Hello all, and Happy Thanksgiving! It's been a minute since I last updated this blog; my bad. I got covid back in September and it wiped me out for three weeks. And yes, that was almost two months ago, but once you fall out of a habit it's twice as hard to get back into it. I'll try to do better.
That said! I am back to my original passion (if only for a moment) this blog entry: my writing!
And as you can guess by the title, the official topic of this entry is book four of the Stone World Saga, First World Problems, and its upcoming release.
We'll get to that ;)
First, I thought I would answer a few FAQ I've been getting about the Stone World Saga and my other stories.
Q: How many books are in the Stone World Saga?
A: Four, which means the main series is finished with this last book. However, I did leave some wiggle-room to expand the world, if I so choose, and I have a few novella ideas floating around to help fill some of the gaps in the main storyline.
Q: Does xxx6 have a real-world parallel?
A: Yes. The First Wave hit in December 2018 with the entirety of 2019 being a chaotic mess of people trying to figure out how to survive what was happening (e.g. 2020). In the new calendar, 2019 is known as The Lost Year with the dates starting over in 2020 as xxxx or Year Zero. That means xxx6 is the same as 2026.
Q: Where did you get the idea for the Stone World Saga?
A: My brother Zachary had the original idea of creating a Walking Dead-style web show that took place in Hawaii. Because the characters were based on my family, and I was living on the mainland at the time, Zach asked me to write about what my character would be doing while the rest of the family was trapped in Hawaii. River was the result, and everything sort of spiraled out of control from there. If you're interested in watching the trailer for Zach's DOA web show, it's available on the Stone World Saga main page. Also, here's the link.
Q: If Zac's real name is Isaac, why does he go by Zac?
A: Because Zachary's video came first, I wanted to incorporate as much of what he'd done into the book as possible. That includes using the name "Zac Stone." That said, I didn't want to use Zachary because 1) that's my brother's name, and a bit too on the nose, and 2) I wanted my characters to be a bit unique. That started the tradition of giving the Stone kids abnormal nicknames for their birth names: "Danny" for Aidan, "Zac" for Isaac, "Rick" for Patrick. If I decide to write sequels about the Stone kids, I imagine the trend will continue.
Q: Do you have other books available?
A: Not at the moment. I have the first book in a YA superhero trilogy done with book 2 in the works and my isekai trilogy The Book of Ages is about 1/2 done. I haven't decided whether I'll go with a traditional publisher or not. I kind of like the idea of self-publishing as I finish them, but I've not made any commitments either way.
If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a line!
And now, for the reason you're here:
First World Problems
Summary
River is gone and Athens abandoned. With nowhere else to go, the Tartans evacuate both their citizens and the Hawaiian refugees to Galveston, the capital city of New Texas. Surrounded by pre-wave technology, Felicity has never been more uncomfortable while Winter thrives in her position as Assistant Director of the New Anaphedarin project.
The shift in Tartan dynamics has caused some friction between the years-long group of friends, but as uncomfortable as the Athenians are, the Hawaiians are having an even harder time adjusting; particularly Zac, whose main talents have become unnecessary.
To make things worse, Oliver is unsure of where his loyalties lie, but he's beginning to think he made a big mistake throwing in with River and her Tartans. A thought that becomes stronger when he begins taking care of Seven's pregnant widow, Sierra Knowles.
First World Problems is available on Amazon Kindle on December 7th! Pre-order it now!