Hello, dreamers. I have a big week ahead of me, ending with the release of my next novella, The Envoy. As if that wasn’t enough, I’m continuing comps research and working through another group of edits on my upcoming Turn of the Century series. As I always say, the work of an aspiring writer is never done. With that said, here’s what I’ll be up to this week:
The Envoy
In case you haven’t heard, I’m releasing a new book this week! And it’s gonna be a really good one. The Envoy follows David Ferguson, a career diplomat who’s spent his life preparing for first contact with an intelligent alien species. He sacrificed everything for his work, and is still grieving the death of his wife, and processing the reality that he’ll never have children.
But when the envoy of an alien species appears as a human child, he gets a chance at parenthood. In the process, he teaches the young visitor about humanity, and life on Earth, and she teaches him that any loss can be overcome through love.
The Envoy is currently available for pre-order, and will be released on Friday. Click here to learn more, and preorder the novella on the eBook platform of your choice.
Pioneers
My continued comps research has led me in some unexpected directions with regards to my soon-to-be-queried novel.
As faithful readers will know, I’ve spent much of the past six months working on paring down Pioneers. Those efforts culminated in a more concise version of the story, which I dubbed the “RDV” (“Readers Digest Version”). A few weeks ago, I finally turned the RDV over to my top beta-reader, Sara. And while she liked it, she mentioned she enjoyed the original version more. In particular, she noted that she missed the early chapters of the book, which I’d reluctantly written off as a non sequitur.
But between Sara’s feedback, my recent listening to “The Shit Nobody Tells You About Writing”, and reading Leviathan Wakes, I now agree with her. My original story wasn’t bad by any means. It was unique, original, and interesting. And I need to embrace that.
So, once I’m done with my latest pass through Turn of the Century, I plan to give Pioneers the same treatment. I’m going to go back to what made the story so good to begin with: I’m gonna go crawling around inside my characters’ heads. I’d say I know the characters of Pioneers incredibly well. Now, I want to return the story to its original concept: seeing everything through their eyes. It’s going to be a serious commitment, which may take multiple weeks to complete. I’ll admit to some trepidation. But I can do this. And Pioneers will end up being the best version of itself for it.
In preparation for this project, most of this week will likely be devoted to Turn of the Century and my monthly posts for May. I think getting to Pioneers before the end of the week is optimistic. But I pride myself on being an optimistic person. And now more than ever, the forests of Samarkand call to me…
Upcoming Releases
As I mentioned in last week’s “WIP Wednesday”, I’m embarking on an interiority quest with my upcoming novellas. And so far it’s going very well. As of today, I’m through Endurance, MERIT 19, and Ganymede, and am working my way through Fantoms. I’m about halfway through that one, and loving every second.
With any luck, I’ll be done with Fantoms by Wednesday. Then, I’ll be able to focus my full attention on next month’s features, before diving back into Pioneers.
Upcoming Content
A few brief notes on content this week:
Because I’m still working through the process of adding interiority to Turn of the Century, there isn’t much to talk about regarding my work-in-progress. As such, there will be no “WIP Wednesday” post this week. Next week I’ll be doing a special “WIP Wednesday” about returning to Pioneers. However, based on plummeting readership for the feature, I’m currently considering suspending “WIP Wednesday” for the time being. So if you enjoy my weekly “WIP Wednesday” posts, please comment below and let me know.
Also, there will be no “Flash Fiction Friday” post this week. In its place, I’ll be posting a one-off feature. And with that in mind, here’s what to expect this week on Writing Tomorrow:
Tuesday 4/23: “Teaser Tuesday”
Another Tuesday means another sneak peek at my upcoming novella, The Envoy! In this week’s teaser, David takes the opportunity to teach Olivia about friendship, and Olivia realizes she has more friends than she thought.
Thursday 4/25: “Little Green Men”
Aliens are a staple of science fiction. But what would actual intelligent alien life look like? In this month’s “Science in Fiction”, learn what science tells us about aliens, and how that can help the modern sci-fi writer create believable alien species.
Friday 4/26: “Book Release: The Envoy“
It’s here! Friday is release day for The Envoy! And to celebrate the occasion, I’m sharing the complete first chapter of this heartfelt sci-fi novella. Enjoy!
“Knee-Jerk Reaction: Discovery Season Five”
If you’ve been watching the final season of Star Trek: Discovery (or if you haven’t), you might want to take a look at my knee-jerk reaction after the halfway point of the season.
Saturday 4/27: “Into the Dotiverse: Part Three”
Venture deeper into my fictional future, starting where it all began: Earth.
Sunday 4/28: “Self-Pub Sunday”
The Envoy is available! Grab your copy on the eBook platform of your choice, and learn more about my next release: book one of Turn of the Century, which will be available on Kindle Unlimited!
It’s another busy week here on Writing Tomorrow. So keep reading, and dare to dream. – MK
Writing Tomorrow 