Tony Valdez's latest update for Dax Harrison

Jan 17, 2016

Hello readers!

Things have been a little quiet around here, but I wanted to touch base with you all really quick and let you know that things are still very much in motion.

The Inkshares team is patiently waiting for me to finish up the Dax manuscript, at which point editing & production will finally begin!

"How long will that be, Tony?"
Well, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea. This is my first go around the whole authoring/editing/publishing block. Rest assured, I'm pushing to write as much as I can every day.


What I CAN tell you is that the writing is moving steadily along. My biggest obstacle in redrafting the story is reminding myself to reign it all into something cohesive and not shoot off into a million directions and tangents. While the original Dax screenplay told a very direct story out of necessity, novelization opens SO MANY possibilities. Different viewpoints, more commentary, exploring the inner thoughts of the characters, etc. And as I move along, I find myself wanting to scratch that itch more and more.

So I'm doing my best to find a good balance between editing/expanding the original material and just getting the darn thing done. Maybe I'll save the rest for the sequel... :)

"Really? You're already planning a sequel?"
Yep!

"This isn't another one of those Hunger Maze Divergent Runner Games things where you're going to rope me into buying 3 or 4 books just to finish the story, is it?"
Haha, nope. No offense to those books, but I set out to make Dax one complete adventure. Period. But if that leaves people interested in more wacky adventures, I've got another one in the tank. Maybe two. Think more Indiana Jones or James Bond rather than The Lord of The Rings.

"So can you at least tell me around when to expect my book?"
If I keep my current pace, I'm hoping to turn in the manuscript before the end of next month. I will of course keep you updated should that change.

What I can also tell you is that the Inkshares team estimates roughly a 4 1/2 month turnaround time from when I hand over the manuscript to the completed publishing of the book. That of course can also change depending on the length of the text, the amount of editing required, and so on. But this at least gives you folks a better idea of the expected time frame.

"Hey, I won one of your mug contests a while back. Where's my mug?"
Apologies for the delays. I finally got all the mugs to the post office early yesterday. I hope they find their way to you safely and shortly. If you want, send me a pic on Twitter (@rockhollywood8) of you enjoying it and it will warm my heart. :)

"Anything else I should know?"
Yes! Chapter 1 is not actually the start of the book! I've been keeping a secret prologue from you all, which I just finished rewriting. I was going to save it until the book released, but what the heck. I am sending it to your inboxes as we speak. You can also read it here at Inkshares.

That's all for now, folks. Back to the grindstone!

-Tony