So while we’re waiting for Redemptor (Valducan #4) to release this November, I’ve been busy working on something new. Something very different.

My current Work-In-Progress is under the working-title Ashes of Onyx and it’s coming along rather nicely.  It’s a bit hard to describe (which is a problem when it comes to pitching it) but it’s a culmination of many ideas and concepts that I’ve enjoyed. It’s part Urban Fantasy, Horror, and Portal Fantasy. I’m about 75% sure the proper genre tag for it is New Weird.

Here’s the short description/pitch:

Kate Rossdale was once the most gifted sorceress to rise in Onyx Tower, Baltimore’s greatest coven. Then a murderous betrayal left her stripped of her magic, friendless, and on the downward spiral of addiction.

But all of that is about to change when she’s hired for dangerous job by a man she doesn’t trust. The payment: Restoration of her magical powers. The Job: Murder. As enemies close from all sides, Kate races across the globe and across worlds, venturing into exotic realms of forbidden dreams as she hunts her target – the magic-thief who robbed her of everything.

I can list a whole lot of favorite stories that served as inspiration for it. Problem is that any time I try to describe it by these works, people respond with, “Oh, so it’s like <Insert Completely Wrong Example Here>,” to which I have to reply, “No.”  But, I’ll go ahead and list some of them here.

Neuromancer, Imagica, The Dark Tower, The Devil Rides Out, The King In Yellow, and whole list of other tiny influences.

In short: It’s something like this, but not really,

 

So to answer the initial questions people ask based off of the influences I cited:

So is it cyberpunk?  Not at all.

Are there gunslingers?  Nope.

Does it explore the deeper aspects of human sexuality? No.

Does it include Satanism?  Hahahaha…. No.

Does it feature The Yellow King?  Um… yeah. But we don’t refer to her as a king.

So it’s a Yellow Queen?!  She prefers empress, but this is getting close to Spoiler Town, so I’m going to stop answering questions.

Is Spoiler Town near Carcosa?   It’s a suburb of it.

Right now the First Draft is at 64,000 words.  I’m estimating the book will run 100,000 total, so it’s safe to say that I’m 64% done.  I’m hoping it’ll be finished by September, and unless some unforeseen variable kicks in, I might have it knocked out before then.  The 60-80% portion of any book is always the hardest for me to write. After that will come the task of editing and then the gauntlet of pitching it to an agent. 

So for those of you who have been wondering why my blog has been so quiet, there you go.  Now that I’ve announced the project, I should be giving more updates as it progresses.