I’m sure that I’ve been told that one should never start a post or update with an apology. But, here we are. I have been out of communication for a while now. Towards the middle of last year, I found myself slipping into a state of burnout. The upshot was that I needed to step back and focus on just those things that were essential: primarily family and paying work.
These may be fateful words, but I am feeling recovered now. I had a decent break over the holiday period. We didn’t get away or go anywhere: it was a stay around the house, taking it easy sort of break, which is what I needed. Things will get busy again this year. We’re expecting our second child in a matter of weeks now. Really, it could be any day. And the university semester is about to start up again.
That said, I’d like to get back into the habit of posting the next instalment in the Caewen stories on a weekly basis. It is already written, after all. It does need some editing, and there are parts of it I’d like to change–but I can do that as we go along. To that end, I’m going to schedule the first chapter to republish (which, to my shame I’ve realised was made public in March last year… March). I’ll then start publishing new material. I can’t promise I’ll manage it every week, but I will be more or less regular.
Where am I with the series as a whole? I have decided that I need to get this off my plate. What started as a way to experiment with different storytelling modes has, frankly, got out of control and turned into a multi-book series. I never intended that to be the case. I do want to revise novellas one and two before moving onto the next book after A Charm for the Nameless Child. But, I now aim to shorten and cut the material that I was otherwise planning to weave into what was becoming a quite long series. I’m going to aim for two more novels after A Charm for the Nameless Child. The very last novel might be longer than the others, but I think I can wrap it all up in just another couple books. I don’t want this tale to drag on endlessly. I’ve other projects that have been occupying the back of my mind lately.
All that said, the (previously posted) Chapter One will go up again next week. After that will be new material.
Thanks for your patience, especially to those of you who have been checking in from time to time. I can see from the site stats that there are a few people around the world who have been checking back in. It does mean a lot to me that a few people out there are interested enough to stop by from time to time and see what is happening.