July 16, 2012

What Now?

I found myself asking that question Friday night as I lay in bed staring up at the dark ceiling and listening to my Yorkie terrier 'woof' in her sleep. What do I do during the waiting period between Son of the Shield being finished and the next step, getting it published?
It's a bit of a silly question, considering the number of other projects I have waiting for my attention. But for five-and-a-half years now, Son of the Shield has been my focus, my Priority 1 writing project, and now suddenly it's done. I don't have to worry about tweaking this bit of internal monologue or revving up that fight scene or intensifying those emotions... it's done.
Weird feeling, let me tell you.
But, being born and raised a hillbilly, I don't know how to sit still for more than a few seconds, and it didn't take me long to push that 'what now?' feeling aside. So today, after enjoying my first Son of the Shield-free weekend in five-and-a-half years (Attending the Answers in Genesis conference made a great weekend vacation!) I'm turning my focus onto my next project!
Have I got you curious?
Some of you may have been following my short story series on Avenir Eclectia (you can Click Here to read it). For those of you who don't know, Avenir Eclectia is a multi-author micro-fiction project from Splashdown Books. I started writing stories for the project last year, mostly just for fun. But when the AE project's artist and composer, Michael L. Rogers, offered a creative idea for a plot twist, the story thread I had started began growing quite a bit.
The Avenir Eclectia Anthology, Volume 1, is slated to release later this summer or fall. Here's a look at the awesome cover art:



Notice the fifth name from the bottom? : D My first time in print - as in, on actual paper, not just online! I'm so excited!
Only one of the several stories I've published with AE is going into the anthology, though. Reason being:
Grace Bridges, the Avenir's commander-in-chief, has given me the go-ahead to turn the rest of my short stories, the ones that follow the same characters and plot, into a novel!
That's my next big fiction project: an Avenir Eclectia novel. So I'm shifting gears from fantasy to sci-fi for a while - and it ought to be quite a ride!

Do you find it difficult to 'shift gears' from one project to another? What do you do to make the transition easier?

4 comments:

  1. I don't have much of a problem "shifting gears" as such. Sometimes I have trouble staying focused.

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  2. Most of the time, I don't have a problem. However, I did have a really hard time shifting from Sci-Fi to my Middles Ages book.

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  3. YAY! It looks pretty awesome to see our names on a book cover together, let me tell ya. ;)

    Do I find it hard to shift gears? *snort* Sometimes it's all too easy. You should know. You've been bothering me about Half Blood for the last four years. ;P

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    1. I know - it's the kind of thing we cooked up when we were teenagers. And just think: in another century or so, our names together on a book cover could be the equivalent of Lewis' and Tolkien's names together! (I'll be Lewis, you can be Tolkien.) ; P

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