Backstage at the Calamity, Vol. I No. XX: When Will the Next Story Be Published? And of course, the Groundskeeper Part XX

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Attractions in Development

I’ve been giving this section much consideration, as it is the only other viable part of this newsletter that isn’t static. I’ve been using it to discuss progress on stories and a little of the background in their development, but it’s all been very vague and not much of use, hasn’t it? How can you possibly be excited about the impending discoveries in A Vampire’s Vengeance, or the desperate survival of both human and vampire in the Children of the Damned if you don’t know what they’re about?

I have been intentionally vague so as not to give away the wonderful surprises I have in store for you with regard to these attractions, but after contemplating the usefulness of such a section with such little detail, I question the efficacy of this. Therefore, rather than list working titles with vague impressions of them, I will instead turn my attention to describing the process I’m taking in writing them, with profiles on some of the characters and the occasional hint or spoiler.

In the subject line, I ask “When will the next story be published?,” and it is a relevant inquiry inasmuch as the lack of clarity here extends to a lack of clarity in my writing process. The simple answer is: I don’t know.

Here’s what’s really going on behind the scenes:

• I have a rough draft of Body Count—the next Tale in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe—completed. In fact, I have completed a second, much improved draft of the story. However, it is far too much in the same vein as two of the others and I do not want to leave it this way. It’s also missing something to give it the magic touch, that je ne sais quoi which will bring joy from even the Proprietor to have it listed in annals of the Boutique.

• I have been poring over the details of the next iteration of the Backstage Pass, which I alluded to in last week’s edition. The publishing industry, being what it is, proves to be antagonistic with regard to new authors. Not intentionally, mind you, but there are many hoops to jump through in order to arrive at a point where one’s work is represented, let alone published. Hence the level of effort I have been expending in wanting to aggrandize Volume II. More subscribers means more opportunities, and this means more stories being written and sent out to the world. So please, please, please, if you’re enjoying the Groundskeeper and you’re excited about what’s coming next, get your friends to subscribe!

• A Vampire’s Vengeance was slated to be the next serial for the Backstage Pass, but alas, the narrative is a slow burn leading up to the main action, and thus I do not think it is well suited to carry this publication as it is. Thus I have opted instead to lead with Bus Driver, and so have begun writing that story to get a bit ahead of the publishing schedule.

• This does not mean I will be eliminating A Vampire’s Vengeance from the Backstage Pass altogether. Nay! In fact, A Vampire’s Vengeance will run alongside Bus Driver as bonus material. You will have your choice of reading both, or either or—whatever suits your fancy.

• Children of the Damned, a different sort of vampire chronicle, is running across a number of different processes—each book of the core trilogy is in varying states of completion. This is being done alongside auxiliary work being written in support of the series through the lens of one of the main characters of book three. And this latter part is of such mystery, that it will not be revealed here until the completion of book three is upon us.

So what does this all mean? It means that there is much in the works, though very little ready for publishing as ebooks. It is possible that the Groundskeeper will be compiled into book form before Body Count is ready, but this remains to be seen.

Thank you so much for joining me on the explication of the mess backstage. We are doing our best here at the Calamity to ensure your pleasure, terror, and concern is at its peak when you consume the completed attractions.

And now, without further ado …

The Groundskeeper, Part XX