Two pieces of business today- where Far Shore is, and what's going to be next.

To The Far Shore: I believe in this book, and this series. To the point where I would like to get it published, and published properly. It will be self published, as the notion of hunting for an agent and a lawyer to maybe get it published and maybe sell some books does not appeal. That being said, this will not be some crummy, typo riddled, unformatted cash in. I am doing it right, and investing in it. To that end, To The Far Shore is currently being copy-edited. This is a very, very detailed, line by line review of the book. Not only checking for typos, checking for stylistic notes and how the overall story can be tightened/improved. It takes a lot of time to do right. However, said editor is doing her usual outstanding job, and it is looking great so far. This is also a good opportunity (which I am taking!) to build out the series "bible," making sure things stay consistent. Long, long overdue. So this is really great stuff.

I have sourced some cover art, and am having covers made. Not quite at the level of commissioning a graphic designer for the work, but better that average, I think. However, this does lead me to a huge problem: the title. I REALLY want to change the title.

The Far Shore got it's name because the book was going to literally be about Mazelton crossing the continent, as well as growing as a person. I also liked the notion of implying all the other things that could go along with the faintly ominous phrase "The Far Shore." Nice little bit of both hope and foreboding there. That being said, it lacks attractive power. I mean, it could be a book about childhood memories of trout fishing with your dad, now sadly deceased, and all the feels you are feeling about taking your own child fishing.

We can do better. We MUST do better! So, to the comments section! Suggest titles! And thank you.

Book 2 will be Sinews of War, with our favorite temporal vampire/investment banker Xiatoktok as he navigates the accelerating mess that is the continental West. There will be love, lies, violence, betrayal, bookkeeping which does not meet GAAP standards and unnecessarily deep cut references to actual historical events that I have stolen for the story.

To give you some idea, I have been re-reading my Machiavelli and patiently digging through William Dalyrimple's The Anarchy, which is a terrifyingly well researched history of the East India Company's "work" in India. So. You know. Expect problems to be resolved through respectful dialog by people who sincerely believe in the common good.

All of which is much better, easier reading than the for-public-consumption articles on the nature of time, which I just don't have the necessary physics background to completely understand. I mean, I get that space and time are one thing, but if the people over at MIT can't explain to me why I can move in any direction in space but not time, how can I explain it to you?

Ahem. Anyhow. I did have one question for the audience. Last I checked, the poll had the Xia and Bo books tied, with Lettie coming in a distant third. Out of curiosity, why? NGL, I figured a "Girl Genius"-esque romp with Lettie as she got her Lara Croft on was a gimmie.

Last last thing- Sinews of War will NOT, REPEAT, NOT be published under the same "book" as Far Shore. It will be launched as a separate book with a new landing page, description etc. I am hopeful that I can adapt some of the lessons learned from Far Shore to make the landing page appeal to a broader set of readers, and it will be much easier to do from scratch.

Looking for Advance Readers: On that note, if you would be willing to write an honest review for Sinews of War, please PM me. When I have the first ten or so chapters written, I will send them out to you a few days before the publication date.

Thank you for all your support, it means a lot.

Warby