The 2021 State of the Weech

Greetings all,

This is now the fourth year of my eight-year commitment to go all in on becoming a successful author businessman. My annual State of the Weech is just one way I use to track that, and it’s also how I let everyone know what I’m up to.

For a number of reasons, 2020 was a big setback for me as an author. With COVID, all the conventions I intended to participate in were cancelled. This meant the money I would earn there wouldn’t come. I was only able to release one title, my Christian memoir about my mothers death titled Testimony: A Trial of Faith. I genuinely thought I’d release Betrayed last year, but there was a huge gap because I had to simply save up money to pay for editing. I will have to continue to do that (more on that below).

While 2020 was hard on conventions and making progress on additional drafts, it did allow me to get a bit more writing done (if only a bit). I’m positive Betrayed will be out this year. I’m hopeful it will be out in the next three months, but that’s not a guarantee.

With all that said, here are my plans for what I hope is a rebound in 2021.

May 1 (or sooner): Betrayed: Book Two of the Oneiros Log. I’m almost done with the Beta Draft (as in only a few chapters away). From there I send it out to Sara for the proofreading. I’m also going to send this draft to willing Advanced Readers in exchange for an honest review. I’m pretty optimistic about this goal. I have to save up the money for edits, and I have to save up the money for the cover, but I think May is feasible.

These are sure things in 2021. I am about halfway through the discover draft of Discovered: Book Three of the Oneiros Log, and that will be my main project when Betrayed is published.

A quick update on projects I mentioned last year:

Sonnets for my Savior: I completed it, but I doubt it will be more than a series of blog posts. I’m not a poet by trade, and getting feedback has proven difficult. I was happy to have the idea and see it through, but that’s about where it ends.

Musings on Christianity: I also finished this blog series, but again getting participation proved more difficult than I’d imagined. I was happy to study my faith and research questions in a scriptural way, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable releasing this as it’s little more than my personal pondering.

So those projects are probably being left where they are.

Now for projects I am planning to work on in the near future:

Discovered: Book Three of the Oneiros Log. As I said above, am I’m about halfway through the discovery draft. I’d be over the moon if I got this book out in late 2021, but that’s super ambitious at this point. It is my next primary project when Discovered goes to print.

The 1,200: As I said last year, I’m meaning to get to this project. It needs some rework, especially considering current events in real life. But I still think it’s a good story. So I’ll make those edits and I’ll get it out there as soon as I finish Oneiros.

Visits From A Man Named Nobody: This is Christian Science Fiction. I’m posting segments each Sunday as part of my Testimony series. Since this is fiction, I will be publishing this when it’s finished. I’d expect this will be released sometime next year.

New Utopia: This story (pitched as Mistborn meets Avatar), needs revisions and edits, and I’ll jump on them as time permits. This will not be published before 1,200.

Mercer: This is a series I intend to write. I’ve come to realize I’m actually happier working on a large product and a small project at the same time. It gets more titles out and makes me feel more productive. Mercer is going to be a bunch of small novellas written like episodes of a TV show (I call Mercer Dresden Files meets Bones). I will start working on this on the “sooner” side of things, and it may come out before 1,200 (though I don’t think so).

Perception of War: Images of Truth: I did get a few thousand words added to this very large discovery draft, and I will finish the discovery draft of this before I do any revisions to 1,200. I really love this series as a whole (Sojourn in Captivity is basically a prologue novella to the series). I hate starting new books before I finish a draft of one I’ve been working on, so I will get Betrayed to print, finish Discovered (so those who love the series can see how it ends) and then get straight to work on this. 1,200 will probably come out first but this will become the main priority when Oneiros is done.

Leah Saldawn and The Nick of Time: The discovery draft is done. I’ll probably get this out one day, but it’s a very low priority for a few reasons. First: it’s targeted to a 12-15 year old audience, which is way outside my current marketing group. Next, I have so many other projects I’m looking forward to, so this one just isn’t that high on the priority list. It’ll get out there someday, but I wouldn’t anticipate it coming out anytime soon (as in the next three years).

