The State of The Series…es.
Okay “series” is technically a plural, so it really is like “both series,” but doesn’t that sound weird?
Anyway.
I’ve been writing diligently. More or less diligently, anyway. As usual, I have no release dates to give, because I don’t want to be a liar who brings false hope. Sorry about that.
Tanner’s next novel is about halfway done. I’m closing in on 80,000 words on the rough draft. It feels like I’m about halfway, and I know the climax arc I want. Right now my biggest problem with the book itself is in deciding how to space out each “act,” as it were. This one involves a lot of world-building and new horizons for the setting and for Tanner, so that slows it up a bit, too…but I’m looking forward to putting it out.
The biggest problem with writing, however, is 2017. I won’t go into it. You can see how I feel in many of my other posts. But the whole raging national garbage fire is a serious distraction, and it makes writing difficult. Not gonna lie. You can find plenty of other authors with the same problem.
On that note, last week I shifted over a bit to the next Good Intentions ’cause I felt like it was time for a break from space and also time for a little Nazi-punching goodness. I’m only doing a couple of chapters before switching back to Tanner…I think. The honest truth is I’m gonna keep writing whatever keeps me writing, and I’ll put out whichever one gets done first. I’m hoping it’s Tanner. He’s due. But if Alex, Lorelei, and Rachel start taking off, so be it.
Also, recording has finished on “No Medals for Secrets.” I don’t have a release date, but I’ve spoken with Tess Irondale a few times about it so I know she’s done with her part. The rest is in Audible’s hands now.
I’d like to pre-order both. 🙂
Ditto
Thanks for the shout out. And I’m at the point now where I don’t care which one comes out first
I like both but I lean toward good intentions so I’m pleased to hear you’re working on that too!
Thanks for the update. Really looking forward to the next Tanner book.
I’ve got to day, you are a hidden treasure. Read both series now and I am absolutely blown away that you haven’t been picked up by a major publisher. Keep up the great work!
I need some more Tanner, he’s such a great character. There are so many paths you could send him down, and I’m so tired of trying to map them all out please give me some more. I’m not addicted, I can quit anytime I want! Also, Good Intentions is pretty great too so I’d be pretty happy with that.
I love your books… Both series are excellent. Please, please, PLEASE do not go down the path of John Norman and Laurell K. Hamilton in letting personal views get in the way of excellent story telling! I realize that your opinions voiced here are neither the philosophically bent views of Norman or the sexually broken path of Hamilton but any time an author goes down a path of inserting their own political, religious, or even sexual opinions into their stories THAT’s when they start losing readers. I know these stories are your own and you have every right to write them as you wish. I would just be very sad if Good Intentions became a vehicle for a political rant instead of the excellent story that has gone on so far.
I really don’t know what you mean. My books are already full of my personal views. This includes my political views, because the personal is political and vice versa. Your politics are who you are.
Both of my series are heavily political and heavily influenced by my personal views. That’s how all this works.
I just love your characters and the stories have been excellent so far. After having been burned by authors in the past I often fear losing good series to extremes… especially when I see the author as angry in his or her posts. I don’t mind someone’s writing reflecting their point of view, in fact it’s expected. I just always hope that the story and the characters will always come first. If you have ever read the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton you will see what I mean. Anyway, I love your writing. Please keep up the good work!
First of all I am glad I don’t live in the US… Especially these days(even if that is a false security when the leader of the worlds largest military industry is a toddler war-mongering through social media) . That being said, I am of the opinion that the monologue of Jeff Daniels in the first episode of “The Newsroom” holds a great deal of truth. If you do not know what I’m referring to, give the show a shot.
You can if you want – if you revere intelligence and learning instead of fearing and resenting it. Lifting oneself up and lifting others in the process instead of stepping on them.
Kay: your books bring joy and fun. Use it as an outlet if that works for you. Leave your web-devices on a desk and go somewhere with fresh air and a view if it does not – the world in your immediate vicinity is still a beautiful place!
Hey there,
Sorry this comment sat for a bit. I have to keep comments screened because of spam, and sometimes I miss them when they’re posted. But thank you!
Elliot,
There are few series(es) I have enjoyed as much as yours – both Tanner and the Good Intentions. I have to admit a preference for Good Intentions, I consider it an awesome combination of so many things, all based on a good, sane guy rising to the occasion (more ways than one, obviously!) with integrity and good faith. It is one of several series’ that I go back to and re-read over again. Reminds me of a modern-day Robert Heinlein character. Please keep up the good work. I understand about 2017 knocking a lot of people off track, it has been that way for me as well.
Be at peace and keep up the good work, wordsmith!
Michael
Thank you so much! Sorry I didn’t approve this sooner. Didn’t get a notification for the comment, I think (or maybe I just goofed it). I have to keep comments filtered because of spam, so I miss them sometimes. But thanks!
Elliott,
Great stuff… and totally get it, would be impossible to write Tanners story (any modern day, near future) well and not have the world we live in influence perspective/context.
