159 - October 11, 2020 - The Ravenglass Chronicles, tedious fiction, Throne of Glass, South Park

Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending October 11, 2020. We’re still in local lockdown, but I’ve been keeping my head down and getting on with Judgement, which is book 20 of The Ravenglass Chronicles. The first draft is complete and I’m about 3,000 words from the end of my second. It’s such a strange feeling knowing I’ve got one more episode to write. But it’s okay as I already have plans for my next series. It’s going to be set in the same universe, but focused around a gang of thieves turned reluctant assassins. It’ll have all the craziness you’ve come to expect from The Ravenglass Chronicles, with wyverns and magical realms, but with a focus on a male protagonist and the Ostreich Empire’s gritty underworld. Black Death If you’ve been following my author diaries for a while, you might recall I was working on a post-apocalyptic trilogy with a co-author, Lynn Sheridan. I’m pleased to say that he’s done with the first book and is almost complete with his work on the second book, so we should have a final version of the Black Death trilogy ready for the editor by Christmas….hopefully! We started working on this project in late-2017, so it’s weird putting the finishing touches to a series about a pandemic given what 2020 has handed us. Throne of Glass Finally, I’ve been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. A few readers had said how The Ravenglass Chronicles shares elements with the story, so I thought I’d check it out. As I’ve not been able to get into fiction since the start of lockdown, I’ve really enjoyed getting back into fantasy (I’ve read the first three books over the past week and am enjoying book 4, Queen of Shadows). I can see the parallels in terms of some of the story elements, but it’s also very different. If you’ve not read it and enjoy YA fantasy, I’d highly recommend the series . If you’ve got any recommendations for similar stuff, let me know. Take care, Jon