I’m almost done with the 4th draft of chapter 15. Let’s get the vague poem that describes the contents going:

Today a school of fish are spied;

the angler grins, his hair now dyed;

hungrily one takes the bait;

soon three more flop to their plates;

a fifth is steamed, one more is fried;

the seventh lets the first inside. Continue reading →

I finished the 4th draft of chapter 14. Here’s the vague, nonsensical poem that represents it:

An emergency that is dire indeed;

Flame is required for the prisoner, freed;

Quenched next in a world of both trauma and laughs;

On one of the group, suspicion is cast. Continue reading →

Update on Abandonment Party 2, chapter 12, 4th draft: Got it done; added all the intrigue and character-driven agency that Kim wanted. But this chapter was waaaaay too long. 26 pages. I found a good opportunity for a break and a DRAMATIC ending line, so I split it up into two chapters. Chapter 12 will be “Villan’s Legacy” and 13 will be “Prisoner.” Tell me what you think, even though you don’t know the contents of the text. Unless you’re Kim or Matt. Then you can tell me what you think of those titles. Unless you forgot what happened AGAIN, Matt.

Speaking of Matt, the 21st was his birthday! Congrats! You da best! I went out to eat with him and his sister to a public place called Westport Social. It’s kind of like a bar inside a warehouse with cruise ship party games spread around. Here’s a photo I took: Continue reading →

An error in the FIRST book, that is. Yes, David—the master of logic, aerodynamics, and physics—has found a plot hole in Abandonment Party.

And it has nothing to do with the MASSIVE FLYING OBEJECTS that are present in the final pages. He said all that was fine. So where is the error? It begins in the “Clash of Automatons” chapter. Open your Kindles and join me there, won’t you? Continue reading →

I’m nearly done with the 4th draft of chapter eleven. Back in the 3rd draft, Mean had a bit of an easy time beating an enemy. Kim read this and said ‘SO BORING! Brad, you can do better! Give her a worthy challenge! A true struggle!’

So I stepped up! I slammed Mean down into an unwinnable situation. Pain! Danger! I nearly wrote myself into a corner! NEARLY. I can’t say what happens here, but I came up something. YEAH. SOMETHING. No one told me how much spoilers they want so I guess we’re doing weird poems again.

Shadowed eyes follow the woman that flies.

A still rain falls upon them both.

To escape the storm would spell death.

The heat is unbearable. Why not steal it?

In other news I met with my friend David at church. He usually runs the technical side of the presentation in his free time. Once a month, after the sermon, he comes to find me. This Sunday he told me that he was almost done reading Abandonment Party.

There is something you need to know about David: he has the most logical mind I’ve ever experienced. He is an engineer that has NOT worked on flying drones for Walt Disney World presentations, (That was his friend.) but he has a great understanding of aerodynamics and physics. Also, as far as I can tell, he has NEVER lied to me.

So I was quite excited to hear that he was reading the book. If he noticed any errors about physics, I KNOW he would tell me. So what did I find out so far? Let’s look: Continue reading →

I’m nearly done with the 4th draft of chapter 10. Not much action; it’s a bit of a breather chapter that introduces a new location and revisits an old one. I could say more, but….

Man, it’s getting tough to talk about this book without spoiling the plot. 😒

I mean, I COULD just spoil it. It’s the kind of thing that would be included in the Amazon summary anyway. So what should I do? How much should I reveal? I suppose I’ll ask any readers to voice their wishes in the comments below. And if I receive no comments then I’ll just keep doing whatever I want!

So until then I’ll just have to talk about the chapters in coded and annoying verse. Prepare yourself. Continue reading →

I’m nearly done with the 4th draft’s chapter nine. One last check through Kim’s margin notes and it should be good to go.

Did I mention there are way more characters in the second book? Double or triple the amount that were present in the first! Just keep in mind I’m terrible at math. OH! And minus Tyle, Dring, and Kates. I’m not saying those characters are done for good; just that they don’t have much of a purpose in this next story.

The rest of the main cast (Mean, Vornis, Dark, Darrow, Tome, Trisk) DOES return, and the new characters are designed to challenge the original group. Reveal new facets of their personalities. That sort of thing.

These new characters also tie in to what I mentioned in an earlier update: the cultural lore! Yes, the ‘new guys’ will have knowledge of the planet’s history! For instance, in chapter nine, a character with the initials ‘D.V.’ shows up. This character alone will:

1. Introduce a new nation that existed.
2. Reveal the mores and stigmas of this nation, which affected people like Parlay.
3. Bring new technology into the story with weapons and items tied to the history of their home nation.
4. Teach Vornis a valuable lesson about himself.

Exciting, right? And again, this cultural stuff WILL have a purpose to the story. The story of how the entire world was destroyed.

Well, I think that’s enough updating for now. So long!

The first six chapters and prologue have been rewritten! Kim’s editing suggestions required MASSIVE restructuring, but the payoffs are definitely worth it.

For instance, there were previously no explosions or thrill-packed battles in the beginning chapters at ALL. What was I thinking, right? Then Kim suggested that I move up an event from the end of the book all the way to the beginning. I was a risky change, but adding an action-oriented event gave me a chance to remind returning readers who everyone is and what their abilities are. And yes, almost every main character from the first book takes part—even Tome! His non-verbal powers are finally unleashed.

There have also been adjustments to the story structure. In the first book, the protagonists were carried along by smaller events and antagonists until they eventually found out that there was one BIG event/antagonist in the works.

THIS time there will be a clear goal from the start. I recall the words of Javier, the first person to leave a review on Amazon: “In the beginning, I was confused with the plot, but I decided to keep reading to see what was going on. I am glad I did.”

So next time you’ll know what the plot is, Javier. I suppose telling you right now would be spoilers, so let’s just say the goal will be related to the erasure of the planet’s population, and the mystery to find out exactly what happened. Thank you again for your feedback. 😁

I have also been working on adding far more amounts of ‘lore’ about the nations and peoples that existed on Overland before the disaster. The first six chapters of Abandonment Party 2 are just full of juicy details now. And new characters that make good use of this information, I might add. After all, I wouldn’t put in details unless they furthered the story or character development.

I believe that’s enough updating for now. If you want to suggest something for the next book, you know where to comment! Otherwise, I’ll just assume there are no problems or complaints! Farewell! 😉

30 chapters of Abandonment Party 2 have been critiqued by Kim! She has revealed flaws, exposed my laziest plot devices, and DEMANDED that I push this sequel to a level of excellence unheard of in the history of literature! We’ve had many conversations in person, over Zoom, and that antiquated device known as ‘the telephone.’ But now I am ready! Ready to perfect my next novel! Just like it says at the top of this web site. Continue reading →