Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Looking Ahead, Writing Projects, Visual Media, and Much More.

I haven't posted here in a little while, as my friend Jorie (writer and reviewer/book blogger at Jorie Loves a Story) reminded me of.  Time slipped by fast over the holidays as I was engaged in a moving project, and moving during the holiday season is a double-whammy for sure!

I got back on a good writing rhythm again, and recently finished the manuscript for the second Rayden Valkyrie novel.  Tentatively titled Thunder Horizon, it is the followup to Heart of a Lion.  I am confident that readers will find it to be a very exciting, action-filled read that builds strongly from everything set in place in the first novel.  

I celebrated the finish of the book with a bottle of Blanton's, a wondrous bourbon made here in Kentucky that is a personal favorite of mine.  The photo below was taken a few hours after finishing the manuscript. 



The book has been sent to Scott M. Sandridge, the editor for the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy.  I am hoping to see it released later this spring. 

Next on the writing horizon are two projects.  One is a YA novel, cross-genre, that I'm very excited about.  I'm probably about 2/3 finished on the manuscript and progressing daily.  

Also up is the 4th installment in the Fires in Eden series.  There's been a little time since Spirit of Fire was released, and I feel with how I've grown these past couple of years I'm in a good position to deliver the best title in this series yet.  With many threads well-established in the story I have a lot to work with, but expect a fast-pace, intense read with a lot of development with the characters and plot. 

On the movie front, we are preparing for the production of the TV Pilot Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart.  From storyboarding, to costuming, casting, and other areas, a lot is going on right now and we're building a great group to bring this to life.  Production will take place later this spring in Kentucky.  Going to be an exciting one for sure! 

 All of this, in addition to my ongoing work for Seventh Star Press (including Imaginarium 2017) means a very busy year looms.  I'll work to be better at posting updates here  as well! :) 


3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

A television pilot of your book? Whoa... Congratulations.

sgzimmer said...

@Alex J. Cavanaugh It is an original storyline based around the Rayden Valkyrie character, so it's not a straight adaptation of a novel. I'd love to adapt Heart of a Lion but the scale of it would require a pretty massive budget, lol! This one is a very action-intensive wilderness adventure. I'll be keeping everyone posted. Great to hear from you. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the wicked sweet s/o in the first paragraph! I wasn't expecting to find that - I simply wanted to remind you if anyone was looking for updates about you, they might get disappointed if your blog was left in stasis for too long. Meanwhile, your blog updated during my 8 days of connectivity woes - #SuperBowlSunday is my 1st day of solid reliability again! I even #leftcable in order to have more freedom due to snarky customer service issues; which is why I'm streaming for the first time and finding it's wicked fun! I have no idea how the Super Bowl will be to stream but it will be an adventure for sure! I'm pulling for the Patriots...

Congrats on returning to your writings; I feel the same exhilaration about returning to my blog. I posted an epic long #StoriesOfJorie yesterday back-posted coincidently to the 31st, as I was writing it whilst kicked offline! lol Sometimes when you have to 'let go' of your writings and your regular rhythms due to life running interference, you sometimes find the return you take back to where you last left off is not just humbling but soul lifting.

A YA, eh?! Did you write a traditional YA or an Upper YA? I've had my eyes pegged on the YA market for several years now, as I tend to prefer traditional variants of the market but sometimes Upper YA esp those which dip into Realistic Fiction convince me of their merit. I look forward to learning more about your genre-bender as those are some of the best out there to discover; esp which genres are being bent and inverted into each other!

Happy New Year, my friend!

May joy always find a way to alight out of the darkness and rise to lift you in it's wings.

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