Ben here. I was successful in explaining the value of taking turns posting here each month to Christian. Really, I did that update in March and we got a bunch of views and followers out of it, and he agreed that we should have some news on here at least once a month. Thankfully, we tend to have enough going on to warrant at least a monthly update. I was going to post about The Neon Heart for this one, but Christian was nice enough to do that for me last month.

To sum that all up, The Neon Heart is the unconnected sequel to last year’s The Thinking Machine. They take place in the same world, but other than a single crossover, it’s totally new people on a new adventure. Where The Thinking Machine was cyberpunk, The Neon Heart really is an adventure. Christian put it well, saying it is like Indiana Jones in space. I’ve named the series The Synthetic Albatross. I’m not going to get into the name her, but some time soon on my personal blog, I’ll do a behind the writing for it and address where it came from.The book is out and I’m doing a launch for it at Anchor Bakery & Espresso Bar on Sunday from 1 – 3pm.

With the new novella done, I’m shifting focus over to a novel. Christian has been working on a horror novel for the last couple years, and I’ve been meaning to get my own sci-fi novel going for at least that long. We’re both at a point where we need to make a big leap to keep growing. That means agents and major publishers. Because of that, we’ve had to step up our game. Christian’s novel is in reviews right now. A couple of local authors and I are going over it for him, then he’ll get to work on the next draft (I’m sure). In the mean time, he’s been cranking out a side project. I can’t believe how fast he’s going. I set myself a tight schedule for this summer, but he’s sped right past me.

I can’t tell you what that one is about, or what will come of it, but it’s happening. I was hoping to do 20 000 words a month for my novel, getting the first draft done some time in August. It’s ambitious for me, but I’ve hit that monthly goal before. I just haven’t done it for five months in a row. I’m already behind, but not by much, so I should be able to catch up. I think that’s about all for now. We have a ChiSeries event in June (see the events page for details) but it looks to be a light summer for events. That’s all. Look forward to Christian’s post next month!