As always, thanks for a great year, everybody!
We've gained a lot of Cradle fans this year, and thanks to you, I've had another fun year. Now I'm working on both a final book and a first book, both of which have their own challenges, but it's pretty cool knowing that I can write out my ideas and people will read them. I did wish we could release something more this year, but at least them taking so long means we've saved a bunch of good stuff for next year. My New Year's resolution is to win all my duels to the death. Last year, I lost about half of them. Got to get that record up. As for you, I hope each and every one of you encounter mythical creatures this year. I have some drafts due here soon, so I suspect you'll be hearing from me again before too long. Until then, Happy New Year! -Will
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...not really, I've just been busy.
With what, you ask? 1.) I finished my first draft of Waybound. 2.) While waiting on edits for that, I continued work on my upcoming space fantasy series. In fact, that's what I'm writing today. Now, I do want you to understand where we are, so you don't start thinking Waybound is coming out tomorrow. It's only an alpha draft right now. Not even all the beta readers have gotten to read it yet, and there are still scenes to add. But we're making solid progress. In fact, even without being scene-complete, Waybound is currently second in length only to Wintersteel. I just like working on books beginning with W, I guess. Probably has to do with my natural affinity for the power of W. I have to say, it's really blowing my mind that I've been writing full-time for almost ten years. Now I'm wrapping up the ending to my most popular series and beginning a brand-new series that has to follow Cradle. No pressure. That makes me very nervous. My tiny heart trembles. Seriously, it's nerve-wracking to be writing the end to a best-selling series and the beginning of a totally new, untested concept. I'm anxious about both, though for different reasons. What if you don't enjoy the ending to Cradle? What if the text of the new series accidentally forms an incantation that conjures an elder being whose true form mortal minds cannot perceive? Lots to worry about. -Will P.S. Pokémon Violet is really good, dangit. Everyone's talking about the bugs, but hey, I love Skyrim too. Meanwhile, I'm having tons of fun running around catching Pokémon in an open world. Sure, I sometimes inexplicably turn invisible while throwing a Pokéball. That's part of the charm. Are you hoping that my books are not coming out soon? Well, have I got a blog post for you!
First off, the bad news: we won't be releasing any new books in 2022. I wanted to get another release out before the end of the year, but we're juggling a lot right now. I know some bright-eyed optimists among you were hoping for Waybound by Christmas, but Santa's sack of toys holds only coal for you this year. The reason is pretty simple. We're working on three things right now: our first Kickstarter, the first book in a new series, and the last book in the Cradle series. The Kickstarter concerns the rest of the team more than it does me, but the other two things are enough. I really want both of these books to work, so I'm spending longer on them than I normally would. I have an unofficial motto that I've shared before: "I want to write the best six-month book I can." I still believe in that schedule, and I think an average of two books a year is the right pace, but in this case I just needed more time. It's tricky to both launch a series and conclude another, especially one as big as Cradle. And I don't want to give either of those the short end of the stick, so I'm going to continue working on them instead of trying to rush a release before the end of 2022. Plus, if I release three books next year, that will still be an average of two books per year! (I'm not saying I WILL release three books next year. In fact, I have no idea what next year will look like. Telling the future is for Jedi and for the one-eyed old lady up the street who keeps telling me to be careful around ladders.) Anyway, I'm disappointed I couldn't get you guys another book out before the end of the year. I like releasing books almost as much as I like jumping up and down on ladders. -Will Also, there's a hurricane headed straight for my house. It's over me already. I can hear the rain of baby alligators hitting the roof, and the wind has blown at least three umbrella-carrying British nannies past me already.
I'm trying to get this blog out before I inevitably lose electricity and have to power my house by jogging in my giant hamster wheel. So anyway, I just finished (yesterday) signing the pages for all the Kickstarter books! That took a while, because--believe it or not--there are a lot of you who backed the Kickstarter. 23,600 books signed! I'd like to say my signature improved significantly with all that practice, but the truth is that some look really nice, while others look like my name is V11. If you got a messed-up-looking signature, treat it as an extra-special wrist-fatigue edition. Also, I added a thank-you note to the very last page I signed! If you get that one, let us know, because I have absolutely no control over who gets it. Like Willy Wonka's golden ticket. It's going to be hilarious if I end up getting it in one of the special editions I ordered. I'll have to take myself on a whimsical tour of my own magical writing factory. Now, it's back to writing! Once this storm passes, anyway. Although I could keep writing even during the hurricane. I'll just do things the old-fashioned way and unpack my parchment and quill. -V11 It feels like it's been forever.
I'm here for my irregular check-in, folks! After Dreadgod's release, I did a livestream (two livestreams?), spent three weeks writing a bunch of words on another book, and then suspended myself in my Regeneration Tank to recover. Now I emerge, blinking in the light, to discover a world greatly changed. Not really, but it is weird for me that Dreadgod was only last month. It's been a long month. In other news, here's a headline that sounds like I made it up: Brandon Sanderson partners with Subnautica devs for tabletop tactics video game. A friend of mine sent me that link, and I had a moment trying to remember if I'd come up with it as a joke for a blog post. But no, it's real. A fusion between Brandon Sanderson and Subnautica is the kind of thing I thought I'd have to find all seven Dragon Balls for. Anyway, I'm back now! As DragonCon looms on the horizon, drawing ever closer. I hear its furious wing-beats on the wind. I have a lot of books to catch up on in the meantime. -Will |
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