I am currently working on the fifth overall book in the Barbarians of the Storm series, as well as outlining and thinking heavily about some short stories that I need to get out into the world before I do Book IV (in the main saga). With that, I have the basic roadmap down in my head, so I figured that I’d put it to paper and share it here.
The next book, as I have already discussed is going to be the first Side Quest book. This one will feature Fenrik on his own solo adventure to someplace very strange and foreign to him. It also sets up some really important shit for the series at large.
While it is a side quest book, I am debating if I should have a short story at the end of it like all the other books in the series, thus far. The reason I am thinking against it is because anything I could tack onto this next big story would conflict with it tonally. This Fenrik book is going to have a very different vibe altogether from the rest of the series.
However, I have also thought of making the Side Quest book just another anthology that features short stories that bridge the gap between Book III - Swords Against Bastards and the future Book IV. This runs into the same problem, however, as the other stories would all differ in tone greatly from the Fenrik story.
Ultimately, I guess it depends on how long the Fenrik story is. Maybe it just gets released on its own as a novella, which I could also release at a cheaper price. I should have a better idea on this once the story is nearing its end. I’m already 20-25 percent of the way through the story and I haven’t hit a creative high yet. So, I could be done with it relatively quickly when my brain slides into the power zone. I think I’m on the cusp of that.
So, what does this mean beyond whatever this next book is?
Well, I plan to do another anthology after this next book. There is a growing list of short stories I want to write within this universe. I don’t think it will lean as much into horror as Eyes in All Shadows & Other Stories did. It will probably just be straight up sword and sorcery with a touch of sci-fi.
Additionally, I want to start working on Frank Murdock’s early stories from the time he arrived in the strange world up to the events of Book I - Dan the Destructor. I envision Frank’s stories to potentially take up a trilogy of books.
Outside of the Barbarians of the Storm series, I want to start compiling and editing my film reviews from previous blogs and websites for a non-fiction book series. All that material has already been written and I have over 2500 film reviews. So, there’s a lot of content, but I want to break these books up by genres and themes. More on this, when I somehow find time to start working on it.
For now, that’s it! There’s a lot in the pipeline. I only wish I could write as fast as my brain thinks of shit and that I had more time in the day. If someone can get me a discount on clones, I’d really appreciate it.