A bit of writing-related news today.

First, I am confident in saying that after two rounds of major edits, my novel Auran Legend is now ready to submit. I still need to do a cover letter and synopsis, but the work itself is complete. Hooray! However, I've encountered a bit of a snag... every publisher I've looked at to send this to is closed to new novel submissions. D'oh... Well, at least this gives me time to write up a good cover letter and synopsis without rushing.

It's not all bad, though. I've been informed one of my short stories has been accepted into an anthology! This will be my first official, paid published work (barring the self-published Obsidian Road, which... is a lot different than my current works due to how much I've learned since then). Hooray again! More details to come as it gets closer to publication, which I'm told will be sometime in early Fall. And yes, it's furry ;)

I'll be working on a commissioned story over the next month or so, and I also have a superhero tale already complete that's waiting in the wings for the go-ahead by the commissioner. As for my own personal work, I haven't decided which story to do next. A recent surge in world-building for ARC Knights has me contemplating that one. I've even done a couple of test chapters for it. I've also started putting together a human-furry story that I could possibly pitch to more mainstream publishers. Rocket Raccoon and Groot have proven that well-made anthropomorphic characters can do just fine surrounded by humans in mainstream - I can only hope my characters are just as developed by the time they're written. More details on that one when I'm closer to writing it.

Oh, and Auran Connection? My first true foray into novel-writing? I still intend to get that one out there as well. However, I've spent the past year making notes on the previous (third) draft and figuring out what needs tweaking. I've discovered this project will definitely take some more time, but I'm excited at the prospect of going back to it. There's so much I've learned since I began. There are a lot of things that need fixing. Some parts will even require complete re-writes. It's a necessary step, as there were a lot of scenes and setups I included back then that are little more than fluff and wish-fulfillment based on early concepts I didn't want to let go of. Based on my notes and the long (...long...) list of changes I made, I feel much more confident now in it being the tale I want to tell. Plus, with new material, I can better set up potential sequels!

Lastly, I've done some pondering on Kaili's story, Serenity's Edge. I still fully intend to write it, but I had an idea to do a short prequel scene for it... in comic form. I haven't tried comics in years, and I'm still cautious about it, but the visuals came together so well in my mind that I might try and muster the courage to attempt sequential art once again, hopefully with a better result this time. I won't confirm I'll try it yet, but it's a definite maybe. With my work schedule having shifted to more reasonable hours during the summer, this would be a perfect opportunity.

So... let's see how far we can go...