138 - May 17, 2020 - Blind Reset launch, The Tower launch, lockdown birthday, Venus, Cleric of the Wasteland, Influence, Pre-suasion

Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending May 17, 2020. Something happened this week that felt like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders, like a huge ball of tension burst. Some of the lockdown restrictions were lifted here in England on Wednesday, so I’ve been taking advantage of being able to go outside more than once a day. However, that wasn’t what relieved the tension. It was my birthday on Tuesday. I celebrated in true author in lockdown style by releasing a book and eating pizza. It’s the second time I’ve released a book on my birthday, and, if I’m being honest, it’s probably not the best idea, especially when the book in question didn’t exactly do well. No. The thing that did it was a chiming melody coming down our street and an ice cream van stopping outside our house. We all had a 99 (which for those unfamiliar is whippy ice cream on a cone with a chunk of Cadbury’s Flake sticking out of it. This was the best ice cream I’ve ever had. I’m not kidding. Sure, it tasted like every other 99 I’ve ever had, but this one brought huge smiles. And, I can’t believe I’m writing this, when I reflected on it I ended up shedding a few tears. Crazy, right? Of course, it was probably a whole bunch of tension about everything coming out, but for me it signified we’d passed an important point. We are now in a world where when an unexpected treat is possible, where spontaneity is possible. When you’re planning your meals out two weeks in advance and the days seem to blend into one, a little thing like an ice cream van turning up unexpectedly represented something hopeful to me. I hope wherever you are things are starting to look better. Two releases This week saw me release two books! I launched Blind Reset, which is the second book in my Gambit duology—a GameLit series about dealing with going blind. The Tower, book 16 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, just went live in the Kindle store. Click HERE to grab your copy. You can read both titles on Kindle Unlimited. Writing update I’ve sent The Star, episode 17 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, to my editor and have turned my attention to redrafting Cleric of the Wasteland, which will be the fourth novel in my Wastelandseries. I wrote the first draft a year ago and I have to admit it feels very odd going back to that series. It’s a story I started writing in 2016, and so it’s been a bit of shift to get back into Abel’s head. That being said, the writing is going well enough. It’s a slow process, but I’m 20 percent through the redraft. It’s just a case of working on a few thousand words each day until it’s complete. This is part of my 2020 aim to clear all my open projects before moving onto my new series next year. Looking forward If you missed my author diary podcast last week, I talked about my plans for my next series when Kat’s journey ends. I’ve really enjoyed using the tarot’s major arcana to inspire the story. I’ve decided to keep going with the tarot influence and move on to the tarot’s suit cards—swords, cups, wands, and coins. The new stories will be set in the Ravenglass Universe with new characters and new locations. My head is filled with ideas for a series featuring a pair of thieves turned reluctant assassins. And, of course, there’s always room for more wyverns. Take care, Jon