My publishing goals: Discovered (guarantee 2021 release), Betrayed, 1,200/Mercer, Mercer/Images of Truth, Mercer/New Utopia. You see Mercer there a lot because it’s indented to be a constant series with me. I’ll release Volumes in smaller chucks (paperback) and Seasons in larger Omnibuses (box sets). The idea for Mercer is 12 novellas (episodes) / three volumes per season. The goal is to release a bigger project and then a Mercer episode in a sort of pattern. I’m not sure how it will actually play out, but it is the goal.

As for my eight-year goal? Well, I’m actually selling more digital copies than ever before, and that’s encouraging. Hopefully, I’m still losing less money each year. Again, after eight years, if I’m not making a profit or breaking even, I probably need to rethink some things. With COVID, 2020 became far more about marketing, and I’ve seen some positive results. I’m still working toward the dream of making this a full time gig for me. At the halfway point, it’s a little discouraging to see how far I still have to go, but it doesn’t change my drive.

If you’re interested in helping, the best way to do that is to purchase one of my books, read it, rate it, and review it. You can take it to the next level (if you like the book) by recommending it (or buying it) for a friend. In addition to God’s will, which I will always cheerfully submit to, this dream of mine isn’t possible without loyal readers.

That brings me to those of you who are loyal readers. I thank God for all of you. It’s great getting emails from some of you and seeing your reviews. It’s wonderful to know there are a few of you out there supporting me, and I truly hope your ranks grow.

I’m still grateful to God for what he’s done in my life. I have a wonderful wife and three great sons. I’m in good health. I have an amazing day job. In short, I’m truly blessed. I pray God blesses you all, and I hope you’ll continue this journey with me.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’m About to Start the Beta Draft of Betrayed: A Thank you to Beta Readers

Greetings all!

I’m happy to report I’m about to begin work in the Beta Draft of Betrayed. This will be the last content draft and the last set of revisions. After this, I send it out for proofreading and then polish it up for publishing.

I’d like to just take a moment to thank my beta readers!

First up is Bia Bella Baker, author of the HECCTROSSIPY series.

Next up are Tamy and Don Way. I actually met them outside an Ikea, and they’ve been supporting me and my work ever since.

I just want to thank them for taking the time to read Betrayed and offer feedback. The good news is they all liked it! Yes, they all had constructive feedback that I have to comb through and consider as I do this final draft.

I’ll say this much, Kira has been a challenge to write, and she’ll be challenging. Her arc is powerful, and I’m of the opinion that if I don’t get it right, the series will suffer greatly. I’d argue the next most important arc is Kaitlyn. Dom and Sal aren’t nearly as challenging because they’re more simplistic in nature.

I’ll start work on that early next week. While I was waiting, I got some more work done on Discovered. I’m just a bit over halfway done with the discovery draft of that story, and it’s looking solid.

I’m doing everything I can to get Betrayed out as soon as I can. It’ll take me at least a month to finish. Then I’ll need to give Sara time to proofread it. Then I have to apply those edits. So I’m hoping for a February or March release date. While Sara proofreads Betrayed, I’ll switch right back to Discovered, so it shouldn’t be nearly as long a wait for that book as it was for Betrayed.

Again, I just want to thank my beta readers and let you all know where I’m at. I can’t thank you all enough for the support you give. I hope you choose to stick with me and continue to enjoy my silly little stories.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I Have Finished the Developmental Draft of Betrayed! Any Interested Beta Readers Out There?

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report that I’ve finished the Developmental Draft of Betrayed! Obviously I’m far behind my publishing schedule, but I am still working to write and publish stories I hope you’ll all enjoy.

Betrayed focuses far more on Dom and Kira than Caught did. If you read Caught carefully, you’ll see little breadcrumbs that I left for you that will make Betrayed a bit more satisfying. There are indeed more of those breadcrumbs in Repressed, but that story is really more to show how Kaitlyn has grown and what her motivations are.

Where Caught was a horror mystery with action, Betrayed is much more action oriented. Caught was probably 60-40. Sixty percent Wes Craven and forty percent Tom Clancy. Betrayed is probably 20-80 in the same ratio. There are some elements of horror and dream sequences, but the book drives more into the action and the characters.

Remember, Oneiros was always (and remains) my origin story to a superhero universe. Betrayed is the book that sparks that flame.

