With the upcoming arrival of Viridia, I will have two book series going on simultaneously. Readers might naturally wonder about that. What is wrong with this guy? Does he have no commitment? Will he ever actually finish anything? To explain, I need to get into some details about the reality of being an independent author, as well as some thoughts about the writing process.

First, as an independent author, I have to work extremely hard just to try to get noticed by readers. There is a ton of competition out there, and it’s very easy to be completely overlooked. Because of questions of quality control, editing and so forth, many readers have become very picky about the authors they choose to read. If an author only has one or two books out, they’re more likely to be ignored. But if an author has a lot of books out, it gives readers the idea that if they give this author a chance with one book, they’ll gain a lot of reading enjoyment. As such, many independent authors work hard to get a large number of books published as rapidly as they can.

Viridia was already written several years ago. I had to do some rewriting, editing, and proofing, but the primary work was already done. Getting it together after the publication of Until All Bonds Are Broken wasn’t that big a deal. And by doing so, I get a third book out faster and start to look more like a serious author.

Viridia also may serve to expand my audience. It’s a very different type of book. Whereas the Heart of Fire series is epic fantasy on a large scale, Viridia (and its eventual sequels, the Dragontek Lore series) is fast-paced young adult science fantasy. Many readers will be able to enjoy both, but some will only enjoy one or the other.

Second, it’s hard work to write epic fantasy. My brain needs a break from it every so often. Viridia‘s style is much easier to write (but not simplistic!). This both gives my brain a rest from one type of work, and stretches it in a different direction, improving my overall skill.

So the plan going forward is to alternate books in each series as I continue both. I’m writing the third Heart of Fire book now, Until All the Gods Return. When it’s complete, and while I’m editing/proofing it, I’ll start in on the sequel to Viridia (currently titled Incarnadine). Once that’s done, I’ll shift back to the final Heart of Fire book. After the third Dragontek Lore book… we’ll see. I have many, many book ideas. I hope you stick around to see them!