First, I love this time of year. Fall in Pennsylvania with the leaves turning colors and cooler weather is fun. Campfires all around.
Announcements
A new audiobook is available for pre-order for the Ascension Series Boxset Books 1-3. The audiobook is almost 24hrs long, so it’s a bargain for a credit if you’re looking for something to listen to. The audiobook will be released on November 3rd, so something to look forward to on election day.
Status or as I like to call it in my books – Sitrep.
I’m making solid progress writing Invasion – First Colony Book 11. I plot my books before I write them, and this book required extensive plotting before I started writing it. I know back in May, I wrote that I expected to have this book done and released by now. I wish that was the case, but it’s not. It’s looking more like a December release for this book. I expect to finish writing it in about a month. After this, the book goes into the trusted hands of my editor and proofreader. This process takes about 3 weeks, and right smack in the middle of all this is Thanksgiving. I'll do the best I can and I'll post another update next month.
One of the most common questions I get about the First Colony series is whether this book (Invasion – First Colony Book 11) will be the last book in the series?
Do you guys really want the First Colony series to end?
No, it’s not. However, I will say that Invasion will wrap up a major series arc in the story that has been building up over multiple books. I plan to write more stories in the First Colony series. I really enjoy writing stories in that universe, and as long as readers enjoy reading them, then it’s a good fit for everyone.
What’s next?
Finishing Invasion is the most important project on my schedule. Then I’ll be writing Acheron Salvation – Federation Chronicles Book 2. I’m aiming for a springtime release (March). And after that, I’m not sure. I will either work on First Colony book 12 or Federation Chronicles Book 3.
AND after all that. I’m not lacking story ideas, but one that’s been on my mind is writing a First Colony spin-off series about what happened to Earth after the Ark began its 200-year journey. I have a few ideas I’m considering, but that’s one of them. The timeframe to begin working on whatever series I decide to write is at the end of 2021. I hope that 2021 is a much better year than 2020 has been.
Some final thoughts for this month.
September was a busy month for me with the release of Acheron Inheritance. The response to the new series has been great, and I’m looking forward to writing the next book in the series. I was wondering how many people really wanted to read about a guy trapped in a robot body. It's a fun story.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that all the things happening in 2020 has impacted my writing schedule. This has been a challenging and extremely frustrating year for a lot of people. I’ve unfollowed or snoozed so many people on Facebook that my feed is mostly advertisements. Way too much political, fake news, and just general negativity in posts. I think they call it polarization. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It’s great connecting with people I wouldn’t normally interact with, but there’s also a lot of negativity and frustration out there. I try to limit both in my personal life.
My wife and I recently watched an interesting documentary on Netflix called The Social Dilemma – https://www.netflix.com/title/81254224 I highly recommend watching it, especially if you’re a parent. I worked in IT for about 20 years, so I was aware of many of the backend technologies that make social media work. But even with that technical background, it was still shocking to see the long-range repercussions of a recommendation algorithm and how addicting social media is. The tools were probably made with the best intentions, but there is the law of unintended consequences. I write about themes like that in my books. You know, the earliest computer virus was a prank. I think the documentary is worth watching, and it just might get you thinking about current events from a different perspective.
Alrighty, I need to get back to writing Invasion. See you next month.
Stay safe and healthy.
~Ken
Looking forward to both new books but you really have me interested on the “meanwhile, back on Earth” book. I’ve been wondering the same thing and you’ve hinted at it a few times in the series with the long range probe. And agreed on that Netflix special. Social Media is like yelling into a canyon, you only hear yourself back. It eventually becomes useless. Here’s to 2021!
Thanks.
First of all Ken, I’d like to thank you for the Colony Series, it a great series and I hope you will continue to write more about that universe.
I’ve got to say Connor Gates is the “Man”! While I like the all the characters in the series, you do a great job of concentrating on and always coming back to Connor in the stories….. I hope he continues to be at the heart of the series.
I also hope you continue with characters that came from the first search and rescue class that Connor commanded like Noah, Nathan and Sean. I can’t leave out one of my favorite characters, Diaz. He really needs to be included in some of the adventures.
You got me at the end of the book, what a great twist that I didn’t expect. Very cleaver though, an excellent idea, especially with the hope that comes with it.
Finally, I like the idea about what happened to earth, are there any survivors and are they still fighting the Vemus. Could there be someway that Connor’s son had survived, maybe been put in a stasis pod by the Admiral and shot into space somehow? That would really be a twist, maybe a good one I would hope.
Again, thanks for the series, it’s been fun, continue the good work.
Thank you. Fun stuff.