So my next novel, after I finish up this one, is going to be a direct sequel to one of my earlier works; specifically, part 2 of the Caitlyn Morcos series.
This isn’t the first time I’ve written a direct sequel, but it will be the first time I do so from scratch. My Tintian series were homages and inspired by specific Tintin stories, so I kinda knew the rough layout of what was happening before I even started those books… Tintian and the Mysterious Meteor was directly inspired by Tintin and the Shooting Star, so I had the arc mapped before I sat down.
But not so with Caitlyn Morcos. Her first sequel is untouched territory. There are no shortage of problems in Delta Quadrant for her to tackle, so it’s really just a question of picking one and having her go at it… but the previous work was action mixed with murder-mystery, so I’m going to see if I can tap into that again. The stakes won’t be quite as personal as they were the first time, and I have to be careful of power-creep (that thing where the big bad for every novel becomes more and more of a threat by incremental steps… as much as I enjoy the Honor Harrington series, every threat she faced was one ship-class larger in neat, sequential order. Too predictable, and too… video game.
Anyway, today I’m finishing up a big painting project that I’ve been working on since April, so that will be very nice to have done, and then I’m going to spend a little time working on a rough plan for Morcos Book 2! Exciting!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!