Hello friends and supporters!

I mentioned this briefly in my last update for Tantalus Depths, but I don’t think I actually shared it in a Proteus update, so I’m amending that now. We’ve received one more extension for Proteus, making our new deadline the end of August. I didn’t want to do it, but with about 270 orders left to go, there was no chance I’d hit the goal otherwise. With our new extension, we should have no problem hitting the 750 pre-order goal on time though. We’re almost two thirds of the way there, so with your help, we should definitely be able to do it!

In other news, the amazing Jacqui Castle just interviewed me for Writing Bloc. We discussed the merits of crowdfunding and worldbuilding, and I shared a few insights about the writing process for both Tantalus Depths and Proteus. Check it out here!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a huge announcement for Tantalus Depths!

Last week, my development editor, Matt Harry, sent me his notes on my last draft of Tantalus Depths. They were sparse this time and easy to address, so I made pretty short work of them. Last night I submitted my third full draft with the new changes added, and Matt gave this draft his seal of approval. We are officially done with the development edit stage!

So what does that mean? Well, for the moment it means we wait. In case you hadn’t gathered by now, the editing process is very much a “hurry up and wait” kind of deal. There is a queue for the copy editing stage, I’ve been told by the Inkshares staff that my copy edits probably won’t start for a month or so.

That might seem like a bummer, but it’s not. Once the copy editing begins, the gears start spinning a lot faster. I’ll be given a full production schedule, and we’ll finally be put on a set time table, with hard deadlines. We are almost at the top of the roller coaster now, and when we get over this hill, we’re going to seriously move.

I’m personally grateful for this downtime, for one very specific reason: Proteus.

I’ve had Proteus’s campaign extended one more time, and it now runs until the end of August. I didn’t want to, but we were down to just under two weeks to go and about 270 orders to go, so there’s just no way I was going to be able to hit that goal without driving myself insane. Fortunately, with the extension, I should absolutely be able to finish funding Proteus on time, and with this gap between Tantalus Depths’ editing phases, I should be able to finish the Proteus campaign before Tantalus Depths goes to the next stage of edits. I’ll finally be able to give Tantalus Depths my full attention during one of the craziest parts of the editing process.

The development editing process for Tantalus Depths was stressful, but absolutely worthwhile. I can’t wait to see what the next few steps in this process are like, or to see the finished product that is steadily creeping closer. Thank you all so much for supporting me this far. I know it’s often felt like nothing is moving anywhere, but fortunately I can say we’ve made major progress getting through this stage.