Quick question, I’ve just finished book 2 and was reading some reviews of book 4. Many suggest that in the timeline it reads more like boom 2.5. Would you recommend reading book 4 before 3? I realize you wrote them in a particular order, so that question might sound silly but since I in haven’t started book 3 and intend to read both, figured I’d ask.
Thanks in advance
Heya,
Sorry for the delay on this. Holidays got me right as you left the comment.
The note about No Medals essentially being 2.5 is correct. Amazon unfortunately doesn’t let me number books like that, but it’s totally the intent. The book picks up only a few weeks after Rich Man’s War. I think you can read it either before or after Dead Man’s Debt, but reading it before might create some context for things I seeded in Dead Man’s.
Hello Elliott,
I am a huge fan of the poor mans fight series. One of my all time favorites to date. Was wondering if you had any updates regarding potential release dates. I am really excited for the next book and would love to have a time frame to look forward to.
Working through the climax on the next one now. Should be out in a couple/few months. Thanks!
Much Appreciated. Thank You.
I really wish your blog posts had dates on them in addition to the comments section. (If there is date some where I apologize for being blind).
A friend told me about the Good Intentions books and after a lot of cajoling I finally gave the first one a read. I knew going in it had romance and explicit sex and thus set my expectations pretty low. I’ve read very few books in this genre that I think are worth the time required to read them.
As of today I’ve finished the first two Good Intentions books and am partially through the third, I think I can safely say at this point you have another fan.
I have no clue if readers ever get as attached to characters as the authors, but I’m extremely glad you hinted at another Good Intentions novel (or novella or something) as I’ve come to love the characters and the world they inhabit.
Thank you so much. This sort of thing means a ton. I can see sales numbers and pages read on Kindle Unlimited and all that, but still: actually hearing from individuals means the world to me. I find myself excited to hear a real live person read and enjoyed my book. Every. Single. Time.
There will be another full novel. I can’t quite say when yet. But this week I figured out my biggest block in going forward with it, so there’s movement in any case. Thank you again!
I loved your first Good Intentions book. Fantastic reading, 5 out 5 stars. Probably the best book I’ve currently stumbled upon on Kindle Unlimited.
So imagine my surprise when I start reading Natural Consequenses and one of the biggest plot points in the first book is literally thrown away. You have a man that has went through countless lives being betrayed by women and when he finally finds true love, he gets betrayed again. Was that the plan from the beginning? Lorelei went from a woman that was learning to love and healing Alex heart, to another woman that would rather sleep with other men than her love.
If you wanted to write a book with cuckolding and betrayal, why didn’t you just write a new story, or at least have a MC that hasn’t been abused and cuckolded through countless lives? Instead of throwing out the good ending we had in the first book in the first 50 pages of the second.
It truly baffles me. So while I love you for writing the first book, I hate you for writing the second and third.
Good luck onwards!
I love how he never responded to you lmao
Yeah, that totally flipped my enjoyment from “Meh, It’d be better if Alex wasn’t a philanderer, but he’s been shat on for how many hundreds of years so I guess that’s cool.”, to “Bing: You’ve just entered Author’s cuckold fantasy. Please wait while your soul wrenching agony is loading…”
They explicitly discussed it in the early chapters of Natural Consequences.
They’re polyamorous and they’re in an open relationship.
If that doesn’t work for you, this may not be the series for you.
Have recently discovered your GI series and can honestly say I haven’t enjoyed a fictional series so much in many years. It’s reawakened a long dormant interest in fantasy. The range and combination of different themes – fun and serious – is brilliant and all I would say is I really hope you continue as long as you possibly can with this series as in my view it’s exceptional. The redemption aspect is really quite beautiful. I’d certainly add my request that the next book gets some of your time once you’re done with the latest PMF book.
Personally the part where Lorelei wants to sleep with other men (I haven’t read Personal Demons yet so don’t know how it played out) didn’t bother me one bit. It didn’t ‘spoil’ anything for me as it doesn’t read as betrayal as in previous lives.
Just one question – maybe being English I’m reading it that way but Lorelei’s patterns of speech read as quite elegant old-school English to me – something like Helen Mirren. Any partial truth in that or just my imagination?
Apologies if this is a bit cheeky and obviously it’s way in the past but as Aphrodite’s Reward has got a couple of mentions it would be nice to see the loose ends tied up (in a manner of speaking) and see Cinna have her moment(s) with Davos. If a conclusion ever comes to mind it would be nice to see it.
Thanks and congrats again for this series and looking forward to the next book.
Thank you!
Lorelei is kind of a moving target for me. I envision a number of actresses playing her. When I’m writing, though, I think of Morrigan from Dragon Age as her voice. Morrigan is voiced by Claudia Black, who is Australian. There’s also, of course, Tess Irondale’s performance in the audiobooks for the series, and while she’s not trying for a Morrigan accent I think Tess absolutely nails it. Hearing her read Lorelei may be my favorite part of her work on the books.
Lorelei’s original heritage is spelled out in Natural Consequences, but she’s had a few thousand years to pick up all sorts of things. “Elegant old-school English” is totally appropriate. Ultimately, I think Lorelei sounds like whatever she wants to sound like. 🙂