Here’s a vague book blurb:

Oneiros has been operating for more than six years. They’ve worked quietly to complete all the missions police were unwilling or unable to take on, but all of that is about to change.

Zac Kingsley, a soldier with the Army’s most secret military unit, receives orders to destroy Oneiros. He’s a brilliant military leader, and he was once Dom Moretti’s best friend.

Oneiros must now defend themselves against the government that made them, the government that betrayed them.

Old friends become enemies; current bonds are tested, and a new threat reveals himself.

---

If that description catches your attention, you’re in luck! I need beta readers! Beta reading is a bit more work than alpha reading. Beta reading is where I’m looking at the finished product the same way I review any story. I want to see through the readers eye to make sure the plot twists are believable and satisfying. I want to make sure the story moves at the right pace. Those who agree to beta read will, of course, receive special thanks in the book’s acknowledgement section.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, please email me. Because I want to publish this as quickly as possible, I’m asking any beta readers finish reading and providing feedback by Oct. 25. That basically means you’d have to read and respond to about one chapter a day.

In the meantime, I’m back at work on Discovered (the end of the Oneiros Log). I still have about half of it to write (my completion percentage is based on chapters that I’ve outlined). I’d love to finish the Discovery Draft of that before I get the feedback for Betrayed, but that’s currently more of an ambitious goal than an expectation at the moment.

I hope some of you (I’m hoping for 10 beta readers) are willing to help me make sure Betrayed is a great story, but I’m already grateful to you all for the support you’ve shown me over the years. I’m going to keep working on writing great stories with sympathetic characters.

Thanks for reading,

V/R
Matt

I Got The Edits Back on Betrayed! I Have Some Work to Do

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report I got my developmental edits back for Betrayed from Sara. That means there’s a lot of work to do. This was probably among the more disappointing sets of revisions I’ve had in a while. That doesn’t mean that 1) Sara was mean or 2) she hated the story. It just means there are some developmental issues to work out. Sara is paid to be honest and constructive, and she’s earned her money this time around.

I’m not entirely surprised  in this regard. This is my first trilogy, and I expect the middle books to be challenging. I have to balance pace with development, and most of the things I have to address are in that regard.

In my last update post, I said I wasn’t sure whether I was going to finish Discovered or get right to work on Betrayed. Honestly, I’ve been struggling to get to the computer for the last few days. My expectation is I’ll be getting to work on Monday, and when I do, I’ll be attacking Betrayed.  I hope that before that, Sara and I can talk about things a bit more and ensure we’re on the same page. That depends on her schedule. I might plug a bit more time into Discovered while I wait for a chance to talk with Sara more, but I do intend to get the developmental draft of Betrayed done as soon as I can. I hope those revisions to wrap up by September. I’m feeling like Betrayed will be much closer to early 2021 than 2020, but Discovered should be close on its heels.

Thank you all for your support and your interest. I want to make sure I keep everyone up to speed on what I’m doing because I want readers to be a part of all of this. My hope is these little updates are informative and that they help you get excited about these stories. They are coming.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Writing Update: How are things going?

Greetings all,

Even by my standards, I’ve been behind in my social media updates. Plus, it’s been a little while since I gave an update on the projects I’m working on.  This felt like a good time.

Betrayed: Book Two of the Oneiros Log is still with Sara. I’m still not sure if I’ll jump on this when she sends her feedback of if I’ll finish this draft of Discovered first. The further along I get in that draft, the more likely I’ll finish that before I start revisions on Betrayed. I’m still hopeful for a 2020 release on that, but there are just so many factors that go into it these days. This is still my primary writing project though.

Discovered:  I’m all but 50% through the discovery draft of the last Oneiros Log book. It’ll be the first saga I finish and publish, so that’s super exciting! I expect things to slow down just a bit since I’m in the real meat of the plot. Things can expand and contract too as I draft this story. We meet at least five new characters in this, and I’m working to make sure the plot lines are well woven.  I’m pretty happy with how this draft is going. I am aware of a few things that’ll need work in revision, but I think this is a nice start.  It’s currently about 35,000 words. That feels a bit short to me. I anticipate the complete story to be somewhere around 90,000. One reason for this is because my percentages are based on chapters written rather than word count. It’ll definitely be the largest book in the trilogy (or quadrilogy if you count Kaitlyn’s little outrigger story, Repressed). But all of these stories were meant to be fast-paced pop-corn movie type books.

