The End of 2025

2025 is nearly a wrap, and this is blog entry number two. I’m not sure why I lost interest in writing these, apart from my own lack of enthusiasm…

This year has seen the release of two novels, both in the Rescue anthology series: Mandate Shattered and Express Hijacked. I really enjoy the idea behind this series and have a few more novels in that series on deck; in fact, the 4th book is already under construction, with a potential release planned for 2026. This series will also allow me to tackle different periods in the history of 'the Empire', and that in itself offers some fun options for exploration and worldbuilding.

I'm currently working on the fifth instalment in the Standish series: The Debt. Anyone who has read the second, third and fourth books in the series knows that the fifth will contain

significant changes. I won't mention it here, but the circumstances surrounding Standish have changed, which I hope will allow her character to evolve and become more compelling.

The only question that remains is how many more Standish novels should be written until we catch up to the events in Remnants of Empire, where Standish was first introduced to readers. Once we hit that mark, there is then room to work all the way up to the events at the beginning of Standish, where we find her later in her career.

While I do have an interest in writing other standalone projects, I've come to the conclusion that my previous works in this category simply aren't generating any interest, making the expense and effort into writing them very unproductive. I have several ideas for standalone novels ready to start, including origin stories for both Render and Fairlight, those decisive events in their lives that turned them into the insane war-machines we learned about in Arpina & Fairlight. Whether or not these novels will ever see the light of day is questionable.

One idea I have been mulling over, again, is to start a second phase to the Earth Saga. This would follow up on the ending of Focal Point, but begin a story readers could jump straight into, without having to start with Minus Epsilon. I think this second phase would be shorter than the original 9 books, but I still need to figure out the story, etc. A lot of work is required before we can move forward.

I do have a vision of where I'd like the Earth Saga to end, and that's with…. I don't want to spoil the ending of the first nine books for anyone who hasn't read them.

I do think characters like Joe Hunt and Rhea Stokes have legs. Plenty of adventures left to be had, and considering where things were left at the end of Focal Point, it could be interesting to pick up the story and see how the events of the previous books impact our main characters and the story. Much to consider.

Looking at 2026, I'm aiming to release the fifth Standish novel and the fourth book in the Rescue series. Beyond that, I'm not sure. I almost feel a need to step back and figure out a plan to see out the decade….

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who has read any of my novels, and I hope they enjoyed them. With any luck, I'll be releasing new material in the near future, which will give readers the same pleasure.

Until next time, stay safe out there.