The Preparation for "Book IV"

...there's a lot to cover as a new phase begins

I’m having a lot of fun doing the prep work for Book IV (7th overall) in the Barbarians of the Storm series. However, the amount of prep and the notes to revisit and go through with a fine-tooth comb are pretty crazy. I’m deep in this series now and there are a lot of characters and subplots to manage. It’s fine, though, as I have had everyone’s trajectory mostly mapped out all along. Granted, some characters I intended to kill off have survived, but that’s mostly because I got new and interesting ideas on how to tie them into later events.

The first few chapters of the next book have a lot to cover due to so much happening up to this point, and for what I need to happen in this book and beyond. With that, the first act of the next book is going to be a challenge and a beast to write. However, once I get through that section, I think everything else should flow fairly easily.

My plans, at the moment, are to keep organizing the details and to layout a map in my notebook to follow while writing the first act. I’ve nearly got it figured out and I want to have everything fine tuned before the end of the week. Next week, I would like to start the actual writing process. Granted, this could also happen sooner.

Regardless, Book IV is the next one coming and ideally I think I can have it written, edited, and published by the end of the year. While A Crown of Furious Color was the start of a new phase (the second big story arc), Book IV is where this new phase begins for the main saga within the larger mythos.

That’s all for now. This was just a quick update to tell you where I’m at and where the Barbarians of the Storm series is headed next.