I wrote my first book, "Ode to the Empire," in considerable agony, trying desperately to be the next George R.R. Martin or Brandon Sanderson. Or some other middle-aged, bearded guy with whom I feel a deep soul connection when I look in the mirror.

I edited and edited, producing a ton of text and countless characters—my greatest flaw, really. I kept thinking of new characters who would fit a scene, and I managed to cram every single one of them into the original "Ode to the Empire" book. This book was initially titled "Thin Line between Iron and Hate"—a name in which I poured all the angst I'd saved up since my teenage years.

Over time, though, I learned something. Writing that original script was incredibly difficult because everything had to be thought through from every angle, and the consequences had to be considered in every possible scenario. I ended up with thirty different documents, detailing everything from the climate of each region—and believe it or not, even the characters were designed down to their cup sizes and dietary preferences.

Not that I minded; I love gathering data and creating stats, but I also noticed that when I sat down and wrote without any plan, the result was unexpectedly humorous instead of serious. I tried writing a book that way, and that’s how my first story emerged without any preplanned structure, except that the main character was a rookie garbage man and that it would be a cyberpunk-influenced urban fantasy. Eventually, after about a million retcons and re-edits, it became something. If not entirely sensible, then at least somewhat readable prose.

You should check out "Someone's Gotta Do It"—a book inspired by corporate greed, trash, Robocop, Lovecraft, and the SNES game "Shadowrun."

By the time I wrote "Alchemist for Hire," I had wised up a bit. I even created a one-page outline that included the main idea and the protagonist. Everything else was, as they say, pulled out of a hat, and the facts were adjusted as I came up with new ideas.

We’ll talk more soon! My new book is further along than I expected, and I’ll probably have some updates on its release within a few weeks.

PS. I might throw some snarky posts on the blog while I'm at it. Let’s burn all the candles from both ends at once.

Thanks to all the readers, and let’s catch up soon.