Real Life Updates and Next Steps

Alright... time for a long-overdue explanation of why the fuck Archemi #6 isn't done or out yet.

The long and short of why I've been so quiet is that I have spent this year dealing with a divorce. There were some initial threats made regarding my IP, and so I had to be VERY careful what I published and where until the terms were negotiated and paperwork was filed, as there could have been complications. That, and my ex was one of my Patrons... and for some reason, Patreon tells people you block that they have been blocked and their pledge cancelled. Needless to say, that would have caused something of a diplomatic incident. However, today I finally got confirmation that the paperwork is correct and we are now legally separated, so I've removed her from my Patreon and can now resume posting both personal and creative updates.

I don't want to get into detail, but it has been a heavy 10 months for me at home, and not conducive at all to creativity. However, now I'm (mostly) on the other side, it's starting to come back. In the last 5 days, I've added roughly 9000 words to Crowned in Black, meaning it's rapidly approaching the 50,000 word mark. I start feeling like I have a book whenever I hit 60k. Most Archemi titles are between 120,000 - 170,000 words-ish.

My life has changed in other ways - notably, I decided to become a nomad. I fitted out a Ford e250 van, trained my two cats to accept it (and to walk on a leash and harness) and hit the road at the end of May. So far, it's been an amazing and inspiring journey, if not sometimes a little stressful. Mostly, though, it's been a creative and fruitful time. I'm meeting interesting people, staying in (mostly) beautiful places, and working on the next novels and projects.

So far, I have:

- 47000 words of Crowned in Black drafted (final draft)

- 80,000 words of Brute Force #1 (some of it needs rewriting)

- New website going up pretty soon!

I'm also starting to get back into art. Sustained abuse kind of... puts a crimp in your ability to draw and paint. I'm not getting seriously back into visual art until I've achieved some other goals, but I'm determined to pick up a brush again - which means painting portraits of Archemi characters :)

Right now, I'm chilling in south-western Montana. I'm soon to head south and east, through Utah, then Colorado. I'm going to check out some campsites in central Colorado, then possibly head to New Mexico after that. I want to drive through Colorado in part because it's one of the landscapes that most resembles Myszno :)