My newest work is available for the world to buy. There are few feelings in the world to match this one.
Months of work have culminated in this fantastic novel, of which I couldn’t be prouder. I truly believe it is the best piece I’ve ever written. Every work will always be better than what came before, but there is something about Ceres that will stick with me far into the future of my career.
Ceres started many years ago, back when I was still writing The Plight of Steel. It came from a dream I had while feverish and trying to fall asleep. My brain was conjuring images of a purple desert with shafts of light carving down from the sky. So basically, thank Advil for this book’s existence.
It took many forms over the years. In its first, it was a book with three storylines: one about Neith, a wandering alien; one about Vesta, a girl trying to find love; and one about Anhur, who was corrupted by an alien voice that drove him mad.
Then it was a screenplay – and we’ve already established what happens to a screenplay I write… It becomes a book, for those who don’t remember. The screenplay was about prince Merit of Taylor, who was sent by his father, Peak, to quell political tensions on the desert planet Kaylis.
Sounds a little familiar…
I put it down for a long time after that, but picked it up months ago after seeing Denis Villeneuve’s Dune film. The aesthetic I’d been trying to envision in my brain those couple years back was presented to me on the big screen. And understand when I say this that I was not carbon-copying Dune for this novel. I was looking at the intricacies that most of the audience was probably discounting in Denis’ filmmaking style.
Armed with this revelation, I got to work, and quickly realized that I was a little rusty in novel writing since The Plight of Steel three years ago.
And as with any creative project, I rapidly lost my influences from Dune and began exploring my own tangents for style and storytelling. This is a good thing.
So now that Ceres is finished, people need to read it. That’s a whole other process in itself, which will take many hours, many dollars, and lots of waiting.
But what’s my plan for the future?
I’ve already starting writing my next novel, which will be entitled Whitebleak. It’s the story of a girl named Nox – a writer, trying to write a fantasy/sci-fi novel within a fantasy/sci-fi novel. All the while, a war against a mysterious unnatural winter and the creatures that spread it is raging in an apocalyptic tundra where humanity is on the brink of collapse.
It’s violent, darkly comedic, and odd – just like all my other work. Keep an eye out for it.
But for now, have a look at Ceres. It’s my first novel in two years, and aptly showcases my new style, writing knowledge, and capacity for creating humor out of very un-humorous situations.
‘Cause what’s the point of life if you can’t laugh at it?
