Fractal Space trilogy update

Early start, up at 4 a.m. watching election results and laughing at Liz Truss, so thought I'd welcome in the new government with an impromptu blog post. Not that it's anything to do with politics, just celebrating the unusual feeling of having an MP that I actually voted for – for only the second time in my life. And I was 18 the first time, and had no idea what I was voting for.

I digress.

I have an unexpected update on the Fractal Space trilogy. Since completing the second draft of Fractal Legacy, I've performed a careful read through of the first couple of novels in the trilogy, mainly looking for any minor inconsistencies with how the story developed in the last book. After a few minor tweaks, I've now created a final draft of those novels.

I have no intention of touching them again. They're all uploaded to Amazon and Draft2Digital, ready for self-publishing, and I have received and checked the paperback proofs (as seen above). I couldn't be happier with them.

I haven't 100% decided to self-publish them. The main reason for leaning in that direction is that it's a tougher job getting an agent interested in a trilogy, especially when the first novel's structure makes the traditional submission package work less well. I'm still deferring the decision until I've completed the third book.

In case I decide to go on an agent hunt, I've prepared synopses for all the books, plus a cover letter for the first novel. I like covering all the bases. With that complete, I decided to look at the last book again.

I knew my son hadn't started reading it (due next week once he reaches the end of the current section in his latest book), so took the chance to read it again with the first two books fresh in my mind. I fixed a few minor issues along the way, both in wording and characterisation.

Only one thing stood out as unsatisfying to me. In the lead-up to the finale, there was a time jump, and the next chapter started with a recap of what happened during the time jump. It cried out for a short scene to fill the gap. So I wrote it. It was sooooooo much better!

So, without planning it, I've just created a third draft of Fractal Legacy, now sitting at 117,250 words. Just in time. My son now has a copy, ready for him to celebrate having a non-Tory MP by reading it.

In the meantime, I'll be thinking about my next book, with a working title of Applied Fealty. That name will change, likely before I even start writing it. It needs a lot of planning. I don't intend to start it in earnest before completing this trilogy.

Right. Must be time for a nap.