So I have some news that may be both good and bad. After some more consideration, as well as input from a trusted reader, I’ve determined that it is not yet time to go through with plans of publishing Empire of Chains (and its sequels). Quite simply, it is not the story I would like it to be.
In order to make the necessary corrections, I pretty much have to start all over. I don’t know when I’ll write it because I need time to change the things that need changing.
In the meantime, I do have two other series I feel much better about. I will likely turn my attention to those series. One of them, Sunweaver, still has the first book under consideration in the Angry Robot Open Door. Most of the entries have been read at this point, but I’m still waiting on a response.
I also have A Song of War, the first book of my God War series. It’s more of a gunpowder fantasy. I haven’t done much editing on it, but I have a pretty clean first draft to work with.
I may also get working on some other projects.
In a way, this is good news. When I get Empire of Chains out there (and the title may still be subject to change), it will be a much stronger book and more in line with the writer I’ve become rather than the writer I was when I first started writing it at fifteen.
Each iteration has been an improvement, and I’m hopeful that one last try will give me the series I’ve envisioned. Don’t get me wrong. There are some aspects of what I have that I think are very good, but it also has its fair share of issues, and they’re not issues I can correct without completely reworking the story.
So I don’t know when exactly I’ll begin publishing. There’s still a part of me holding out hope for trade publishing. For anyone who’s interested, I can send you copies of some of my books if you’d like to read them and provide feedback.
This wasn’t an easy decision to come to, but these concerns have been in my mind for a while now. The fact that I can’t get rid of them shows that they are valid concerns. I want my readers to have the best product I can provide, and what I have right now does not fit that description.
Ryan W. Mueller: Fantasy Author 