Images of Truth: This is officially Book On in the Perception of War series. Elele’s story, Sojourn in Captivity, was more like a prequel novella focused just on her, but it does introduce one of the many planets and alien species in this universe. Before I started work on Discovered, I was about 53% through the discovery draft of IoT. I still feel like it’s fantastic, but it’ll need some careful revision. This will become my main priority once I finish Oneiros.

So that’s just a quick update on my current workload. I think things are going nicely. I’m thankful for all of you who are reading and offering encouragement. It’s a real blessing just to be able to write and publish books. Of course I hope to make this my occupation, but even this is wonderful.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

 

Betrayed is With My Editor, Discovered is Being Drafted!

Greetings all,

I’m happy to announce that I’ve saved up enough to send Betrayed to Sara for edits. This means that once I get the edits back from her, I’ll be able to apply that feedback in my Developmental Draft. I’m three drafts away from getting that story out! Sara said she’ll need about two weeks to get back to me.

That gives me time to continue working on Discovered, the final book in the Oneiros Log. I’m already 10,000 words into that story, and I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing so far.

In Betrayed we meet two new characters, one of which is featured in Discovered. In Discovered, we meet four new characters. I’ve already decided I’m particularly proud of one of these new characters. Obviously, I think highly of all my characters, but every now and then one really charms me.

Oneiros, Caught is Book One, was originally just a bit of fun for me after working on The Journals of Bob Drifter. After talking to my brother about a few things I’d included in the back story, he really wanted to see where the story goes. The readers I’ve met agree.

Betrayed takes us from a place where Oneiros feels like they can live happily as a sort of super-hero family version of the A-Team to being literally hunted. The government has targeted Oneiros, and they’ve selected one of Dom’s old friends to lead that mission. This whole book humbles the family and shows that there are still deeper levels to the events that brought them into being. As is true of any of my stories, no one is safe. The events of this book forces every member of the team to truly look at themselves and each other. It was a hard book to write in a lot of ways because of how much these events test the team.

Discovered closes the loop in my opinion. Once I decided to write all three books, I always imagined it being the opening to a new super hero universe. Sure, there are other events that could happen, but I don’t currently have any plans to write any more stories in this universe. My dream would be to give the trilogy to Netflix and let them take the story from there.  So this story reveals the true origins of the team and the conflict with the mastermind behind it all.

I’ll keep plugging away on Discovered until Sara sends me her feedback on Betrayed. That means I’m hoping to be about 24,000 words into Discovered when I switch back. I might want to finish the Discovery Draft to Discovered before I do any revisions. It depends on how well I think that story is going (right now I think it’s great). If I do get right to work on Betrayed, I’d hope to have the Developmental Draft done by the end of July. This means I still have a bit of hope that the book will be released in 2020. Either way, Discovered will come quickly on its heels.

I wanted to take a moment to update you all on those projects. I thank you for the support and encouragement you’ve given me through the years. I hope to keep writing for a long time, and anyone sending positive vibes or posting reviews or recommending my books to others is a huge boost to my morale. Thank you so much.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’ve Finished the Outline for Discovered!

Greetings all,

I’m happy to report that I’ve finished the outline for Discovered, the conclusion of the Oneiros Log and the story which began in Caught.

COVID has caused me to have to adjust how I operate. I was counting on conventions to earn the money I needed to get Betrayed a developmental edit, but no conventions in my life (at least so far) means no sales. The good news is the finances are (apparently) back on track for my normal budgeting. That means I can resume saving for edits. That will happen in time, but it will take time (about five months at most). That’s not the timeline I wanted to work with, but we live in the world we live in.

Rather than freeze completely, I’m able to work on other projects that I can have ready for when the world (God willing) gets back to normal. I typically bounce from one project to another. In a perfect world, I would have had Betrayed edited by now, so I would do the next draft on that while I let Discovered simmer. Since that isn’t an option, I’ve decided to get caught up in other projects, namely, Images of Truth. I was working on this discovery draft and set it aside to work on Sojourn in Captivity, which is essentially a prequel to Images. It really bugged me to have a draft 118,000 words written but not finished. So I’m going to take the chance to get that draft done.

