We wrote Vigilant after I got laid off from my lucrative job in high tech in 2017. I started it when I had some time free before starting a promised new job. The new job fell through, but we were in a comfortable enough position financially that I could take a sabbatical of sorts for a few more months to finish the book before going back to finding a new day job. I eventually went back to work just as we were wrapping up the first draft before going into editing.
We were still able to make decent progress on the sequel (although not as quick as before) after I went back to work full time. But then writing crashed to a halt after I was diagnosed with breast cancer mid-2018. It was barely enough for me to continue working at my day job. Fran was able to make some progress on the book without me, but she struggled without having my voice involved in the project. We got a couple more chapters written, about halfway through the book, before we had to put it aside to focus on my health.
After I recovered (cancer free now!) we talked about getting back to the sequel with our contact at Onyx Path. He said the publisher wasn’t really interested in publishing tie-in books. If we wanted to have an impact on the setting, we’d be better of writing RPG books. And in 2020 (when I again had something of a forced sabbatical during lockdown) we decided to become RPG writers.
Since 2020, between Fran and I, we’ve worked on well over a dozen RPG books in the Scarred Lands setting (please check them out on Drive Thru RPG!), plus Fran works as a freelance writer for R. Talsorian games.
But during all this time I still wanted to get back to Through Shadows and Dreams. I’ve been sitting on an outline for a multibook series since the beginning, and didn’t like where things were left for Eochaid. At the very least, I wanted to get through the story line we started with Stalker, the book that’s been sitting half-finished since mid-2019. But, between day job, multiple family crises, RPG projects, and general *gestures wildly at everything happening in the world* we didn’t have the time, energy, or focus to work on the novel. And with no promise that Onyx Path would be interested in publishing it, I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the effort.
Then Fran’s mother passed away and Fran inherited a significant sum of money. Enough that (after I worked for another year to build up our savings) I was able to leave the stressful world of high tech and become a full-time, well, whatever it is I am now. I’m still trying to figure that out, but writer is definitely near the top of the pile.
Now that our most recent RPG book, Sangus’ Guide to the Titanspawn, is done (although more projects and ideas just keep coming up!), we’ve finally gotten back to working on Stalker. But it’s been hard. Fran’s mental health has been shaky, especially since the 2024 election. And, as she couldn’t easily work on the book without me, I can’t easily work on the book without her. But we’re trying.
Alas, like Vigilant, Stalker is slated to end on a cliff hanger. Sorry, not sorry. It thematically fits, what can I say. But to keep y’all from wanting to kill me after a second cliff hanger, I want to have book three nearly finished before we publish Stalker, so y’all won’t have to wait long between books 2 and 3.
And, unless something unexpected happens from Onyx Path and their tie-in novel plans, we expect we’ll need to self-publish on the Slarecian Vault (where we publish our RPG books). It will mean fewer sales (and possibly no market on Amazon) and we’ll have to do the cover, layout, and editing ourselves. But after all the self-published RPG books, we’re getting the hang of it. And a novel involves a lot less formatting (none of those messy stat blocks to worry about – although I will share Eochaid’s character sheet if you want to see it – spoilers!). But, that said, I’m a bit apprehensive about getting good (and definitely not AI generated) cover art. My wild guess is we’re still at least a year out from finishing a book and a half of writing. But I’m a lot more optimistic we can get it done, assuming *gestures wildly at the world* doesn’t get too much worse.
Okay, even as I edit and post this, the world is getting worse. As a queer couple it sucks right now to live in the US. But we’re hanging in there. I’m hoping working on Through Shadows and Dreams will be a good distraction, and good for the mental health of both of us.
Thanks for reading.
-Sarah