Hey, oh boy! Right on time as always! September 15th! Yeah, totally!!
… Uh, short version, this week kinda hit me hard, so I wasn’t able to write and schedule my post on Sunday like I usually do. I’ve been trying to keep with the schedule I set for myself, but I feel like I keep missing the deadlines, even with all of my alerts.
So for now, please accept my humblest apology. I can’t (and won’t) promise that I’ll get better over the coming weeks, but I will continue to do my damndest to keep pumping posts out at least once a month.
I’ll write a Life Update post sometime soon, and hopefully release the anime review that I’ve been keeping locked up in the basement.
BUT FOR NOW, WE’RE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE BOOK!!!
Stats for the stories are as follows:
Unity’s Edge
Current chapter: 23 (The Price of Sacrifice)
Pages: 419
Total Word Count: 146,967
I’ve been plugging away at this story regularly (still about twice a week and whenever else I have some time), and I’m basically just closing out some “Part One” plotlines. The current chapter is what I expect to be the penultimate chapter for this “book”, and I can rest with the idea that I finally finished something (in a sense). Once it’s done, the chapters will probably release quicker, since any further work on that particular volume will be edits.
New World
Current Chapter: 4
Pages: 51
Total Word Count: 20,180
New World… not so much. I wanted to get this side story out of the way to clarify something in later Unity’s Edge chapters… but I’ve found that it’s really hard to work on this story without a buffer. For the most part, I’ve been focusing on Unity’s Edge, and one other project, that I think I mentioned before without much explanation.
Speaking of which…
???
Current Chapter: 10
Pages: 99
Total Word Count: 39,445
…part of the reason Unity’s Edge was going slower than before was that it was hard for me to get into the mood when it’s meant to be a bit bleak early on. As much as I like traumatic and depressing stories, when I write them, it takes a psychological toll on me. Now, Unity’s Edge is pretty tame, in my opinion, but the main story of Hell/Dolls I had originally had much more loss and betrayal, especially regarding one of the protagonists.
The story I’m working on aside the other two is also a Hell/Dolls universe story, but it’s going to be more lighthearted, inspiring, and less dark. Shorter chapters too, in general.
…That was the plan. We’ll see where it ends up. Basically, this is just a guilty pleasure project for now, but I’ll be posting it (along with New World) on my Royal Road page. I’ll give more information once I post the first few chapters… hopefully later this month.
In addition to the new format for these posts, and the reveal of the new story, I will be doing a separate post after chapters are posted to do the deep dives. Preferably, I’ll post them either same-day or (at most) a few days after the chapters drop. Ideally, this will give me an opportunity to do the deep dives on both posted chapters at once, without the Update Diary becoming cluttered.
…also, it’s an excuse for me to post on the blog more. I genuinely enjoy seeing that someone is willing to read my posts, stupid or serious, so I’m trying to commit myself to somehow returning to more than one post a month. Don’t expect too much from me, as always, but I’ll do my best!
Also, if you didn’t catch the last post, Unity’s Edge and New World will be posted here simultaneously, while the new story will be posted on Royal Road exclusively.
ALSO also, if you’re interested in hearing me speak with my deep, sultry narrator voice, I’ve been practicing for an audio release of Unity’s Edge once I finish the first book, but I’m also willing to do other readings – dramatic, funny or dramatic AND funny. Support me on my ko-fi, and leave a comment of something you’d like to hear.
[I will not record anything that is offensive, real-life political, or morally ambiguous.]
Despite the content I’ve written in the past, I have my limits on what’s acceptable. Basically, if it’s against the rules of general chat sites, I won’t say it.
Anyway, this post has dragged on longer than I intended, and since it’s already a late post, please accept my apologies once more.
I will be posting the deep dive sometime later this week, so stay tuned!
-Marcosias, Ol’ Buddy Ol’ Pal