Now, Images of Truth is huge! So I might not finish that draft before I start working on Discovered’s discover draft. I promised that I’d get Oneiros done, and I mean to do it. I’ll work on Images until June 1, then get cranking on Discovered.

The moment I save or earn enough to get Betrayed to Sara for a developmental edit, I will, and I will let you know. Maybe what I get out of this is getting Images closer to ready as well. If (and it’s a big if) I get that discovery draft of Images done, I’ll do another pass on The 1,200, which is scheduled to be the book I release after I’m done with Oneiros.

I wanted to post this to show you all that I am working hard to get this saga done and into your (very patient) hands. I’m also doing my best to keep the creative projects going so there I  don’t get stuck in the midst of this trial.

I’m glad I hit this benchmark, and I appreciate all the support you’ve shown from the beginning to now and, hopefully, the future.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

The 2020 State of the Weech

Greetings all,

Three years ago, I made a commitment to give this my best effort for eight years. I’ve tracked that (in a way) by doing my annual State of the Weech. It’s my chance to let you know what I’m up to and what my plans are.

2019 was a pretty good year in my opinion. I managed to release yet another four titles: Repressed, Sojourn in Captivity, The Repressed and Sojourn paperback flip book, and Stealing Freedom.

I can only say with confidence that I’m going to release two titles this year, and even that is going to be challenging, but I will do my best.

So without further ado, here are my plans for what I hope is a fantastic 2020.

March 1 (or sooner): Testimony: A Trial of Faith. This is the book adaptation of the blog series I wrote while my mom battled cancer. I put a lot of thought into whether or not to release it, but it feels like the right thing to do. All the royalties from the sales of that book will be donated to the American Brain Tumor Association. This project has way more to do with my love of God and my love of my mother than any artistic pursuit, but I have the proofreading edits back from Sarah, and I’m making my way through that final draft now. March 1 is probably the realistic date for that given how a book rollout (or as best as I know how a rollout) goes. My goal is just to have this project create a way to send the ABTA some donations.

Even more on this! Once Sojourn comes out, I’ll release a single flip book which will contain both Repressed and Sojourn. I love flip books, and this gets me another physical book I can sell at conventions. Also, both these stories feature compelling young female characters, and I think they’ll fit well together.

Feb. 26: OffWorld, featuring Hazel Deep Block Terror Squad. This has been a dream project for a long time (since I was in junior high school). The comic by me and Collin Fogel, my best friend from junior high, came about organically, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m hoping to have copies of issue 1 available when I go to Four State Comic Con if not sooner, but you’ll be able to get it at your local comic book stores by Feb. 26. Please contact your local comic shop and ask them to order copies.

Fall of 2020: Betrayed: Book Two of the Oneiros Log. I know you’ve waited for this book, and I have the Alpha Draft going. I think it looks good, and the Alpha Readers thought well of it too. The goal is for that book to be my main priority (after Testimony). I’ll get that title out as soon as I can.

Now I’ll just run down the list of projects I have in various stages of development. I’ll try to order them by how I think they’ll get released, but it’s just too hard to tell.

Discovered: I changed the name from Hunted, but it’s the same project. If I release another book in 2020, it’ll be this book. I’ve finished the plotting to this story and started the overall outline. I’ll jump straight to this when I’m done with Betrayed.

Sonnets for my Savior: I’ve completed this “draft,” or blog series. I’ve given it to my pastors for review. If they decide it’s scripturally sound and we have enough sonnets left after editing, I’ll publish a physical edition of that series of poems.

Musings on Christianity: If you follow my blog, you’ve already seen I’ve started that as my Christian work. The blog is happening now, and once I’m able to get it reviewed, it may be formatted into a paperback, but that will also depend on pastoral review. I’m sincerely hoping to get what I hoped would be a panel to actually be a panel. As it stands, it’s really more just me contemplating questions I’ve asked myself as I grew in the faith.

