II. It has to stand on its own, with its own merits, its own uniqueness, and its own pacing. What has this led to? A book that is far deeper, and far more psychological, than I ever could have anticipated. It has the potential to be the most thought-provoking installment in the entire series. The first four books in Epic are the intro. The last three are the journey to finality. It’s Enemy One‘s job to link them together. If done the right way, this transitional book can be mesmerizing. Don’t ask me for a release date. I’m writing every day, but the editing process for this book will be longer than most. It’ll be done “when it’s done.” I anticipate that being in 2015. As always, bear with me.

Epic is not all that I’m working on! I’m actually juggling a whopping five writing projects right now (Enemy One included), meaning that there will soon be some non-Epic lit out there by yours truly.

One of these projects, I can’t talk about yet. But it’s big. That’s all you get.

I’m also in the beginning stages of a second novel series that I can’t talk about too much at this point, only to say that it’s a major change of pace for me and something I’ve wanted to get to for a very long time.

Then, there’s a story I’m working on that…look, I’m just gonna be honest. It’s chick-lit. My wife was watching a Hallmark movie one day, I plopped down on the sofa, got sucked in for a bit, then made the dreaded statement, “You know what kind of story I bet this channel would love? Something about…” As it turned out, the idea was good. Really good. “I have to do it now” good. So now I’m stuck. All I can say is that if I told you the idea, too, you’d be like, “dude…yeah…that one’s a winner.” I hate chick-lit. Nicholas Sparks is my bane. This will be interesting!

The last item I’m juggling is purely conceptual. It’s about gangster rap and vegetables. There’s really not much more to say.

And so those are the goings-on as of 2015! Oh, and we’re having another baby. This is gonna be one heck of a year!

I’ll write more as the above things develop. In the meantime, I’ll be cranking out Enemy One and the many other things I’ve got on the burners. Stay tuned, people!

-LS