Pay Attention to the Stories Behind the Curtain

Hello and welcome to my end-of-month blog post!

You can read last month’s newsletter here.

Following the very loose pattern I decided to set, these posts are a chance for me to write about stories and what I love about them. They’re also a chance for me to talk about the stories that I’m currently working on. I haven’t really done that with this blog yet. But with six months of 2024 in the books, I figure this is a good opportunity to give you some writing updates!

I’m currently working on three different projects—each in various stages of development—right now (and plan on starting up a fourth in August). This post is a chance to peak behind the curtain a bit, so to speak, and tease some upcoming stories—one coming out later this year!

The Tale of Rose & Ed: Book Three

I’m happy to say that the third and final book in the Tale of Rose & Ed is in the middle of its second round of edits!

My good friend and editor, Nic Gartner, and I have been working on this second round of edits since January. We edit each chapter asynchronously using Google Docs, but that works really well for us (seeing as we’re in two different states).

I can’t say enough about Nic’s careful eye and editing skills. He takes the rough story drafts that I hand him and helps shape them into something more beautiful than they once were. He did that with the first two books in this trilogy, A House Named Haven, and The Storytellers, and I’m thankful that he’s helping me edit the final one—The Tale of Rose & Ed wouldn’t be the same without him. 

Where is the third book at from a publishing standpoint? Well, I don’t want to promise anything definitively, but I think it’s safe to say that you can look for an announcement blog post or email from me sometime in late 2025. 😊

So, if you haven’t read the first two books yet or want to reread them to refresh your memory, you have some time! That being said, Nic and I think it’ll be well worth the wait. If the first two installments in this trilogy left you with burning questions that need answers, this third and final book will deliver.

Tales of Minz: A Lamplighter’s Tale

The second book in my whimsical and satirical fantasy series, Tales of Minz, is coming out in October 2024!

I’ve been working on this story in its various stages since January 2023, and I’m about to start the final proofread this July. My good friend and incredibly talented artist, Erika Sims, is working on the cover art. (She does amazing work—she’s designed all of the covers for my books—and I’m thankful that she’s designing this one as well!)

The Tales of Minz series is a unique storytelling experience. (You can read more about the first book and the series here.) Minz is a magical world where anything could happen—and the stories are told by an unreliable narrator and edited by another fictional character who comments on the story in the footnotes.

My intent with this series is that the fictional storyteller—and the stories themselves—grow and get better as the series goes along, and I hope that’s apparent with this second book. It’s a different sort of story than the first book.

Here’s a brief teaser:

Minz can be a dark and terrible place, filled with monsters. Let me tell you a story about light, and the brave lamplighters who keep the darkness and monsters at bay.

Ten-year-old Matt wants nothing more than to be a lamplighter, just like his Grandpa Hal. Lamplighters protect people from Vendradooks and other dark creatures. They have the noblest of trades.

At least… that’s what Matt has always thought. But when he and his Grandpa Hal travel to the town of Sephar, they land in hot water with an irate mayor who considers all lamplighters to be charlatans. Matt’s beliefs are called into question, and he must discover the truth—once and for all. Do Vendradooks really exist? Or has his entire life been a lie?

Humorous and heartwarming, I’m looking forward to sharing this story with you in a few short months! I’ll definitely be talking more about it on the blog as it gets closer to publication. Who knows, I might even give subscribers a sneak peek of the first couple of chapters…

Tales of Minz: Book Three

I started working on the rough draft for this story in January 2024. To my surprise, I finished it in March. It clocked in around 100k words (making it the largest Tales of Minz book to date) and is currently in its first round of edits.

I’ll reveal more about the story—and its title—as it gets closer to publication, but I’m really excited about this one. My plan with the Tales of Minz series is that I’ll release a new book each year, so you can expect to see this one sometime in early-to-mid 2025.

What Do the Next Six Months Look Like?

The short and simple answer is that I love writing stories, and I love sharing them too. That means I’ll be busy working on these three projects in their various stages—and get ready to start new ones as well. That’s the joy of storytelling: There’s always another story to tell.

Dear Reader, I’m humbled beyond belief that you’ve shown an interest in my stories. Whether you’re here for the blog posts, short stories, or occasional free giveaways, I’m glad you’re here! It truly is my joy and privilege to share them with you!

Until next time,

Al

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