January 2019 Newsletter
Happy New Year and welcome to 2019!
January always seems to usher in a fresh sense of adventure, don’t you think? The snowfalls, the celebrations with family and friends, the short-lived New Year’s Resolutions, they are all a part of us reaching for more than what we were last year. Whether we’ve committed to a reading challenge, decided to eat more fruits and veggies or vowed to leave the house for more than just work and sustenance, we all see the bigger picture at the beginning of the year and strive to be better.
And it’s all thanks to January!
I hope all is well with you and yours on this winter month of revolutionary thought.
I welcome you back to a year where I will begin by saying that I’d like to do more. 2018 was the year that I truly forged this path for myself, and I will admit that I’m proud of the work that I was able to accomplish. It felt like a mid-year resolution that I didn’t drop after the first two weeks. In fact, my production as far as numbers go was beyond what I felt I had the time to maintain. I’m going to go ahead and give myself a solid pat on the back for that one.
Ahh, that’s nice.
It feels good to accomplish something, especially when that something (for me) is writing novels. It was a venture that I took on without realizing what that means. Creative writing is a lot of hard work that requires much dedication and perseverance and I just wanted to say that I really enjoy what is happening the further I delve into it. The stories that I see in my head need to come out so that I can share them with you!
That being said, I do appreciate your patience very much. This being the beginning of such an enduring process, I am glad to know that there are those who are waiting for my work to finally be released. Any level of hype that you are comfortable with is not wasted effort. There absolutely WILL be a time when my work is released. I am writing diligently and with no small amount of fervor to get my first projects through the steps leading up to publication.
Since this is my first take on such a task, there will be a considerable amount of time before anything is in your hands. I understand the frustration, because I’m feeling it also. What I’d like you to understand is that it is by no means due to a lack of inspiration, a feeling of being overwhelmed, or a lapse in interest. I simply have never endured the process before. My inexperience is constantly teaching me new things about the writing process overall and what it takes to get it done.
My promise to you, is that it will happen.
On my website, I keep loose information on the major projects that I’m working on right now. Percentages of progress for each book can be found there, as well as small details that I’m willing to reveal before the release. There are many more projects that I have formulated into world guides and outlines that are not listed, but they are less likely to be published before the ones that are. If this is your first time discovering me or if you need a refresher, I’d like to introduce you to the works that I’m investing a majority of my project time in right now.
The primary beast that I’ve coddled since the moment my inner writing spirit was awakened is an epic fantasy series that was dubbed ‘The Enlightenment Archive’ early last year. The name was a semi-concrete placeholder that I thought would endure the test of time, until I changed it. For now, the new title will remain a secret. It is a story that grew out of the fondness and appreciation I have for the arts. If you haven’t taken a look at my Medium series called ‘My Adventure’, you should. It’s a compilation of the different facets that encompass who I am as a person and how I’ve grown because of these facets. Featured in this series, is the story of how I pursued art throughout my childhood all the way through college, thinking that I was going to do art of some sort professionally. Come to find out, I was on the right path all along, but I didn’t realize that what I yearned for was the story element over the visual.
The Enlightenment Archive is everything that I want a world of art to look like, translated through magic and mystery. The magic system was carefully thought out, the factions designed with purpose and the enemies… ohhhhh the enemies. Let me just say that the evil forces working against these characters are next level to be sure! The world building has been painstakingly detailed and the plot maps and outlines extensively analyzed to ensure that the excitement I see in my head is exactly what I write down for you. It was a bold undertaking for a newbie.
Can I be honest with you?
It is the most rewarding and fulfilling creative work I have ever invested time in. As the world takes shape and the characters come to life, I shiver from head to toe at the thrills and spills that you will experience when this is finished. I am not pretending to be anyone great, or that my work will fly up to the tops of any charts. But all the same, I cannot wait to share it with you!
