Hello readers! I recently finished the first draft of the fourth and final instalment in my Highmoor series. If you have been waiting to read the end of this saga, I can now inform you, very tentatively, that the e-book should be available on Amazon by the end of this year.
Remaining tasks before initial release
The first draft is now with my trusty review team, who will no doubt get back to me with various gripes regarding plot points, character motivations and the air-speed velocity of unladen dragons. I will then address these gripes, as well as other weaknesses that I will notice on returning to the draft after some time away from it. After that, the novel will need a thorough spelling and grammar check (believe it or not, I try very hard at this – but I’m not a professional proof-reader).
In the meantime, I also need to cobble together some presentable cover art, write an engaging but spoiler-free blurb (this causes me undue pain and suffering), and attempt to drum up some hype before the eventual release date (title reveal, anyone?).
Other offerings while you wait…
I am aware that this book has taken longer than the others. This is an unfortunate consequence of my real-life job becoming increasingly demanding over the past two years. But I appreciate that this has been a long wait, so I have a few other sub-projects planned.
Firstly, I will be releasing a new-and-improved version of Sylvre, the second book in the series. The storyline won’t be changing; I only intend to fix spelling and grammar errors (of which there are a few) and to tidy up the most rambling sentences. You won’t need to buy a new version of the e-book: it will be available for free on a semi-regular basis. Just keep an eye out for the free book weekends!
Secondly, the new edition of Sylvre will also be available in paperback! It can sit right next to the paperback version of Highmoor. Obviously, the goal is to have all four books in the series available in paperback, but this will take some time. It’s nice to get reader feedback from the e-book versions first before committing to paper…
Finally, I will be releasing more art from the Highmoor series. This will likely arrive in the form of character doodles and Lego models, but I may branch out into other mediums – who knows?
Future plans
Having finished the first draft of the end of a series, my mind has naturally started wandering towards ideas for what comes next. I have no solid plans yet, although I’m leaning towards returning to science fiction rather than writing more fantasy.
Another project on my radar is revisiting The Starlit Ship series. As mentioned in a recent post discussing my evolving perception of previous work, I’m starting to see these books as a bit of an embarrassment – not surprising, really, given that they were my first attempt at self-publishing. Still, given that they are self-published e-books, there is no reason that I couldn’t tidy up their content and re-release them, maybe with some shiny paperback editions too? I have yet to decide, so stay tuned for updates.
State of the blog
I’m trying to release weekly blog posts, but some are more in-depth than others! I’m currently releasing one long blog post per month, analysing each book in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. We are now more than halfway through, having explored various aspects including plot structure, character agency, folklore, religion, sexism, and whether Narnia has a “non-talking-animal-meat” accreditation board. Next up is The Horse and His Boy, which was a childhood favourite of mine – although I suspect that the “desert kingdom” of Calormen has not aged well since it was written in the 1950s…
I also have a few more six-minute summaries brewing, and I will continue to review science fiction and fantasy media – not that anything this year is likely to surpass Project Hail Mary, which I reviewed last month.
In summary…
The final instalment in the Highmoor series is on the way, so place stay tuned for further updates!
Happy reading, and have a lovely week!
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C. W. Clayton 