I've been doing a lot of writing on two separate projects. When I feel exhausted by one I switch to the other. This is going against my regular pattern of sticking with one project till I finish it. I've found that the worlds I've built in my books are really all the same one. With that thought in mind, I decided to have my new work based in the same world as my current one, but with a whole new cast of characters. I will still finish up the Rumbling Heart series, but the next work after that will have new people, new ideas, and will probably a little more extreme in many regards.
While RH has it's lighter moments, there isn't a large amount of comedy in it. The piece I am working on with all new characters is called In Search of the Dream Catcher and it will have more comical or lighthearted bits within it. That being said, I have also decided to make it, at times, much darker than my previous works. There will be a fair amount of grit included in it and I hope it will get people at the very least thinking about certain points and topics. While it's not a preacher's piece, it will ask readers to look into uncomfortable situations and have them think about the way the world is. In some ways, it will also consist of material that is even more personal that my past works.
People purposely avoid things that make them uncomfortable. Sometimes they will avoid them even if it means neglecting a friend or a family member. Many of us want to believe that when the chips are down and a friend of ours is hurting, that we will be there to help them. Sure, we all want to think we are the better person. Dream Catcher will drop the situation in your lap and get you questioning your devotion to those ideals.
With all this new information, I am also announcing that with my next release, I will release not one book, but possibly as many as 4 all at one time. Why you might ask?
People don't like cliffhangers.
I've discovered while writing that often times you are forced to end a story at a critical juncture. While it can add to the dramatics of the story, it can also serious annoy your readers. I know, back when I used to watch television, I hated when a series finale was ended with a cliffhanger. It would make me feel ripped off and now suddenly I am being asked to wait all summer till the fall premiere to find out what happens. Don' you hate that? It's even worse for something like a movie or a book. In some cases, you have to wait years to find out how it all ends up.
Rumbling Heart, I feel, is a good enough story with a satisfactory ending...and I could have left it right there and I think people would have been alright with it. But no. I had more to write so the story continues and when I am finally done telling it, I don't want to leave my readers out in the cold. It is my wish to release Recorded Butterflies, Emily Martin, and A Little Pain all at once so if people want, they can read the entire saga one right after the other without having to wait months or years to find out how it all ends. I am forced to break them up into separate books. Otherwise, the story would be about 1600 pages long...and that's a REALLY big book.
Dream Catcher, as I mentioned, will be in the same world, but with different characters. I am not ruling out bringing back some of my older characters. But I'd like to be able to set them aside so that they don't overstay their welcome. I think of it as sort of like a television series that's jumped the shark. You and the rest of the audience knows that it should have ended way back in season 4, yet here it is in season 8 and the characters are turning into shells of what they once were. I never want my characters to end up like that. Can they come by for a little visit? Sure! But once ALP is released, that will be pretty much it for those characters. Could I revisit them in say 10 years? Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see how that plays out. Until then, I am working like mad to finish up these two final works. Release date? I'd like it no later than December, but sometimes it takes a long time to figure out the best way to make things right.
