Trading Allegiances -- First Draft Complete

 Hi All:

Just a note to let you know that instead of stopping writing to edit "Back to Pelgraff", I kept on with the next novel in the series, #9, "Trading Allegiances", and have now jumped to #10, "A Dangerous Species".

I know from bitter experience that I cannot edit one book while writing another. And, as I've gone months without writing after editing a book, I decided that I want to finish this series as quickly as possible and have thus continued to write.

Book #10, "A Dangerous Species" should be the last book in the "Yrden Chronicles" series. It was actually supposed to be a stand-alone novel when I started it. It became a testament in HOW NOT TO WRITE A SERIES

Book 10 was supposed to be a stand-alone novel, just like all the other ones I'd written to that point. I had this "wonderful" what-if that came to me. It had it's origin in our history, but to do the "what-if" without having to do a hell of a lot of research, I decided to take the major circumstances and shift them into Space and the distant future.

So, I started writing Book 10, which, as I said, was supposed to be a stand-alone novel. Early in chapter 1, it occurred to me that I needed a civil war -- like the Spanish Civil War -- to occur as a precursor. That "shiny object" took hold, and I wrote what was to become Book 5, "Pelgraff" -- then went back to work on Book 10. BUT, in Pelgraff, a certain throw-away line, just something to add a bit of depth to my universe attracted me, demanded to be written. So I wrote that book -- about the founding of a trading league (which figured in book 5) and a scientist that was instrumental in it -- which occurred 450 years before Book 5. That was "Courtesan"

Then, that finished, I went back to Book 10, but the story of the leader of the League in book 5 needed an origin, so I abandoned Book 10 and wrote Book 1 -- the origin story "Trading for the Stars". Then, again from Book 5, I knew I needed a story on how she acquired her bodyguard. So, Book 2 "Trading for a Dream". Then I had her inciting incident (mentioned in book 5), so I wrote Book 3 "One Trade to Many". Then I needed a leadup to Book 5, so I wrote Book 4 "Trading in War". Book 6, "Trading in Secrets" partially came from another "shiny object" that I wanted to put into a book, and decided to incorporate it into my series instead of a stand-alone. Book 7, "Partisan of Pelgraff" came from another "shiny object", but one which could be in the series. Then I buckled down to work my way to Book 10 -- which I had worked on from time to time, building it up to about 85,000 words.

In the middle of all that, fans of "Courtesan" began asking for a sequel, and the 4 novels of "Not with a Whimper" came about.

Now I'm finally working on finishing "A Dangerous Species". However, that may delay the publishing of books 8 and 9, but it's probably the fastest way to get the final 3 books out.

Anyway, that's my story ... and I'm sticking to it.

For those who have followed me this far, I thank you and I'll get these books out as soon as I can.