Next project

For the time being, volume 2 of the Old Testament Space Opera series is being shelved in its current embryonic stage. I will come back to it; I remain convinced it is a good idea.

The trouble is, I have so many ideas, and so little time...

And I know many of these ideas are good ones: one such follows a similar basic premise to The Matrix; and I toyed with the idea of an eschatological thriller way before that was even a genre. I still think that with the right Bible scholar as co-writer, I could have done better than LaHaye and Jenkins. (Come on Tyndale House, challenge me! Left Behind: London, maybe?)

Anyway, that next project. I've always been intrigued by alternate histories (hence my current reading), and have a couple on my unfinished projects list, so I've decided to pick one up and see where it goes. I won't say more just yet though, just in case Jerry's reading...

A fresh wall

Well, I'd just about nailed the outline of the sequel to Countless as the Stars, and was planning to start work on the actual writing of it, when I heard the Kingsway, who just this year were actively seeking fiction submissions, have changed their minds.

Obvoiusly I was slow off the mark here because I was, well, moving house and, well, having a baby. pfft. Excuses excuses.

Anyway, what all this means, apart from Kingsway not publishing the mass market edition of Countless, is that one more Christian publisher in the UK is no longer interested in adult fiction. So what next for the Old Testament Space Opera? Self-pubbing is a hard slog, and with all the goings-on in my house this year, the boxed copies have pretty much remained boxed. Maybe a renewed effort in the new year.

But the question remains: is it worth starting a sequel, or should I be looking for a fresh wall to bang my head against?

Well the options are:

1. Write a sequel and worry about it later
2. Write a teen/youth novel, for which there are publishers in the UK
3. Write a secular novel (I have my own internal definition a the Christian novel, which I may go into later)
4. Write a Christian non-fic (yes, I have an idea, though it's probably been done)

Honestly, I find it hard to get motivated on a sequel knowing that I'll probably just end up with a whole fresh batch of rejection letters. However, online sales are happening, including the occasional e-bay giveaway, and just today, on the brink of despair, I received an encouraging e-mail (I hesitate to use the phrase 'fan-mail' :) ) from one such customer.

I guess I could interpret that as a sign; not going down that road without careful thought and prayer though...