The 1,200: This was actually something I intended to release a while back, but it just felt like getting The Oneiros Log done was the right call. If you liked The Journals of Bob Drifter, you might get a kick out of some of what happens. And if you look very closely, you might see some familiar faces. I might actually weave this in while editing Betrayed and/or Hunted. The question is when it will come out. I’m going to take a hard look at this story and make sure it works. I’ve developed quite a bit as an author, and so this story deserves an edit with my now more-critical eye. I plan for this to be released sooner rather than later.  That’s exactly what was on my last blog. I’m still mulling over some pretty big decisions on this story, but it will be what I intend to work on and publish as my next full length release.

New Utopia: I finished a draft of this story and realized it was two books. I intend to go back into this and expand each half into a duo-logy.  It’s a fun story. I call it Mistborn meets Avatar. Again, this only needs revisions and edits, but everything is pretty much waiting until The Oneiros Log gets finished.

Mercer: This is a series I plan to write like episodes of a tv show. Each season will have a specific plot, and each season will consist of a run of novellas.  I call it Dresden Files meets Bones. I thought I’d start working on it last year, but life had other plans. I will absolutely start working on it when Oneiros is done. Episodes from this series will be released while I work on the larger projects.

Perception of War: Images of Truth: So I was pretty deep into the discovery draft of that story when I started dancing around other projects. Sojourn became a priority, and now I’m gearing up to start this epic series. Images is the first book of at least twelve. It’s my special forces in space saga. However, that draft isn’t done, so what will happen is I’ll chip away at this while I’m editing 1,200.

Leah Saldawn and The Nick of Time:  I wrote the discover draft to this ages ago (Saleah wasn’t in high school yet, and now she’s all grown up!) I let it sit because it’s unrelated to other books and for a much younger audience (10-16). I don’t like leaving things on the shelf, so I’m not sure when I’ll fit it in, but I will eventually. There’s a thought about seven books here, but we’ll see how things go. This one’s written, so it will get published.

Before I hit my eight-year mark, I hope to have ten full-length novels published. That was always the benchmark three years ago. The idea is if I have ten novels, and I’ve been working for eight years, I should see some sort of profit in this business adventure. Thus far, I’ve been encouraged that I’m losing less money each year, but the goal is for this to be a source of provision, maybe even (the dream of dreams) a full time occupation.

You can help with that. If you’d like to, please, purchase one of my books. Give it a read. Offer a rating and review. Recommend it to a friend. The only way this is going to truly take off is with your help.

Whatever happens, I’m still humbled at how much has already happened. I currently have ten titles available, and I’m 30% toward my goal of ten full-length books.

I’m also humbled by each of you, readers. I’ve had the honor of speaking with a number of you about my books and hearing how excited you are about the next one. That sort of encouragement makes it so it’s hard to wait to publish the next story.

This is still wonderful evidence of God’s role in my life and his generosity. He also gave me people like you to talk to and hear from. I truly appreciate all that you’ve done, and I hope you’ll continue this journey with me.

Thanks for Reading,
Matt

 

 

I’ve Started the Alpha Draft of Betrayed!

 

Greetings all,

You can buy Caught (the first book in the series) on Amazon or Audible. 

Betrayed is coming along. I’ve started the Alpha Draft, which is the draft I do after my alpha reader (in this case) has had a chance to look at it.

 

First thing’s first. I want to take a moment to thank Grace for taking the time to read this rough draft and provide the feedback she did. For us self-published authors, finding readers is hard enough, let alone finding a reader who’s willing to read a rough draft.

Now is the time I take her feedback into consideration and do another chapter-by-chapter pass on the book. This cleans the mechanics of the story up, but more importantly it gives me a chance to locate plot holes and timeline issues. This trilogy spans something in the neighborhood of seven years, and there are a lot of things that happen that have to time out correctly.

The other issue is character development and plotting. Kaitlyn and Kira in particular have some critical areas of growth. There are a lot of foreshadow elements that should pay off in Discovered. So while I work on this draft, I’m looking for ways to establish critical character development aspects without being heavy handed.

