It’s that time again. Six months ago, I posted about Drew’s State of Writing, and talked a lot about the new things with Dcaf Copy, All Flames Cast, and updated writing schedules. Of course, for those who have been following along, you know that that schedule ended up being wildly optimistic.

As things stand right now, I’m closing in on the end of All Flames Cast. Harael’s chapters were finished in January; Eritan’s are nearly done right now, though I may need to add in another one, depending on how the timeline ends up working out with Tymun’s chapters. I’m still working on reconciling events across character arcs. Tymun has a start already, but will be getting the majority of work during the last half of April. It’s my goal to finish the first draft of this book by the end of April/early May, and get it through alpha reads by this summer so I can start revising.

Now, a big reason why AFC has been delayed like this is because my mind hates me sometimes, and likes to come up with random short story ideas that I write and end up loving so much that I want to write whole novels about them. One recent story I posted, “Winters Past”, is just such a story, and I’ve been doing a lot of worldbuilding for that over the past month. I’m going to start writing that novel this summer, after I’m done with AFC and have that out to my alphas. The working title for that is Sand and Snow, but that’s obviously going to change because it’s terrible. It’s a standalone for now, but expect more to be written in that world, whether it’s short stories or novellas or novels or…well, lots of open-ended possibilities there.

Beyond that, things have changed with the Burning Shadows trilogy, of which All Flames Cast is the first book. To put it simply, it’s getting bigger. Four books is the plan now, with the fourth book currently titled The Faithful. Books Two and Three will be Of Genesis and Sons of Oblivion, and those will be on the slate after I finish Sand and Snow. On top of that, the series title may be changing from Burning Shadows to something else. I’m becoming less and less enamored of that name as the story grows, because it really doesn’t do justice to what’s actually happening with these books. It fits with All Flames Cast, but not really any of the others. No clue what the new title will be, but it’s likely to change to something different.

The last new project that my mind forced on me is a standalone novel in yet another world, this time about a small town and a large city that become connected thanks to some supernatural beings and imperialist politics. I have a working title for it, but I’m keeping it a secret because a) it’s going to end up being a chapter title, not the book title, and b) it’s a giant friggin’ spoiler for the big plot twist. In the future, I’ll refer to this as WMAAF until I come up with a real title. I’m excited about this one. It’s gonna be fun.

And of course, I’ll continue writing short stories and continue with my Wheel of Time reread in the interim. Those short stories are going to include a couple in the Burning Shadows world and a prequel or two to “Winters Past”. Thanks for all those who have been reading and following along…this year has already seen a huge increase in readership here, and I’m excited to keep bringing stories, thoughts, and writing tips to everyone!