My Upcoming Projects

I have been working a lot of projects over the last month. I thought it would be a good idea to give a brief outline of my active projects. All of these projects are in various stages of completion and I cannot offer any specific details as to when they will be released. This is just an outline of things I have on the horizon.

Project Name: The Lost Stories #4 (Untitled)

Project Description: (Official Description) There is no greater honor than rising to the ranks of one of The Five Elders of Cerebes. To Hiroma, this honor felt undeserved. A troubled childhood and a wasted adult life all seemed irrelvant when propositioned for the chance at immortality. Old habits die hard and the pressure to establish a grand legacy becomes too much for Hiroma to bear. Can Hiroma find a way to overcome the mounting disappointments of his life or will he fall victim to the mental anguish of never feeling good enough to deserve his good fortune?

Project Progress: The typed draft I have at present is just under 2,700 words. I write all of my stories out by hand first before typing and the full draft is about 75% complete. This should easily be the longest short story of the series so far and it will be my next published work. I hope to settle on a title very soon and I am aiming towards a summer release for this.

Project Name: The Lost Stories #5 (Untitled)

Project Description: This story follows Yousef's rise to the ranks of The Elders and unveils the mystery behind the man often seen as a conniving Lothario.

Project Progress: I just started writing this story about a month ago. What I have typed to date amounts to about 1,300 words. This story is still in the very early stages of development and I have no additional details to offer about it at this time.

Project Name: The Lost Stories #?? (Working Title: Scorned Wildflowers)

Project Description: Sequel to Ubiquitous Aspirations following Lita Gordon, the long-suffering beau to Norman Cromwell. After being abandoned for yet another secret excursion, Lita grows tired of being an afterthought to Norman. Her frustration sends her on a journey to learn about Norman's mother and find the one item Norman's father Oscar left behind to present to Norman as proof that he needs to ditch his womanizing ways once and for all.

Project Progress: The draft on this story is complete, but I'm not sold on the title just yet. I had initially planned for this story to be book #6 in the series. It won't be book #6 because I have yet to decide if I should publish this before or after I release book #3 in the In Search of Infinity series. This will more than likely be book #8 or #9 in the series.

Fun Fact: The title of the poem Field of Dementia from Lost Sunshine is actually the very first title I came up with for this story. The poem itself is also a reference to this story.

Project Name: The Lost Stories #?? (Working Title: Monster in the Mountain)

Project Description: Short story about a woman named Isabella, the Supreme Goddess of Wisdom. The story delves into her troubled upbringing and how it leads her to take refuge within the tallest mountain on Cerebes. While there, she leads a double life as a revered, international scholar and a reclusive psychopath who finds joy in ensuring that curious adventurers will never discover the secret waiting at the top of the world.

Project Progress: The draft of this story is complete. This will likely be book #10 or #11 in the series because it is will be the first of a wave of short stories that look into the backstory of Norman's granddaughters.

Fun Fact: The beginning of this story will read like a more sinister retelling of Cinderella. I have yet to decide if I will edit the beginning of the story entirely or just leave it in. I'm leaning towards leaving it in.

Project Name: In Search of Infinity #3 (Working Title: Destiny of Darkness)

Project Description: (First Draft) The apocalypse is coming to Cerebes and only one person can save humanity. That person? Raven Cromwell, the eldest child of Norman Cromwell and the Supreme Goddess of Darkness. Throughout her life, Raven has come to embrace her role as a rebellious siren hell-bent on leaving a long trail of despair and destruction in her wake. As her bad habits catch up to her, Raven is forced to adopt a new role that calls for her to use her powers for good, not evil. Can Raven accept her true destiny to save humankind or will she allow herself to become fully invested in pursuing the selfish dream to become the Divine Infinite leader of Cerebes?

Project Progress: The typed draft I have currently stands at about 10,600 words. I would also estimate that I have completed about 25% of the entire novel. I know what I want to put in the story and I know how I want the story to end. It is simply a matter of putting pen to paper and clearly stringing all of those thoughts together.

Fun Fact: This is the character that I originally wanted to begin the entire In Search of Infinity/The Lost Stories world with. I first developed this character 16 years ago and I am so excited to dedicate my energy to writing her story.

Project Name: In Search of Infinity #4 (Working Title: Chrome Convictions)

Project Description: Novel following the life of Fiona Cromwell, the Celestial Goddess of Fire. Having spent much of her life making a name for herself as a business mogul, a freak accident resulting in the death of one employee and the murder conviction of another forces her to abandon everything and pursue a career as the President of the country Luphos. Political victories come easily, but secrets about her past and her family threaten to destroy her. Being pushed to the brink of losing everything for a second time could break Fiona or it could set the stage to come back more focused than ever to challenge the one thing keeping her from achieving her ultimate goal.

Project Progress: I am about 10,500 words into this draft. I will admit this is probably the roughest draft in the bunch. There is a real possibility that I could change almost everything I've written so far. There are so many directions I could go with this story. It could be an apocalyptic thriller, it could have a dystopian theme, it could be a political drama, or it could be a crime/mobster drama. I honestly have no idea. I like each and every one of those ideas for this story because they all fit. I'll try my best to incorporate all or most of those elements without making a mess of the story. It is too early to tell how this will turn out.

Project Name: In Search of Infinity #5 (Working Title: Unlocked Enigmas)

Project Description: Novel following Cynthia Cromwell, the estranged daughter of Fiona Cromwell, going off on journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

Project Progress: This draft is further along than every other draft I have now. With over 12,000 words typed, I concede that I will have to tweak a few minor details. Without spoiling anything, I will say that this is a character that gets a full novel instead of a short story because it is the one solid link between book 4 and book 6 of the series.

Project Name: In Search of Infinity #6 (Working Title: The Luminary)

Project Description: The full biography of the Divine Infinite Leader of Cerebes. I absolutely cannot and will not give any more details than that.

Project Progress: In 5 years, I've written about 10,000 words for this story. I keep putting it on the back-burner because it is the last novel of the series and I have focused my efforts on other works. I try to write a little bit here and there so that I'm not starting from scratch when the time finally comes to devote my attention to properly end this series.

Project Name: (Working Title: Fallen Star)

Project Description: A story primarily centered around five women connected by the high profile murder of teenager.

Project Progress: I have typed around 3,400 words but the handwritten text I have should easily double that count. The murder plot is loosely based on a real incident, but the overall story is fictional. All of the main characters are racial minorities (primarily African-American). I'm not sure if I want this to be a standalone novel or a series. If I turn it into a series, I will write the whole series at once and decide how I want to publish it when I finish.