No particular news for Tantalus Depths itself right now. I’ve not heard anything from Inkshares about the next step in the production process, but it’s still early and I hadn’t expected to yet.
I am currently working on the promised prologue chapter, but I’m toying with the idea of making two smaller ones instead of one larger one, as I have two interesting ideas that can’t be easily combined. We’ll see how that goes.
My main purpose for this update is not for me, or even for Tantalus Depths. I wanted to take an opportunity to show my heartfelt appreciation for a good friend. 
I met Tahani Nelson through Inkshares during our mutual pre-order campaigning period. Her book, The Last Faoii, caught my attention quickly. Kaiya, her resolute protagonist, has a knack for overcoming impossible hardships without giving up even in the bleakest of circumstances, and is exactly the sort of character I strove to depict with Mary Ketch. I kind of see the two characters as cross-genre sisters.
As I’ve gotten to know Tahani better as a person, I’ve learned the true extent that the character imitates the author. She’s overcome no small number of impossible obstacles, and though they continue coming her way, she resolutely pushes through them without giving an inch of ground. She’s a real-life Kaiya, and so, in many ways, a real life Mary.
I felt a person like Tahani deserves to be immortalized in writing. The universe of Tantalus Depths is an unforgiving, dark place. Human civilization is a constantly imperiled thing; a child swimming obliviously among sharks. Yet, one of the core tenants of Tantalus Depths and any associated stories, is the notion that, in spite of these dangers, humanity endures. We may always be at the brink of destruction, but through determination and sheer force of will, we survive against the odds.
Tahani represents this to me, in life. To properly show what that means to me, I’ve named a planet for her, which I will include some capacity into the Tantalus Depths universe. If I can sneak it into Tantalus Depths somewhere during the revision phases to come, I will. If I can’t find anywhere to slip it in where it feels natural, it will be referenced at some point in the upcoming sequel. Either way, the presence of this planet in the Colonial Hegemony is now and forever canon.
Shields up, Faoii.  

 

Apparently, it’s been a good four months since I gave an update about Tantalus Depths, which, frankly, is inexcusable. Particularly given that I’d said my next updates would have come by the end of the year. Turns out I am really bad at setting deadlines for myself, and this is something I am going to work on fixing going forward.

Fortunately, the update I have for you is a great one.

 

Yes, after far too much deliberation with my personal final round of edits, I have finally submitted my manuscript of Tantalus Depths to Inkshares, along with the various other paperwork necessary to get the production process going. My last round of feedback from my beta readers gave me a lot of ideas for things to work on, and I’ve incorporated lots of changes into the book that greatly improve the pacing and tension.

Technically, Tantalus Depths was more or less submission-ready as soon as the pre-order campaign ended, and I could have sent it in right then. I’ll be getting extensive help with editing as a part of the production process, with professional editors, so I could have thrown my manuscript to them right at the beginning for them to sort out. I could have done that…but I really couldn’t have done that. This story is too important to me, and I feel that you, as my supporters, deserve a book that is as good as it can possibly be. I’m confident that the extra time and effort put into the manuscript before submitting it to Inkshares will improve a story that I’m already proud of, and I think you’ll be really pleased with the result.

Now, because people are going to ask, submitting my manuscript does NOT mean it’s going to be published immediately. Technically, the production process hasn’t begun yet. It’s going to be a while before Inkshares has time to devote to Tantalus Depths; other excellent, well-deserving books are ahead of me in line, and Inkshares can only work on so many projects at once. What this DOES mean, though, is that the timer has officially started. I have personally done everything I have to do to get the production process started; the ball is in Inkshares’ court now, and they’ll get it rolling as soon as they can.

The production process for a book can take a year or longer, so realistically, don’t expect Tantalus Depths to come out until sometime in 2018. I can promise you, though, that I will update you on its progress in production as soon as I’m updated myself (realistically, there’s no possible way I’ll be able to keep quiet when I hear the news that they’ve launched production)

Do expect to see more other Tantalus Depths-related content in the future. I haven’t forgotten my campaign promise to release an Inkshares-exclusive prologue to the book (I temporarily tabled it to focus on the book people paid for), and I have many other irons in the fire. I look forward to bringing them all to you before too long.

Strap yourselves in, folks. Our voyage is just beginning.