It's been a little while since I posted a progress update. I've been working hard, though. I still do part-time consulting in my first career, so sometimes I don't have quite as many hours to devote to writing as I wish, but I'm excited about where things are.
Barabbas Book 3 - This is the top priority now. The working title is Journeys of Barabbas, and I'm just about finished with Draft 1, after which I'll launch immediately into the extremely important Draft 2. After that, it will go to an editor. We're just about to get on the schedule with the designer, too.
If everything goes perfectly, the book could launch by the end of the year. If not, it will be sometime in early '22. Here's a draft of the teaser:
As the family of Barabbas and Chanah continue to spread across the known world, cauldrons of political and military chaos are beginning to boil across the Roman Empire. Nero has become increasingly erratic, and it’s only a matter of time before the knives of Roman politics finish him. Various successors begin to prepare. Who will strike first, and who will come out on top?
Meanwhile, the rebellion in Judea has intensified, the Jewish zealots having gained great influence over the minds of the people. Vespasian and his son Titus aim to put a permanent end to the insurrection. How many lives will be sacrificed on the great altar that is Jerusalem? What will become of the Jewish Christians and the apostles and sisters who lead them? And where will Barabbas and his family find lasting peace?
This book is soooo much fun to write, as the others have been.
Patriot Star Book 2 - Many years ago, I had written about half of the first draft of the sequel to Patriot Star, but I had a full-time career and life kept getting busier, so I set it aside. This year I picked it back up, re-vamped what I had already written, and completed the rest of Draft 1. It's hard to believe I can enjoy writing Science Fiction as much as Christian Historical Fiction, but I do. Strong moral and religious themes shine through in both, of course. That will always be the case.
The tentative title is Kindred Star. It used to be something different, but that original title included too much of a spoiler from Book 1.
I'm not sure at this point when this will get prime-tracked. It depends on other priorities. Fall of '22 is probably a good guess for when it will be released.
The Servant of Helaman - For LDS Christians, this will be a familiar story. For others, it will not. Either way, it's powerful (with a little romance, too), and the testimony of Christ shines through, just as it does in the Barabbas series. When I first thought of the concept, I wasn't sure I could make it work. But I gave it a test run by writing the dramatic prologue to the story ... and it really popped, so I knew it had great potential.
I completed Draft 3 about four months ago, and it's being reviewed by Deseret Book. Hopefully we'll have an answer soon. John Hilton III, a religion professor at BYU, has already agreed to write the forward, and Deseret Book has worked with him before on Christ-focused non-fiction books.
Ascension/Redemption - My son has encouraged me to write some fantasy. I enjoy reading fantasy, so this is a natural addition to me. As I reviewed some of the older projects I had started developing several years ago, I came across this one. It has some legs, and I've started fleshing it out more. I can't say much about it yet, but it will be multi-world, including ours, and will end up mixing magic and technology.
Unfortunately, I don't at present have a lot of time to work on this, but I'm trying to carve out a little space for it here and there. It's enjoyable, so why not? :)
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