Hey everyone!

It’s been forever since I’ve provided an update, but there’s a reason for that: I have a new job!

I started a new position (at a new company) at the end of November 2017 , and, since then, I’ve been insanely busy on all fronts. Training and travel have taken up a boatload of my time, but I’ve also made sure to spend a bit of time on my writing endeavors as well.

And since that’s what this blog is about, here are the updates on what’s been going on with all of that:

• I’m still writing for imperium.news, but I’ve scaled back quite a bit. Now, I only write about one article per month, and the content of these articles has shifted to topics generally related to video games. I’ve found that this kind of writing allows me be a bit more dynamic (as compared to simple game reviews), and readers seem to like the change.
• I’m still beta reading, but since I have far less time to do it, I’m only working on one piece at the moment. It’s long, but interesting.
• After getting some feedback, Aiko’s Dive has undergone a few edits. The beginning of the book was altered significantly, so that the central hook hits earlier, and so that a few other things are streamlined. And I did another thorough grammar edit. This means that the book shed nearly 10k words, but it should be a far better piece to read. I’m very excited about it and hope to start querying very soon. I have one beta reader looking at the final draft and, barring any significant holes in the work, plan on sending it out to agents (hopefully mid-spring)
• I’ve also started on a new science fiction novel. I was suffering from a little bit of writer’s block after the latest edit to Aiko’s Dive, but managed a stroke of inspiration that led to a seven page outline. Since then, I’ve managed nearly two chapters of the new work and feel very good about where it’s going. Hopefully, I can keep up the momentum over the next few weeks and put together a page on it here.
• Finally, I have a bit of news on Missing Parts. This particular work wasn’t really working for me. I got almost 27k words into it, but didn’t feel the passion I expected while writing it. Based on its WIP page, I took a step back from that work. I started another work shortly after that was also cyberpunk, with the same characters from Missing Parts. I also stopped on that work after about 15k words. For some reason, this particular story doesn’twant to be told, so I’m stepping away from it to pursue the science fiction story that’s busting to get out of my brain. With any luck, I might be able to come back to these stories in the future, but, for now, they’re being placed, firmly, on the back burner.

I know I’ve said this before, but I’m hoping to actually stick around and update the blog more often. The more I write science fiction, the more I want to be able to share it with those around me. Each work I complete is better than the last. And I’m reaching a point where I feel like what I’m producing is publishable. The closer I get to that, the more I want others to share in the (hopefully) eventual triumph of actually getting an agent to represent my work.

It’s been a long road so far, and I expect that there is still quite a bit of it ahead of me, but I’m definitely feeling like I’m getting somewhere. Either way, I’ll make sure to update everyone as I begin to query Aiko’s Dive. And I’ll definitely be sure to share all of my successes and failures as I continue on.

Thanks, as always.

-Chase