(I Also Write Children's Books!)

Friday, February 20, 2015

So, Where Next?

First, I want to thank you all.

You might think that the release to the sequel of my first bestseller would be a wonderful moment.  It's actually been a pile of fear and stress.  Every bad review hurt.  The good reviews and the interest from the commenters here has warmed my heart and made it easier to get back on my feet and going again.  The discussions, the questions - you have been a life preserver in a sea of career uncertainty.

So, now that my head is more or less clear, what's happening?

Well, to my great sorrow, A Sidekick's Tale is not going to work.  I identified why it's cute but not gripping, and it's the central premise.  I might post everything I wrote here?  Not sure.  Heartfelt and Anywhere will be back in another book, that I know.

Love, Hate, and the Chocolate Rabbit will be picked back up, and I've felt interested in it, but I'll probably want to wait until I have something more reliably wide audience just to make me feel better!

I've actually written the first chapter of Book Three of the Inscrutable Machine.  I was going to launch into it next.  I had a brief delay while I did research, but that got finished to my satisfaction.  Except...

My publisher has asked me to write a 15000-20000 word novella set in the Inscrutable Machine continuum.  They have some other superhero type titles, and thought an anthology sorta thing would be cool.  So, I'm working on that.  This idea was JUST raised, like, two days ago.  I'm going through ideas and figuring out what I want.  The three current leading ideas are:

The very weird day Bull met Evolution.

She Who Wots' younger sister, and their peculiar home life.

A further exploration of corporate villainous silliness.

What do you think?

11 comments:

  1. Hoyo, Toyloli here! You already now my main vote from twitter, but of the selected Bull vs Evolution is the one most "bwa huh?" I have a suspicion I understand She who Wots (at least a little, there's clearly something demonic going on) And corporate sillyness you already touched on, but Bull and Evolution there is nothing there at all - so you probably have more to work with.

    (For those playing at home I recomended the reporter from book 1)

    Whichever you pick, I bet it will be full of kwirky awkwardness.

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  2. All three of those ideas sound good. I like She Who Wots and the clerks idea seems like it has the most potential for interesting unexpectedness, but I'm leaning just a bit toward the Bull-Evolution one. He would have been a teenager at that point, right, and Evolution would have been towards the end of his career? It just has a draw, as an idea.

    As far as other ideas go: I'm interested in all kinds of stuff and don't know what you're already planning to put in the next three books, but I'd really like to know more about:
    -- the Audit and her early career and what got her into hero-ing at all since she thinks she's got no powers;
    -- the Minx, Brian Akk, the previous generation of heroes and villains just generally;
    -- the Apparition and why she can't leave Earth;
    -- all about the rest of the mad scientists, including the ones on the hero side but especially the bunch in Chinatown;
    -- Lucyfar, just because;
    -- Spider, where she came from, and the original establishment of the truce between heroes and villains;
    -- Marvelous and the curse on her powers;

    and a lot more, but I still think the Bull vs. Evolution idea wins out. I'm already interested and don't yet know what the "weird" bit was.

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  3. Of the three you mentioned Bull meeting Evolution is the one which appeals to me the most.Evolution has been built up as this legendary hero and it would be really need to see what he is really like. Also seeing Bull in his youth, when he was really into fighting would be a treat.

    She Who Wots' and her sister sounds really intriguing though. Her mentioning that her medication isn't a good chain make me wonder what she is like when shes on them. It could be a really tragic or really heartwarming situation and I wonder which way you would take it.

    Corporate Villainous Silliness sounds fun. I do wonder how the Council of 7 and a Half makes a profit. If the Burned Man if willing to send Lucyfar to wreak one of their own bases it must not all be about money. Maybe it is just a means to and end? Considering how easy it appears to me to make money through Supervillany I wonder what their goals are.

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  4. LOL, I just had a freaky image in the back of my head. A young (arguably) Lucy Far or failing that a young Minx, walking around in the background during Bull and Evolutions fight; yelling "Place your bets, The Freaak of Nature, vs Natural Selection. Who will win, excellent odds, PLAECE YOU BETS!"

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  5. Good idea! How about telling us about about Evolution, Chimera, Brian Akk, and Mech's origins/roots?
    But if it's about TIM, SHUT UP AND TAKE MAH MONEY XDDDDDDDDDDDDD

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    Replies
    1. Also, Spider raises questions. How is she a spider? Is she Cnidaria mentioned at the start of book 2? Who was she before her transformation, or was she always a spider? How did she get into villainy? Questions questions questions...

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  6. I'd like to see a "reporter" eye view. I think this medium would allow you to express a whole range of super backgrounds without having to go into too much detail about one specific villain or hero. By using conversation.

    A general feed on how the citizens of the world see the villains and heroes. Public polls: Top 10 most Evil villans. Top 10 annoying Heroes. Top 10 Posers. etc. could be nice Title Headers. Maybe a "Gerry Springer"-esque segment. "My Angel Boyfriend Doesn't Listen To Me Because I'm Evil" -- Lucyfar XD.

    Talk shows? Talk shows with villan and heroes on the same stage? One-upsmanship.



    Ugh. I lost my text when I logged in XD. and had to rewrite all this

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    1. Nice Idea. I was thinking, the reporter from book one tells Lucyfar she wants to interview spider. After Lucyfar stops laughing she sneaks the reporter into chinatown dressed as a new villain :D

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  7. I realise that after one chapter it is a little premature and the publishers will probably change it anyway like they did with At Least I Didn't Blow up Our Moon but do you have a work in progress title for volume 3?

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