And here comes the expected news…
As far as release dates are concerned, as I mentioned earlier, it is difficult to pin anything specific since this will be my first time with any published work. In a newsletter from early last year I mentioned an ideal release time of early 2020 for the first trilogy. That is still my desired release, but there is a TON left to do and the release may be extended until my ducks are properly in a row. I am currently working on book 3 of the initial trilogy, but both of the other books are still in rough draft status. The reason for this is because of an issue that I ran into when creating this trilogy as one mega monstrosity. After some research, I found that it would be best to divide and conquer, as I hope you will soon do by reading them.
To ensure that the story flows without hitches, I am having to push all three books through as if I were publishing them as one. Content had to be rewritten and reorganized to make more sense throughout each individual title. Releasing them all at the same time is not mandatory, but is my treat to you for being so patient. I have a vision for the custom cover arts, maps of the territories featured in the books and plans for special promo items to be available in limited quantities at release. It’s a lot to consider and even more to do, so stay with me, and the payoff will be worth it!
I’d have to say that my second biggest project as far as scope would be my ‘Secret Project’. By no means am I saying that it will be the next story released after The Enlightenment Archive. In fact, it will probably be a while. I have a lot more to do as far as outlining and world building to consider it the next release. I will say though, that this project will be very important to the overall effect of my writing. I am planning an overarching story that encompasses many works, similar to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere.
Expect this secret project to be an important part of that.
The most likely work to get published around The Enlightenment Archive would probably be Tales Around the Mana Pool. It will be a demonstration of my writing style and flavor of fantasy/sci-fi through a collection of short stories. I have a great idea for custom cover art and just need to squeeze in some time in between drafting The Enlightenment Archive and outlining the secret project to write more of the stories that will be included. I am planning on it consisting of twenty stories or so.
The next noteworthy project I have going is my Nature collection. It is a gathering of rhyming short stories, between ten and twenty, about different animals and the real struggles they have in their daily lives. I’ve always had an affinity for wildlife and I hope to both educate and entertain through this collection. It will be written at a level for children to enjoy as well!
I also am excited to collaborate with illustrator Beverly Holtzem on a few children’s books! There are several reasons why I wanted to make this venture, though novels are my preferred proverbial cup of tea. Most kids I knew growing up were raised on the Playstation game console. Games always caught my attention right away, although I find it funny that it took so long to figure out that it was because I was meant to write. While I did appreciate what Sony was doing, I was raised on the Nintendo brand game consoles, which I enjoyed much more. The universes were much brighter and more vivid, and the stories had a depth and fantastical complexity that I could relate to. It is in this fashion and with the same passion that I move to write a these children’s books. It is my hope that kids will be able to enjoy some of the crazy fantasy schemes that I come up with as I enjoyed Nintendo’s.
I recently got the itch to work on stories for Medium again through my publication, Tales Around the Mana Pool. As of right now, I cycle through working on plot maps, outlines and drafts for all of the above projects at any given time. Taking A break from the novels every once in a while is healthy and tends to keep my mind moving in a forward direction.
Expect the addition of a few more Mana Pool Matchups, Exotic Vacations and at least the first story in The Collection and Hypotharticles sections.
The last project I’d like to mention is the ever-elusive short story that I created just for Medium. It is drafted, and is sitting to the side as I work out the monumental task of finishing this Enlightenment Archive trilogy.
I’m sorry, again!
It was never my intention to delay it for so long. As you might recall from an earlier newsletter, I work a full time job as well. Getting each of these projects done in such minimal time while not completely ignoring my family is difficult. I will get to the next draft of it and get it published for you Medium readers sometime this year. THAT is a promise. I need you all to keep me straight so that I can get some work into your eyeballs!
A final note:
Thank you so much for reading up on what I have going on. It can be a lot to take in, and writing glimpses of what I still have left to do has even drained my energy. It’s a labor of love and there is nothing else I’d rather be doing. Except publishing. Yes. Publishing I would rather be doing at this point so that you have some proof that I indeed am writing and not just making things up as I go along, dragging you across some vast desert of hopes and dreams, never to provide you with any sort of relief. We’ll get there.
Ricky Argenbright
