Month: May 2021

So, Nightstare launched last week and you already want to know what I’m doing next? That’s kind of like when you graduate from high-school and all people can talk about is what college you’re going to. It’s kind of a terrible phenomenon, if you stop and think about it, but that’s how humans are, always pushing for the next big thing.

As it turns out, I’ve been pretty preoccupied with my next big thing for the past couple of months. Remember when I mentioned that “Secret Project” a while back? Yeah, I know, I said it was going to launch in May, but I wasn’t expecting Nighstare to launch so late in May.

I’ll be revealing just what the secret project is on June 1^st, here on Stardriftnights. In the meantime, I’ve got to put in some major work on the thing itself. For this reason I’ll be dropping off the face of the internet until June 1^st. I honestly don’t even know how many hours of work I’ve got ahead of me, here. This is all new territory. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, please show Dronefall some love, and maybe incorporate it into your summer reading list. Summer is almost here, which is shocking. I’ve learned to love summer, even though I’m really not a fan of the extreme heat and oppressive humidity it brings in the Great Lakes area. There’s still a lot I really do like about it: the warm nights outdoors, the lightning bugs, the thunderstorms, swimming, camping, gardening, getting excited about fall around the end of July….

Anyway, yeah. I’ve got work to do. I should really start on it right now. Go ahead and theorize to yourself about the secret project, if you want—and I’ll see you in June!

Well, this has been quite a week. I feel oddly productive right now.

We’re four whole books in now. We are two-thirds of the way through the Dronefall series. The plot is thickening, and so are the books. Each one has been a little longer than the last, as the sub-plots explode and expand. We’re building up to a big climactic showdown of a finale. A lot of the biggest burning questions will be answered in book five. It’s gonna be so worth it, guys.

I hope more people discover Dronefall while I’m writing the last two books. There’s really nothing like being in a fandom and getting to wait for real-time comebacks. My first experience following an active series was with The Illyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. I’m still waiting on the final book. Has anyone heard anything?

Please help spread the word about the Dronefall series, if you get the chance. I know there are people out there who would appreciate it. I hope they find it.

Thanks to everyone who has been supportive in any way. The likes, the shares, the comments, the interactions and mentions are all very encouraging and I notice every one. And, of course, many thanks to Victoria of Victoria Lynn Designs who has done the interior formatting for the whole series so far, as well as the formatting for my poetry book. And thanks to my family, who always help with alpha and beta reading. My family is the best team I could ask for.

And thank you for reading to the end this post. Before I go, here are the links you might want to click sometime soon.

Book Four, Nightstare on Amazon

Book One, Dronefall

Book Two, Lightwaste

Book Three, Rainchill

(first three ebooks all on sale on Kindle for 99c until June 1^st)

My Goodreads Page

We’re halfway through the launch celebration for Dronefall Four, Nightstare! This had been a great week. I hope you all are feeling as energized as I am right now.

Well, you guys sent me some good questions, so let’s jump right in, shall we?

What was your first glimmer of inspiration for the Dronefall series?

There are several inspirations I can remember, but to be honest, I don’t know which came first. I became interested in drones and fascinated by the idea of mass drone surveillance in college. I was using it as a topic for a debate in speech class. The debate wasn’t that great. I don’t do well with tight time-limits. I guess that’s why the Dronefall series is so long.

What excites you the most about sharing Nightstare with the world?

This book’s been long in coming, and it contains events that I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It pretty much hits the midpoint plot-twist for the whole series, and things get increasingly crazier from here. I also feel like Nightstare packs more emotional and thematic punch than the previous books, so I can’t wait to see how readers react.

Who’s your favorite character in Nightstare?

I love my main cast, of course. Halcyon is becoming an increasingly interesting lead, Reveille is my favorite sidekick ever, Zoltan is great, Dorian is…Dorian, and Shep is way cooler and more important than I ever expected him to be.

But, in Nightstare particularly, a character that takes a surprising place in my heart is Reverend St. Cloud. I think few people are going to suspect how huge his role is going to be from the first book, where he really just seems like another of many confusing obstacles. But moves the plot in amazing ways as we get along in the story, and he’s also a very complex person with a lot going on. Just wait and see.

Who’s you’re least favorite character in Nightstare?

Elder Boaz. He’s a jerk.

Which Dronefall book was hardest to write?

