We are mere days away from the release of The Evil of Balar, the third installment in my gothic horror series. While this was the most challenging one to write, I found myself really enjoying the process. It is the chunkiest book I’ve yet released (coming in at over 500 pages – sorry). This gave me chance to experiment with story styles, voices, tenses, etc. The fact is, if I make it easy for myself, I get bored, so for now, this is the way.
I believe that books 2 and 3 are stronger (in terms of story and quality of writing) than the first one. While I don’t think that there is anything drastically wrong with The Curse of Balar exactly, I do think that it is easy to “get off the ride”. In other words, the hook is not clear or strong enough.
This is something I worked to improve in Doom and beyond. Thus far, the readers I managed to convince seem to think so too. I suggest that interested readers should start at book 2 and then go back to book 1 later. You won’t be too lost, besides the books are designed to be read more than once.
Why?
Because the stories give you the clues first and the context later. Almost everything is important, but you won’t know why immediately. To say more would be to spoil many things. (On the subject of spoilers, join the subreddit for spoiler discussions eventually).
So, with book 3 done, what happens next?
The Future of Balar
The first three books of the Balar series take the form of interconnected short stories. Each has a frame story of sorts (Iris for Curse, Skender for Doom, the Captors in Evil). Each story details not only a scary aspect of this world but also gives you a snippet of what is really going on in the cursed town in the Carpathians. In the gaslit end of the nineteenth century, not everything is as it seems. (Check out the new map!)
Think of each story as an episode in a television show. Yes, some might say that there are too many characters, but the vast majority of them are confined to a single story. The rest are reoccurring and important.
In book 4, The Ghosts of Balar, the narrative will be more like a novel. In this particular instalment, the novel will be split up into parts. Each part will follow a particular character – each a puzzle piece that builds towards a (hopefully) surprising climax.
Having narrative arcs divided up into chapters might make the novel (as a whole) easer to digest.
I am currently rewriting the messy first draft of Ghosts while I am fleshing out the outlines for book 5 and 6. So far, I am targeting an October 2026 release window for Ghosts. I will update you on the blog as I go.
On that note…
The Future of the Blog
I have not been posting as much as I like on the blog in recent months. With social media becoming less and less populated with actual humans, I am seeing diminishing returns on advertising/posting there. Calliope’s Prisoner will be the best way to “build an audience”.
This is the annoying bit where I ask you to sign up for the mailing list for the blog. This will be the most reliable way for me to communicate with you, the reader (I hesitate to make this a plural).
This also means that I will be posting more regularly, not only on my books, but also reviews and so forth. I would greatly appreciate your feedback on whatever I put out. I hardly ever get comments on my blog posts, and I am unsure why.
Furthermore, I am planning a great many projects (as we shall soon see) and I am planning to revamp the blog to make the most of this. So, watch this space for changes.
Speaking of those other projects…
The Fate of the Bright Report
My tiny satirical series has withered and died in terms of sales. While these books are not close to my heart (not as much as Symphony and Balar, anyway), I know that there are readers waiting for more (hi, dad!).
I cannot leave it unfinished while, at the same time, I do not wish to take the series much further. As such, I have come up with a middle ground of sorts.
Introducing “The Bright Report: The Long & Short of It”!
This will be a complete edition of the Bright Report. It will contain selected stories for the first three volumes (polished and refined, of course), plus several others. These will fill gaps and (hopefully) tie up all loose ends.
Once it is out, the previous volumes of the Bright Report will no long be available.
I doubt that it will sell particularly well, but it will help me close off that series.
Talking about old books…
A Second Edition of The Silent Symphony
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I really want to do a second edition of the Silent Symphony. This is perhaps the novel that is closest to my heart. Overall, the critical response has been positive while the sales have not.
It seems to be one of those books where the ending makes it.
There are some parts (particularly in Act 1) that are a bit of a drag. As such, I would like another crack at it. I believe that my writing skills have improved somewhat since the first edition came out, so hopefully I can do the story and the characters justice.
I think that it is also time for a more exciting cover. I have no idea what I will do with that yet.
My Other Projects
I have given myself roughly a year to work on the next Balar novel. This does not mean that this will be all I get up to. The idea is to buy myself some time to work on a slew of other projects.
At time of writing, I do not know in which order I will finish what. However, I can tell you what I have in the pipeline.
Fantasy has always been my favourite genre and – in my younger years – I have attempted to write many a story in the realm of the fantastic. Nothing has been successful yet – most died on the page.
However, I am happy to report that I have started trying again.
[Side Note: I am not going to announce the actual titles here, that is for later posts. I will, however, be using codenames. Why? Because no one is stopping me, that’s why.]
Project Rose
This is an Arthurian adventure set in a world of my own design. I hope to create something that is truly magical (in the old school sense) and steer away from the grimdark mode of things we see everywhere.
Knights and dragons and evil sorcerers. Wonder that I believe the genre has lost in recent years. Also (because this is me) things will not be as they seem. I hope to twist the familiar, not by making them overly gory (as everyone is doing) or numbingly romantasy-y (“I am just an ordinary girl with extraordinary skills choosing between two boys”). No. I want to capture some old magic while still making it contemporary.
I have planned it to be a trilogy. There will be more information on it as it nears completion.
Project Star
This is the big one. I am planning a secret shared universe. Each “sub-setting” in this shared universe will have its own series or standalone (depending) and will range across several genres. There will be tiny clues as to how each setting is connected to the other.
Thus far, I have planned out three novels in eight settings, and I am very excited to share it with you. I have no idea if I will pull it off or if every novel will work, but I believe I have something here.
Each of the eight settings are currently loose stacks of handwritten notes (I plan/outline all my novels by hand, ink is stronger than keystrokes). The “worlds” are distinct in flavour and atmosphere.
I have been working on parts of this since early 2022 and it has been growing ever since. This is what I have so far:
- Reverie – a gothic horror fantasy about memories
- The Jagged Winds – a sky pirate adventure story
- Gravelburn – a sci-fi western about redemption
- Imperia – a Roman epic fantasy
There are, of course, many more where that came from.
I am currently working on a comprehensive second draft of Reverie. So far, I feel like I really have something there.
I have also completed a first draft of the first book of the Jagged Winds series. This took up most of my 2025 when I was not working on Evil. It is a giant folder of handwritten chapters, character profiles, and a comprehensive “world bible”. This is really something that I would have enjoyed reading and I am excited to share it with you.
Right now, I am unsure which project will be completed first, but know that I am writing as much as I can. Your feedback and engagement will go a long way to spur me on. Please let me know below if any of these appeal to you.
These books will also have a “meta narrative” of sorts, with each book secretly providing insight into a grander secret. Again, I do not know if this will work, but even if it doesn’t, each book should be strong enough to stand on its own.
I also hope too add support (extra info, background information, artwork, etc.) here on the website, so please check back regularly.
All for Now
That is all for now. As I said, I will try to post more regularly here. When I am not, I will either be scribbling in my many, many notebooks or hammering away at the keyboard.
As always, if you have read any of my books, your feedback is vital to my survival (even if you didn’t like it).