I felt a touch of discouragement as I started the Discovery Draft exactly a year ago (as you read this Dec. 7). The truth is, writing is a war of endurance. When it’s not full time, you sit down and take what time you can. I’d expect to get through the Alpha Draft sometime in January. Then it’s off to Sara for the Developmental Edit. Assuming she gets it back to me in two weeks or so, I can start that draft in March. Then it goes off to Beta Readers.  They get a month to read it and provide feedback, so I should work on my Beta Draft in June. That means I get Sara another crack at it for proofreading in July, and so September or October 2020 is a likely neighborhood for the official release.

Things could go faster as I get time here and there, or they might slow down if finances make it hard to send the book out to Sara for either of her two rounds of edits. I feel confident that those dates are pretty solid.

While I’m waiting for feedback, I’ll keep plugging away on Discovered. I’m still outlining it at the moment. Using the timeline above, I think I could maybe get the Discovery Draft done around when Betrayed comes out.  My math says there will be about two months where I can’t move forward with Betrayed because I’m waiting on feedback. That’s way less certain than Betrayed’s fall 2020 release.

I know this is a big slowdown from the eight titles I’ve released in the last two years, but a lot of those releases were portions of other projects. I have other projects that are further along, but I’ve been trying to get the Oneiros Log finished for years now, and I owe it to those readers to get that finished before I start bouncing around as I’m want to do.

I promise I’m working as hard as I can, and I’ll keep putting out the best stories I can in hopes that you will find them entertaining.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

I’ve Finished Plotting Discovered!

Greetings all,

You can buy Caught on Amazon or Audible. 

As promised, I’ve completed the plotting for Discovered, which is the final book in the Oneiros Log.

I don’t know that I’ve ever announced that I’ve finished plotting or not, so this is a good chance to tell anyone interested what that is.

When I’m working on my process, I always start with Character Generation.  Once that’s done, I plot out the stories of the main characters. For this, I ask myself what type of plot this character is going to have (or plots), and I ask myself what sort of character journey that character is on.

Then I type out brief scenes and moments of that journey. This lets the discovery writer in me play while still getting organized. For instance, in this story I gave a lot of thought to who would survive the story. This book ends in a pretty big psychic showdown (a few of them actually), and it’s hard to imagine a conflict going on like that without any casualties.

In stories, it’s one thing to know the plot points (what happens), but an author also has to know what’s going on with the characters. What do they learn? How do these events change them?  When I plotted Betrayed, one of the characters makes a very important decision. That decision impacts how things develop in this book as well.

Betrayed introduces two very important characters (not just those two, but two you’ll want to know about).  I can’t tell you about one (spoilers), but I can at least name the other. Mariana is critical to the trilogy. She’s a great counter to Kaitlyn because there are also similarities. Mariana only has about one chapter in her point of view in Betrayed, but she plays a prominent role in Discovered as one of the main characters. You will also get to meet Daniel, whose story I love.

Hopefully, Discovered brings the story to the place I’ve always imagined it, opening a new world with endless possible stories. Will I write them? Probably not. If I’m being honest, I have far too many other ideas I want to play in. My honest hope is a Netflix or Youtube or Hulu will take what I built with the Oneiros Log and decide it might make an interesting super hero series.

It does close out the story of Oneiros though. Other main characters for Discovered are Sal (of course), Kaitlyn (of course), and Kira. Where Dom got the love in Betrayed, it’s time to show the story from Kira’s point of view. Given how important these events are to her, it would have been unfair to take her moment in the spotlight away. Though this story has been (and will continue to be) pretty brutal to her.

I’ve started the outline for Discovered, which is when I take all the plot lines and weave them together in a much more traditional outline. This gives me the main thread before I start my discovery draft. I don’t imagine I’ll finish the outline before I start work on the Alpha Draft of Betrayed, but having the plotting done is probably 40% of my work on any story.

I have every hope that Betrayed will be out sometime in 2020, though when has more to do with finances and book sales (you all can help with that) than workflow. If I can’t afford the editing and art fees, I can’t move forward. It’s my sincere goal (especially now that Discovered is plotted), to finish the saga in that same year.

That will mean I can jump back to The 1,200 and start working on Mercer (my little procedural cop show with a Harry Potter twist). Then I’ll get to work on the rest of my to-do list.

As always, I just want to thank you all for the help and support you’ve given. I think that while my readership is small, you all are so loyal and supportive. It gives me hope that this readership will only continue to grow.

Thanks for reading,

Matt