Each book has it’s own challenges, but I think the hardest was book two, Lightwaste. Not only did it have the built-in anxieties that always come with the second book in a series, it also has a very different plot than the others. There’s a lot of confusion and back-and-forth that Halcyon has to face more or less alone, and a lot of information to introduce. I also pulled no punches with the cultural criticism in the second book, so there was a lot of time spent dealing with some very real-world ugliness, so it was difficult in that way, too.

Have any of your reasons why you’re writing Dronefall changed since starting the series?

When I started writing Dronefall, I think I was more motivated by frustration and a need to have my say than I am now. I was in college, which really opened my eyes to the state of things and the direction society is taking, and that really lit a fire under me to counter the lies that are being told out there. Of course, there’s still some of that, that’s called being a dystopian writer, but I think I’ve really connected to some deeper themes in the story, now. These days, I really just want to inspire other Christians and help them see a future where Christ is both relevant and winning.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned?

I’ve learned loads of technical things writing this series, but I think the biggest lesson I’ve gotten out of this so far is to never stop pouring yourself into what we feel inspired to do. It literally doesn’t matter if anyone ever reads it. If it feeds your soul and gives you a sense of purpose, that in itself is worth it.

What’s the theme scripture verse?

There are a lot of themes I think about when I think about this series. It’s hard to boil a six-book series down to one. But I think when you watch Halcyon Slavic going through this big weird labyrinth of a story, you see her asking something over and over: “Why me?” and not in a self-pitying way. She doesn’t know why she is where she is, or way the things that are happening to her are happening to her.

I’ve never picked a specific scripture for this. But I know it occurs a lot with people throughout the Bible, as well as with us today. Things can seem very random, and it’s hard to see how our story fits into the big story. And yet, it does, and our part is no mistake.

How do you hope your readers feel at the end of the Dronefall series?

This isn’t going to be one of those dystopian stories that just kind of collapses into rubble at the end. That doesn’t mean everything is going to be all wrapped up and tied with a bow, but I have no intention of being a downer after getting people invested for six whole books. Actually, I want my readers to be excited at the end of Dronefall. I want them to be looking up and believing in a future—their future—where there is still meaning, joy, and healing. I want people to have open eyes and look for the deeper purpose under what happens in this world, knowing they don’t have to panic or feel forgotten in the tides of time and chaos, because God is writing the story, and we all have a place in it.

Thanks again for the questions, guys! See you tomorrow with a special surprise.

Yesterday, I set about making a few little changes to the cover for Nightstare—for the second time. I’d wrestled with it before. I thought I should brighten up a few things, make a word-change on the BCC, and shrink the logline down a bit, along with another little change on a spine element.

I got up and went to the kitchen for a second in the middle of my work and when I came back the computer screen was black and unresponsive. I asked my brother, who’s more familiar with the pc than I am, what was going on. He said it does that sometimes. The moral of the story is: always hit save before going to look for a quick snack in the next room.

So, later, I returned to redo what I had done and resume my struggle with the stupid thing that had been going on right before the computer passed out. (That was why I suddenly had to get a snack. It happens when I’m frustrated.) I eventually figured out what my problem was. I’m not saying it made much sense, but I figured it out. So, finally I saved my PDF and took it to my laptop to upload.

I hotspotted my laptop via my phone and as I was powering up, my laptop informed me that it had encountered an “unexpected” issue, and would have to restart. It does that sometimes. When it was quite finished with that, I finally got on KDP and uploaded the new cover.

All of which is to say, I hit “publish your paperback book” on Nightstare last night.

As I was trying to plan this post, I realized I’m not even sure what I learned while writing Nightstare. That was a long time ago! So, it just became a rant about unreliable technology instead of the post I said was coming at the end of yesterday’s post. But at least I’ve got a post, right?

Some people think it takes a very organized on top of it type to be an indie author. I can see why. It’s a lot of responsibilities to keep in line. Maybe you do have to be a certain type—to be a good indie author. But I suppose, as long as I keep producing books, and having fun doing it, that checks my boxes.

So anyway, I hope you enjoyed today’s non-post. I’ll see you tomorrow for a Q+A, which should go better than this.

P.S. If you have any questions you would like to see me answer in tomorrow’s post, feel free to comment them here. I’ll also put up a question box on my Instagram story.