It's 2023!
Wow, can you believe it? Somehow we got through another circle around the sun, and here we are again in a new year, facing the long dark of January and February. Fortunately, I've got exciting news to share, so let's get to it!
New Book
When last you heard from me (which was November, unless you're brand new to this newsletter), I'd mentioned that I had a side project that was probably going to keep me away from writing for a bit. Well … that was put on hiatus, and I was absolutely dying to get started on the sequel to Piety the Knife, so I got started on the sequel to Piety the Knife). I'm not going to tell you the name just yet, because it's a bit of a spoiler for the first book, but I've been cranking away on it since December 12th.
It's perhaps not a great idea to be writing this book. I still haven't landed an agent for Piety and it makes basically zero sense to write a sequel to a book that hasn't even secured representation, much less been bought by a publisher. But sometimes you just gotta write what you want to write, whether it makes the most sense or not. I've skipped writing sequels to a bunch of other books, many of which I would really love to write sequels for, because I was trying to get an agent, but in this case I think Piety might be my best work overall and I was too excited to keep writing stories in that world to just walk away.
This is probably frustrating for you. "Great, he's writing a sequel we can't read to a book we can't read" … yeah. That's not so hot. So here's the deal: I will make you two promises. The first is that if I fail to secure representation for this trilogy, I will eventually release it independently. You'll get to read Piety the Knife, its sequel, and the closing book in the trilogy someday. The other promise: if I don't have an agent by this summer, I will begin work on releasing Possessed as an indie title.
Don't remember Possessed? You can learn more about it on my writing site, but for a quick summary: it's a contemporary fantasy book in the style of Christopher Moore, featuring a lot of humor in addition to my trademarked (not actually trademarked) blend of action and character development. It's about a young woman living in the Miami suburbs who accidentally gets possessed by a demon. Do hijinks ensue? They absolutely do. Does she get into some dangerous situations? She absolutely does! Does she survive the end of the book? Well, I hope to give you a chance to find out!
So, yeah … Untitled Piety Sequel That's Not Actually Untitled? Going really well. I haven't missed a single day while writing it, I'm almost to 70,000 words, and I'm averaging an absurd 2,300 words a day. Not sure if I can keep up that pace or not, but I'm having an absolute blast with it at the moment and am on track to finish it up sometime in early February, assuming it comes in around 120,000-130,000 words, which feels about right for the plans I have for the plot! That means by the March newsletter, it should be done.
Piety the Knife
Not a ton new here to report. The book is out with the agent who requested significant revisions, now that I've made those revisions. I'm hoping like hell she likes what I've done and is ready to take me on as a client. I think it's likely, but not guaranteed, I'll hear back from her before the March newsletter. Fingers crossed!
Book Graphic Novel Recommendation
If you haven't read Monstress by Majorie Liu and Sana Takeda, you are absolutely missing out. Grab volume one from your local indie bookstore (or, if you must, I guess keep lining Jeff Bezos's pockets and use Amazon, but seriously … go indie)! You will not regret it, I promise you.
Catch you in March!
-Chris
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