Greetings and salutations. I really think there must be something wrong with me.

I just completed the rough draft to “Welcome to Avernus”. This is my sixth manuscript, four with Clevenger, and two solo. We are finalizing our edits with our debut novel, “War of Night”, and are stepping into the significant editing process for the second book in our series, now titled “Old Bones, Old Ways”, as well as the serious editing and rewrite for Avernus. And yet what do I do?

I start writing a new book.

It’s like I can’t leave well enough alone. If I need to write, there are plenty of scenes that need to be touched up and rewritten. And it isn’t like there are swarms of people sitting around, pressuring me to write. So why do it? I think it’s because I have too many stories sitting around. This new one, called “Ghosting Myself”, is a fictionalized autobiography, working out what might have changed if I had a do-over with my life, and could be my own mentor. I’m also sitting on my own standalone fantasy novel, “Cristobal”, also set in the world of Sainan. On top of that, I have an urban fantasy plotted out, based on of all things, a Kpop music video. I have the first three books mapped out for a middlegrade kids book series a la Animorphs, Warriors, or Goosebumps. On top of all that, I have half a sequel plotted out for Avernus, as well.

Seriously, do the big, famous authors get to just pump out their rough drafts, and then pay someone else to clean them up into manageable books? Because if so, that’s what I need. Let me just write two or three rough drafts a year, and let someone else do all the editing and publication for me. All I need to do is win the lottery or something, so I can afford a staff.

So marketing for War of Night. Things are moving forward. We officially have an ISBN for our book. One more step towards this being a reality. We’ve even submitted our details to the Library of Congress, which is one of Clevenger’s bucket list items. We don’t have a presale launch date locked in yet, through June first is roughly when it will be. However, since the street dates for books, CDs, DVDs, and video games are traditionally on a Tuesday, we are are looking at an official launch date of November 12th, a week after election day. So lock it in, kiddos. This will let everyone get their copies in time for Christmas!

A few last things before I go. We are starting a mailing list for book news and announcements. Those who sign up are going to get a few treats over the summer and leading up to launch. Early chapters, bonus short stories, advance info on book two, convention announcements, and more. Anyone interested in getting updates should email us at [email protected]. Once the new website gets completed, this email address will be updated, but the list will be moved over as well. And on a final note, we are looking to reopen this blog for bimonthly postings, so look for Clevenger to add his two cents around May 15th.

Don’t forget to love one another.

Greyson Black