Update from the Nest
Happy Monday, all! (Well, hopefully.) It’s been a minute since my last status update and I figured today would be a good time for it; my building is doing lead inspections this week, meaning I’m going to have strangers tromping around my apartment without warning at some random moment between now and Wednesday evening. I do not work well under these conditions.
I’m so glad people have been enjoying Castaways, and I’m currently waiting on final edits for book two, Firebreak. A few readers have reached out to me with concerns, and I’d like to address that really quick: yes, it’s a lighter, different series than my usual style. NO, this is not a sign of a shift in my overall work or a sign of things to come. I strongly believe that an artist in any medium should change up their methods and step outside of their comfort zone now and then, because that’s how we learn and grow. (Heck, I still want to write a romance novel one day, just to have the experience. A deeply messed-up romance novel.) The Daniel Faust and Harmony Black books will continue to be their traditionally dark, gritty selves, no changes in the wings.
(On that note, Susannah Jones will be recording the first two Castaways audiobooks back-to-back! Much love to the folks at Podium for picking up the entire five-book series, as well as my amazing agents Andrea and Lydia, who are just the absolute best.)
The first novel in the upcoming Neon Meridian series has undergone edits thanks to the great crew at Aethon Books, and I’m waiting to see what our next step is; no release date yet, but hopefully I’ll have news soon. I can share that, barring a last-minute change, it’s called Catch and Kill: a title that, you will find, works on multiple levels. For those who missed the announcement, Neon Meridian is set in the future of the First Story universe, seventy-odd years after an incident exposed the truth of magic to the entire world and changed the course of humanity forever.
Was it Daniel’s fault? Well, probably, just going by the law of averages, but I’m not telling.
Working on Neon Meridian has been an absolute delight. While I’m known as a fantasy writer, I cut my teeth on sci-fi, picking up a paperback copy of William Gibson’s Neuromancer when I was ten years old. When other kids were running Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, I was GMing Shadowrun and Cyberpunk 2020. (Shout-out to my edgerunners in the audience; I’ve got your back with this one, chooms.) Envisioning the future of the Faust/Black novels, decades from now and through a twisted lens, has been a wonderful challenge so far, and I hope you’re going to enjoy the results.
Speaking of Faust, where is that guy? The answer is: I’m working on it, but it’ll take a bit. The reason is part logistics, part storytelling. The logistics end is simple: while the Faust/Black books are self-published, I have contracts for Castaways and Neon Meridian, and said contracts come with deadlines that have to be met. Gotta be professional, y’know? So my existing series had to shift to the back burner while I was cooking that up. From a storytelling angle…I’ll ask for your patience while I’m working on a little bit of a magic trick here.
As mentioned, Neon Meridian takes place in the future, after an event called the Battle of Broadway changed the world overnight. Meanwhile, Harmony and Jessie are chasing down the forces behind Praeda in the present day, and Daniel Faust is heading straight for his final showdown with the Enemy.
All of these things are connected.
There are an absolute ton of moving parts I’m dealing with here, and the final reveals are either going to be a lot of fun or I’ll fall flat on my face. “Take a big chance or go home” has been my motto as a writer since day one, and I’m cool with that. Long story short, for Spoilery Reasons, Catch and Kill has to come out before the next Daniel Faust novel because of some seeds it plants that’ll pay off shortly. I can say no more. And of course, because I always alternate them, the next Harmony Black novel will be coming on Dan’s heels.
I’m extremely busy over here. As a former boss of mine used to say, “This is a good problem to have.” Time for me to get back to it. Have a great week, and I’ll see you soon!
