Because I said so.

It’s been just over two years since I wrote this post all about how I was quitting library school and putting my pirate trilogy on indefinite hiatus. I definitely do NOT regret quitting library school. It was expensive, it was unrewarding, etc., etc. (it’s all in that linked-to blog post).

That pirate trilogy, though. It’s stuck around in my head since March 6, 2023, and may get a second shot at life. I had it all planned out as a trilogy. The Oceanbound trilogy, with three books:

• The X of Doom
• The Lady of Nightmares
• The King of Oblivion

I like each title. I liked “X of Doom” so much I wrote two short stories with that title back in 2013, neither of which I have revisited since they were written. The problem I was having with the overall story was that I wanted to write it as a historical fantasy, but the historical aspects of it were not in line with the vision that I had for the story. If I make it a second-world fantasy, though, it just might work, with the right characters.

But I am working on plenty of projects right now:

• Padma. I wrote the first draft for NaNoWriMo (of blessed memory), then wrote a full draft in 2019, which I submitted to my writers’ group. Six years later, I am finally revising it. I’m in the middle of revisions right now, and I have hit a scene which changes the fundamental emotional journey of the novel, and it’s going to be a doozy to write. It’s fun, but difficult. Wish me luck! My deadline for completing this revision is June 30, 2025.
• And the Devil Will Drag You Under. Another novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo which I rewrote a few years later. It needs to be revised. It’s sitting on the cabinet in my office, waiting for revisions. I plan to start on July 1.
• Witness to the Scourge. This began as a rather poor short story called “The B.I.M.”, then turned into a novella that… No, wait, scratch that. It started as a dare from my wife, of all people, to write a story featuring a were-cockroach. At any rate, I’m still world-building for this one.
• The 2025 Commitment. I’ve written thirteen short stories so far this year, and enjoying the heck out of the process. I plan on revising one of them, the ninth one, for submission. Speaking of which, I also plan on beginning the submission process again starting in July. I took a hiatus from submitting stories because I had run out of stories in my stable and needed to add some more.

So yeah. I won’t be lacking for writing projects for the rest of the year. This is a good thing. I certainly won’t be getting bored.

So will I return to the Oceanbound trilogy?

Maybe. We’ll see.

Yarr.