Weekly Check-In

Alright - so I had a busy week this week, and as a result, I really needed a couple of days off over the weekend.  So, I ended up camping out in my recliner and reading a new book (Dawn of the Void, if you all care; it's pretty good so far).  It helped me recharge my batteries, but it also meant that I completely forgot to do the check-in for this week.  So, that's my bad, and I apologize.  Better late that never though, right?

Anyway, I'm very pleased to announce that I just finished writing the fourth Death: Genesis book this week, and I've begun the annoying process of editing.  Now, I do edit a bit before I throw it on here, so it's not like a first draft edit, but it's still a tedious process that's probably my least favorite part about writing.  That said, I know it's necessary (with this book more than any of the others), so I have to just suck it up, rub some dirt on it, and get it done.  I do reserve the right to complain about it, though.

Some of you may know that the end of this book marks the end of the first major arc of the story.  After this, the world's going to really open up into some more magical (and sometimes horrifying) things, and Zeke (and company) are going to be confronted with a much bigger world.  For me, this is what I've been waiting for; when I started writing this story, I had a few major scenes in mind, and I've been working towards those since the beginning.  And all but a couple of them were for the coming stage of the story.  So, I'm excited to get to them because I think they're going to blow everyone's socks off.  I just have to write them first...

In Mistrunner news, I'm excited to announce that we have a narrator for the audiobook: Soneela Nankani.  I've never been an audiobook guy, so I'm not sure if she has much of a presence in the LitRPG space.  However, for me, she was the first, second, and third option, and I can't articulate just how happy I am that we got her onboard.  For those who don't know who she is, just know that her resume is incredibly impressive.  She's narrated over 300 audiobooks and garnered 17 Earphone Awards as well as multiple Audie nominations.  She's also been nominated for a SOVAS award, and she received the Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor by AudioFile Magazine.  Finally, she's been featured in a host of Best-of lists from the likes of the Washington Post and the aforementioned AudioFile Magazine.  In short, she's a rock star, and I couldn't have been happier to have her telling Mira's story.

Other than that, we have some fun chapters ahead of us this week, and I'm excited to see everyone's reactions.  

I've also started brainstorming a new LitRPG apocalypse story.  It's in the earliest stages, but I think I've got the set-up, tone, and protagonist figured out; now, I just have to  work on the world a bit before I can jump into outlining it.  But I will say that the first part will definitely be inspired by the movies Castaway and 50/50.  The first because I like the idea of being stranded alone in the wilderness, and the second because I'm a cancer survivor (I was diagnosed with leukemia ten years ago) myself, and I wanted to incorporate those experiences into a story.  But that's probably six months from me even starting writing, so we'll push that into the back of our  minds.

Alright - that's it for now.  I hope you all had a great weekend, and I'll try to post next week's check-in on time.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, just let me know!