Spending Time in Sovereign
Spent much of the past week in Sovereign City, revising and adding to the twelfth volume of Lazarus Gray. I know that some of you have gotten mighty impatient waiting for these books to be released (the seventh book was released three years ago) but I think they will be on the way relatively soon. Until then you do have Broken Empire to tide you over – it’s an Assistance Unlimited book set in 1964.
Once all twelve of the Lazarus books are out, I think I’ll be able to sit back and feel pretty proud of them. While it may not get too much (read: any) attention from the Pulp Factory Awards and it’s not considered as groundbreaking as Derrick Ferguson’s rightfully-beloved Dillon series, I think there’s a place for Lazarus and his friends in the New Pulp landscape. Besides, not many series in the New Pulp landscape reach 12 books (plus spinoffs!).
Whenever I’m feeling down, I always end up starting a new Lazarus story – so it’s unlikely that I’ll stop at 12 books. I was worried that selling the property (along with the rest of the Reese Unlimited catalog) might result in less enthusiasm but whatever doubts I had were lifted when I wrote the Lilith novel, which was the most fun I’d had writing in a couple of years. When I returned to the twelfth Lazarus book, I found that I was able to add about 3,000 words to it and really thought they were good ones.
Our Icons writeups continue to get major traffic for the site, which is an unexpected pleasure. Hopefully some of our visitors will check out my writing, as well! I’ve had a few requests to do stats for Lazarus, Gravedigger, etc. and I’m sure I’ll get around to that eventually.
Welcome back, folks. Things have been busy around here – on a personal level, my mom recently fell ill and she’s been forced to move in with me so that I can help assist her with daily living. Given that we were all afraid that she was going to pass away just a few weeks ago, we’re glad to have her around. Even so, it’s led to some disruption on the homefront. Oh, and there’s some sort of pandemic which has led to me teaching all my classes from home!
So I finished off the Lilith novel and shared it with Tommy Hancock last week. Now I’m working on a story for the St. Germain project. It’s going to be a short (no more than 10k) and I’m sitting at around 3,000 words right now. Once that’s done… I have a mummy collection of stories that I’d like to complete. I’m hoping to have 4-5 stories in the book. I’m considering it shopping it to somewhere besides Pro Se – I’m very associated with them but they also have a huge backlog of material, much of it mine. I might like to see this book in print a little earlier than it would be if it comes out through my usual channel. The Lilith book worked so well for me because while it was part of my Reese Unlimited Universe, it also felt very different. The mummy book is just an exercise in doing something I think is fun and can stand on its own. In some ways I feel that my creativity has returned and I’m interested in doing various different things that may not always fit the ‘pulp adventure’ definition.
Major Events specific to certain stories and novels are included in brackets. Some of this information contains SPOILERS for The Peregrine, Lazarus Gray, Gravedigger and other stories.
The current novel was begun in earnest at the beginning of February so in less than two months, I’ve almost completed it. I haven’t written a book this quickly in ages and it’s a good feeling. The book has flashbacks to the 19th century and the early 20th but the bulk of it takes place in the modern day – you’ll see a few familiar faces from around the Reese Unlimited universe but mostly it’s about adding to the universe. So you get an all-new villain, a lot of supporting characters that I think will grab your attention, and a lead character with only previous appearance (Lazarus Gray Volume 11).
Good news all around – I’ve approved the galley edits on Assistance Unlimited: The Silver Age so hopefully you’ll get to see this 1960s-era story soon. From what I’ve been told, the backlog of Lazarus Gray books will begin to roll out on a quarterly basis soon, too.
I know you guys spent all weekend on pins and needles, wondering just when I would unveil the Mike Hoffman cover to my current work-in-progress. Well, the time has finally come. Mike did a gorgeous painted cover for The Chronicles of Lilith and you’re now able to view a low-resolution version of it at left! My version of Lilith is introduced in The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume 11 (published eventually by Pro Se Press) and she’ll star in her own time-spanning adventure to follow. Mike’s wonderful artwork will hopefully entice fans into picking it up. What do you say, folks? Do you love it or do you love it?
I’m currently 15,000 words into the newest novel which will take a supporting character introduced in the 11th volume of the Lazarus Gray series and spin them out into a book of their own. The cover for the book is already in house, done by the amazing 
The current novel is progressing well – I’m about 20% of the way through it. That may not sound like much but considering I’ve only been working on it since early February, that’s not bad. Mike Hoffman has already delivered the cover art and it’s gorgeous! This novel takes a character introduced in Lazarus Gray Volume 11 and spins her off in her adventure. Yes, I know, you’ve been waiting for those Lazarus Gray stories for quite awhile but I’ve heard from Pro Se that there are plans to start rolling these books out on a very regular basis soon.