Writing Update

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a writing update (or anything!). It’s high time I fixed that. So, here is what’s happening in my odd little corner of the author world. 

The Rise of the Warriors series is over halfway finished! It feels so odd to say that. I’ve been working on this series for seven years, and now it’s almost finished. Books one through four have been published. Books five and six are written. Book seven is still just an idea in my head. 

I’ve already started edits on book five, Troubled Tides. I took a break from it for a few months to focus on other projects, but I hope to get back to it next month. There is no set release date yet, but I’m planning to release it this summer. 

Troubled Tides takes the warriors deeper into danger. Not only are bounty hunters and the world’s greatest assassin (who may or may not be human) still on their trail, they now must survive Glale, the most treacherous city in all of Artasia. Thugs and untrustworthy men are everywhere, and the dark market runs the streets. 

The dark market? It’s a band of ruffians who deal in overpriced, often illegal, merchandise. They also deal in violence. No one messes with them… except Ian. 

I can’t say too much, because spoilers are no fun, but Ian’s past plays a big role in this book. We finally get to see what he was doing while his family thought he was dead. And it wasn’t good. Ian has a dark past, to put it mildly. And a rough present. 

Okay, I need to stop talking now before I really do give away a spoiler. Let’s just say Ian gets more attention this time around. His story is a little sad, but it’s of his own making. 

What about the other characters? If you’ve read the series, you know the Rise of the Warriors books have parallel storylines that follow different, yet connected, characters. While the warriors are facing their struggles in Glale, the others are fighting battles of their own. 

Cass, Ben, and Niki are going to find out exactly how dangerous the underground world is. There are creatures and people they never expected to exist. As for Macy and Natalie, their path takes a turn, both for the worse and the better. 

Back in Grinslee, Samuel finds something that will change the course of history. 

Okay. I’ll be honest; I’m not sure how to talk about these storylines without giving away too much info. For now, I’ll just say things are coming together. 

As for what’s happening in Norgrom… there is no way to talk about that without spoilers. So you’ll just have to wait and see. 

That’s all I can tell about the Warriors for now. Troubled Tides is going to be fun! 

What about The Door of Exterrah? I’m glad you asked (you didn’t, but I’m going to tell you anyway). 

Betrayed, book one, is in editing. If all goes well, I plan to send out beta copies in February. 

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Exterrah, so here’s a reminder of what the series is about. 

The Door of Exterrah is a Christian portal fantasy. Unlike the Warriors, which is a young adult series, Exterrah is new adult. It’s aimed at a slightly older audience, but teens could still read it no problem. 

Betrayed starts the series off in our world, following Maddie Farmer, a young woman trying to survive college and her narcissistic stepsister. Maddie’s life changes forever when she accidentally discovers a portal to another world. Now, she finds herself face to face with griffins, bloodthirsty shifters (monstrous beings able to take on any form), and an insufferable elven prince she could do without. 

But not all is bad in Exterrah. Maddie makes many new friends. And enemies. 

I’m both excited and nervous for Betrayed to be released into the world. I’ve been working on it nearly as long as the Rise of the Warriors series. Yeah, I spent that long working on one book. 

I love the story and am excited to see where the book will go once it’s out of my hands and in the world. I pray it will reach the right readers. 

Betrayed, and Exterrah as a whole, has themes I love and can’t wait to share. Forgiveness is the main theme of the series, but true beauty and another theme that shall remain a secret for now also show up. 

Then there are the characters themselves. I look forward to introducing you all to my strange group of humans, elves, dwarves, and dwelf (half-elf, half-dwarf, the only one in existence in Exterrah). There are also pech, griffins, dragons, and some other creatures. It’s an adventure I’m excited to share! 

I’ve already written book two and am almost finished with the first round of edits. Book three has already started taking shape in my mind, and I’ve written a possible outline. So the series is coming together well! I can’t wait to share Exterrah with you! 

You may remember a while back, I mentioned another project temporarily named Hunted. It’s also a portal fantasy. It follows a young werewolf named Vera as she and her cousin get trapped in our world and face hunters bent on ridding the world of all werewolves. 

I still love Hunted. But I got stuck. I decided to take a break from the project for a while. Being as I’m going to be pretty busy with the Warriors and Exterrah, I may or may not have time to return to Hunted in the coming months. I have no intention of abandoning Vera’s story, but it’s going to take me longer than expected to finish writing it. Unfortunately, Hunted isn’t likely to come out this year as I had hoped. I apologize to anyone who was looking forward to the book. The wait will have to be a little longer. 

Now that I’ve written this, I’m itching to get back to Vera’s story. I have got to find time for it soon!

So, that’s my writing update. As it stands, I plan to release two books this year: Troubled Tides (Rise of the Warriors, book 5) and Betrayed (The Door of Exterrah, book 1). I also hope to get back to Hunted. I also hope to start blogging consistently again, so we’ll see where that goes. 

Say a prayer for this busy author. I look forward to sharing the next adventure with you!