WEEKEND UPDATE: The First Hundred Pages

THIS JUST IN: local author still teasing future books in a trilogy when the first book isn't even out yet.

Hey, long time no post, amirite?

I've dropped off from doing these quite a bit because frankly, they don't get a lot of traction, views, comments, etc. I think it was my marathon of writing the promo pieces for each of the WHAT LIES BETWEEN stories that put the last nail in the coffin overall. Writing them and tweaking them image-wise took an hour or two each--which is time better spent on actually writing the books. If I'm wrong and you do read them and like them, do let me know. If not, stay tuned below.

So, why write one now? Well, that's because I haven't settled on a new avenue of getting the word out about these things. I had thought about doing some sort of vid-blog-type-potential-atrocity, but those seem to need some sort of gimmick attached to the presentation...and I don't have that put together either. So, here I am (temporarily) back on the old Od-Blog with the wee bit of a news update.

The forthcoming Tides of Odyssium series is coming along nicely. Two books down, both with major rewrites out of the way. The first book is about ready to get sent to the first of my beta readers, in fact.

The VERY cool news is that work has begun on Tides of Odyssium #3...in fact, the first hundred pages are pretty well nailed down. It's going relatively quick, and I'm really happy with where it's going. Like the first two books, it's got a fairly blistering pace and unlike so many books you've read, you might not even once say to yourself after finishing a chapter: "eh, not much happened there." I always shoot for "unputdownable" in that regard, so we'll see how I did once it's all said and done. That's tough to keep up, especially since I've clocked in about 1,033 pages so far in this trilogy, with a rough end goal of somewhere shy of 1,500 total (not counting my usual end-of-book Behind the Scenes goodies).

All I hear is blah, blah, blah, but WHEN do we get it?

As for how and when these books will find their way to the market, that's something I need to decide rather quickly. I would like to try a more visible and savvy approach to marketing them this time around instead of quietly releasing them and relying on my minuscule social media reach--a reach that's depressingly throttled by algorithms and pay-to-play shenanigans. And I know it's odd for me to write a book (let alone two!) and delay releasing it, but rest assured this was always the plan: start releasing the books after the third and final book is in a solid first draft state.

That's it for now, just tipping you off about the state of the series and reminding you all that I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth quite yet. I really can't wait for you to read these books. They're honestly what I feel is my strongest work and deserves a wide audience, if I do say so myself (and I do not toot my own horn often).

Me wanting to toot my own horn, followed by my super-encouraging subconscious.

Before I go, how about a question: what's your favorite way to get your news about a favorite author, actors, creators, etc.? Short-format videos like TikToks, Reels, or do you still do blogs, read posts/click links on their social media?

Till next time, take care.

-C