Brett’s War Journal #6
Well, well, well, it looks like I’m finally back in action, and there’s a good reason for that. I finally escaped my soul-crushing, mind-numbing, time sink of a job, and replaced it with a far better one.
Though I went to school to be a journalist, I ended up in marketing, but then I found myself laid off amidst the pandemic and job prospects in my field nonexistent. With my wedding fast approaching and an unwillingness to put off starting a family any longer, I took the best paying job that I could find. For the next five years I worked as a courier for one of the Big Three delivery companies. It wasn’t a terrible job, but some changes went into effect and for the last year my hours had ballooned from an acceptable 45 hours per week to an average of 60. I had no time to write, market At All Costs, manage my household, spend time with my family, or even eat healthy. I quit taekwondo right before my next belt test and tried to ride out the storm, but it only got worse. It was indeed a soul-crushing experience, but by a stroke of luck I managed to break free from that nightmare with a new job. I’m now working some seriously cushy hours from 7am to 330pm Monday through Friday with an optional extra hour each day, and I’m learning a trade instead of just delivering packages. But enough about that, what’s going on with my writing? To put it quite simply; a lot!
Thanks to an extra four hours of free time every night, I’m closing in on the end of Act 2 for The Hammer Falls. This novel was meant to be the direct follow-up to At All Costs, but after taking some time off from writing to mentally prepare myself for the job hunt – which was only a week off, thank the gods – I noticed a lot about this story that didn’t sit right. At All Costs ended in a way that left the door wide open for some serious character and plot development in a sequel, and I did just that with the Hammer Falls. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to address key aspects to some of the characters that absolutely need to be explored. Now don’t get me wrong, Hammer Falls is an excellent story, and it accomplishes my goal of writing a kickass action-thriller. However, it doesn’t work as a direct sequel to At All Costs – though it does work as a sequel in the series. Fortunately, I have a previously written story that will swap places with Hammer Falls in the continuity.
Currently titled ‘Honest Hearts’ this story was originally planned to be book 4 in the series, but after reading through it during my break period, I realized this story is best as my direct sequel to At All Costs. For one, it was written that way many moons ago when what would become At All Costs was still Imperium - a crappy little novella I wrote back in college. However, I did a major overhaul about five years ago to bring it up to speed with what was quickly becoming At All Costs. That being said, I’m in the process of outlining a -hopefully small- overhaul of the book to make it a proper follow-up to my debut. As it stands, Honest Hearts will be the direct follow-up to At All Costs, and while it won’t be as politically driven as the first, it will be very much a drama with some gnarly action scenes. As well, it will explore more thoroughly the aftermath of At All Costs and will take place roughly three months after the end of Book 1
So where does The Hammer Falls stand in the series? Well, that was the easiest decision to make. The Hammer Falls will be book 3 and will be followed by the only book in the series I haven’t yet finished, Earned in Blood. Unless I get a big idea, the series continuity won’t need to be touched again.
Besides that, I have some other things on the grill, so to speak. For one, it’s getting nice out here in Wisconsin, and I am eagerly awaiting Memorial Day Weekend to go up to the cabin, do some writing in the fresh air, and comb the waters in my kayak when I need some inspiration. After that, I plan to hit the marketing of At All Costs with a ten ton hammer. To achieve this, I’ll be making a concerted effort to create and release the audiobook edition, as well as schedule appearances at book fairs, libraries, and farmers markets. More on that to come. In the meantime, thanks for reading and please spread the word about At All Costs.
