Acts of War: Aftershock – Week 13 Update
Here we are at week thirteen, and despite a mile case of triskaidekaphobia, we’re one week closer to the July release of Acts of War: Aftershock.
Progress: The first draft is still under review with Privateer Press, a process that can take some time since there a number of people who need to look at the manuscript. In the meantime, have a look at the next exciting release from Skull Island eXpeditions, Godless, the first novel in the Fire & Faith series by the very talented Orrin Grey.
The Best Part: My own little world. While the Iron Kingdoms is an established setting with established characters, but one of the little bonuses about writing a series of novels there is I get to create my own little cast of supporting characters. For example, I introduced many of the men and women that make up Lord General Stryker’s group of senior officers in Flashpoint, and now I get to continue their stories in Aftershock. Some of them have been promoted, shuffled around, given new duties, and so on, largely because of the events in the first book, something I hope to continue in the third. Today’s mini-excerpt focuses on one of these characters.
The Hard Part: Too many choices. Writing a book that’s based on a tabletop miniature game like WARMACHINE has a lot of upsides. I mean, there are so many cool warjacks, troops, and characters I want to put in there. The trouble is deciding which ones. There are essentially three armies in Aftershock: Cygnar, Khador, and the Llaelese Resistance. That’s a whole lot of men and machines to choose from. I have to narrow it down to what makes the most sense for the events in the book, but then, every once in a while, I do indulge myself by including something because it’s too damn cool to pass up. 🙂
Mini Excerpt: Today’s mini-excerpt focuses on one of Lord General Stryker’s officers, a woman who commands some of his most effective troops, the powerful galvanic cavalry known as Storm Lances. This brave storm knight was present during the siege of Riversmet in Flashpoint and continues to serve Cygnar directly under the command Lord General Stryker as the army moves on to its next target.
“There aren’t more than fifty Khadorans guarding that pass, sir,” Captain Archer said. “My Storm Lances can handle them.”
“Of that I have no doubt, Captain,” he said, took Quicksilver from its stand, and balanced the huge mechanikal blade over his right shoulder. “You are more than capable of defeating fifty Khadorans, but there may be more, and you’ll want a warcaster for that eventuality.”
Lissa Archer was a young and talented officer. She’d been knighted at the age of twenty and had spent the last six years serving in the Storm Lances, mostly in combat. She’d been promoted to captain after Riversmet and showed every sign of climbing well beyond her current rank. She was less than satisfied with his answer. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You know, there’s a major back in Riversmet who asks me that question a lot.”
Warcasters are often devastatingly effective frontline fighters, which is exciting, if a little nerve-wracking for the officers who try and keep them alive long enough to do all that leading from the front.
If you have a question or comment about the book or my writing process, ask away in the comments section below. And if you’ve missed the updates for the previous weeks, you can find them right here:
- Week 1 Update
- Week 2 Update
- Week 3 Update
- Week 4 Update
- Week 5 Update
- Week 6 Update
- Week 7 Update
- Week 8 Update
- Week 9 Update
- Week 10 Update
- Week 11 Update
- Week 12 Update
3 Comments on “Acts of War: Aftershock – Week 13 Update”
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Acts of War: Aftershock
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Aeryn Rudel's Rejectomancy 
Hey Aeryn, I’m curious how PP determines the big picture of their fluff now that the writing is spread across novels by different authors. Is there some sort of specific ‘endgame’ state down the road that each novel works towards in its own area of focus, or is plot progression happening naturally from book to book? Are the major events in the novels discussed and determined ahead of the time by the whole, or are they considered after you the author submit them? I guess I’m just curious how much of a sandbox you have to play in in a series so central to the entire setting.
Hi, Luke. Great question. I can answer based on my own experiences with this particular series. Yes, there is an endgame or metaplot, if you like, for the series, which, of course, I can’t talk about in detail. 🙂 Because of my past role at Privateer Press, I work closely with owner Matthew D. Wilson, publications director Mike Ryan, and folks like continuity manager Douglas Seacat. So, yes, we discuss the major events of each book well ahead of time, and I produce a very hefty outline based on those discussions for their approval before I start writing.
Hope that answer your question, and thanks for the comment.
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