I’m now in-between drafts for “The Shieldmaiden’s Throne” – to be released in July. This is usually the time when I start coming up with detailed ideas for my next book. For the past five years, that meant thinking up the next volume of the “Song of Britain” saga. But I’ve written nine of those already – plus the novella – and I’m not sure if continuing down that path is the wisest choice, both artistically and commercially. At least, not without a pause.
And thus, I find myself at a crossroad. Of the long backlist of projects, there are two that I find myself interested in right now – plus the third option, of continuing with the story of Britannia. They’re in various stages of readiness and development, and are in wildly different genres. I have no idea yet which of these – if any – I’ll end up writing next.
The White Wolf – Song of Caratac, Book One
The easiest option – the tenth book in the cycle, though this one would start a whole new saga, from scratch, almost a clean break, but not quite… I admit I myself haven’t quite worked it out yet. Either way, the story picks up ten years after The Shieldmaiden’s Throne, and focuses on early adventures of young Caratac and his friends in western Britannia.
Pros – easy to keep up the routine; I have the entire story outline already written up; guaranteed popularity of the IP, even if the returns are somewhat diminished with each book.
Cons – not gonna lie, it’s getting difficult to keep the stories fresh and interesting for this long, both for myself and for the reader. How much fuel really is there in the tank for the series? I have outlines for at least another trilogy, and ideas for two more, but can I really keep doing this for anothe five-six years? I can’t say yet.
The Man Who Came From The Scar
A high-concept fantasy. Set vaguely in my Mirror Worlds universe. Somewhat reminiscent to the Shadow&Bone setting, though I didn’t know about that series when I came up with it of course. A great scar of magic runs across the world, splitting it in two. The protagonist lives in the far North, an Inuit or Sami-derived culture, with discrete magic skills; a mysterious man appears near the Scar, claiming to have come from another world, and needing to find the way back home which is a portal at the other, southern end of the Scar – but is everything he says true? And how can a girl from the tundra, who’s never seen anyone from outside the Frozen Sea, travel all the way to the Burning South?
Pros – cool idea; my first proper fantasy novel; potential for sequels – the world and the background story is massive, possibly expanding into the multiverse of the Mirror Worlds.
Cons – pretty much everything about this sounds challenging; I don’t have the actual plot or character interactions thought through; it’s the kind of story that cries out for a romantic sub-plot, and I just can’t write those well; risky if fails to take off.
The Flying Barons of Negriponte
This one would be more a return to the style of The Year of the Dragon – a young adult-ish historical fantasy story, set in a Clockpunk version of 13th century Greece, in the days of the Triarchy of Negroponte and Michael VIII’s fight for retaking the Byzantine Empire. Can’t say much more for spoilers, but the story would be somewhat Miyazaki-inspired.
Pros – fun for me! good title; I already wrote something like this, and it came out decent last time – and I’ve learned a lot since then; could be a simple, standalone story, good for cleansing the palate before embarking on some greater project – or a launchpad to something bigger.
Cons – mostly commercial doubts: strange and risky topic, a bit too niche, maybe? is Clockpunk even still a popular genre? I might end up not selling a single copy after months of hard work…
I now have some two-three months to decide which one of these three to choose – or go with something else altogether. It’s not going to be easy…
(disclaimer: the inline pics were generated using Midjourney 5.0, but only for illustrative purposes – I of course won’t be using AI art for actual covers, since I choose to support human artists)
James Calbraith 