Outpost Report | March Monthly Roundup
The fruits of labor
RECORDED LOG | UNKNOWN PLANET
DESIGNATION: CELESTA SIX
Status Report | Surface Conditions
Atmosphere safe. Begin landing
We’ve got a theme in this post, and it’s March 31st! Let’s dig in and find out why. The hard part’s just getting started. We’re past the point of mercy, so let’s see the blood of it.
Town Herald:
Less pokers: Last month, I said that this month would be more focused, less pokers in the fire, and I think I’ve stuck to that pretty well. I will say my stress level has gone down as I learn the art of pacing, but I’m still in recovery mode. I didn’t know such a word existed until last month.
Audiobooks: I don’t have a true Apple fix, but I’ve got a workaround, so I’m going to roll with it. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m behind. I’m going to jump straight to Atar and the Maro Prakk Novella Series. It’s time to give this bounty hunter a voice. Red Creek’s the first, but it won’t be the last. Saddle up! The first chapter drops tomorrow, March 31st, for everyone on Substack. Enjoy!
In case you missed it: Yesterday, an email went out for a birthday celebration giveaway. Follow the link for a free ebook. Get it here.
Battle Formations:
Decimation Protocol: I got the edits back! I spent a day and a half going through them at a nonstop pace. It’s a good way to burn out, but knowing that I’m a procrastinator, it’s best to buckle down and do it. Then, I spent another day formatting it and getting it ready for release in paperback and ebook. If it hasn’t hit the preorder stage yet, it soon will, so be on the lookout. Guess when it’s coming in the comments below.
Mark of the Profane: Vol. II of the Dark Legacy Series is finished. It’s going live tomorrow, March 31st, on the worldwide stage. You can find it on all major retailer sites: Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo…and, of course, Amazon, if you like that retailer. Let’s see the breakdown.
Vol II: Start Date: 12/22/25
Finish Date: 2/27/26
Prologue: 1/1
Chapters: 66/66
Epilogues: 6/6
Starting Word Count: 242,911
Revised Word Count: 225,987
Morale: Recovered.
When going into the revision, I wanted to compress this book, and I set a goal of no more than 10%. I hit right at 7%, which is a win. I didn’t go in and start slaughtering the content wholesale. The essence of the book is still very much intact, but I’ve removed redundancies and what I call spiraling, which is a character ruminating on a certain thing for longer than necessary. It goes back to what I said: in my early days, I overwrote. That’s all this clean up is, correcting that mistake and making sure the tone matches Vol. III.
When you first read Vol. II, what was your favorite part? Any particular scene?
Maro 3: This story’s got its date set with the editor for May. I pre-booked it before I even started on the 5th and final draft, as I work better with deadlines. It keeps me grounded and focused. I paced myself to one chapter a day, and five days a week. Even workhorses like myself need some time off. Here’s what I’ve done so far…
Start Date: 3/5/26
Finish Date: 3/24/26
Chapters: 14/14
Epilogues: 1/1
Starting Word Count: 32,683
Revised Word Count: 32,590
Morale: Cloud Nine
Maro’s got ghosts to deal with in this book, and some are of his own making. He’s got the trauma of the Crocottas, the war, and he stands upon a precipice. One decision will change his life forever, while the forces around him push him in new and uncomfortable directions. And, we’ll get a short peek into the larger world of Atar. It’ll be fun.
Vol. III: With the two previous projects in the bag, I’ve turned my attention to two others, and I’m doing them simultaneously. Starting with Vol. III, this will get the same reformatting as Vol. I & II. This book will have the least invasive pass, and it stands as the standard that I brought the other two up to. No heavy edits! My goal is to read it, format it, and make sure a line or two isn’t in the book, and that’s it. Might touch up a little of the prose if it causes me to stumble while reading. Let’s check the breakdown.
Vol III: Start Date: 3/5/26
Prologue: 1/1
Chapters: 15/60
Epilogues: 0/1
Starting Word Count: 200,602
Current Word Count: 200,564
Morale: Rising.
I haven’t read this book since it published, and that’s generally the case once I release a book, unless I need to go back and look something up. I can see where I toned down the darker elements. I remember the early drafts, and it was really hard to write, living in those moments with the Jackal. While I removed some things wholesale in the draft rounds, I left others to be inferred by the reader, and the implication can be harder than actually reading the atrocities. I’ve enjoyed the jaunt so far, but I’m doing about a chapter a day, and sometimes I take a break in between.
Who has been your favorite character so far in the Dark Legacy Series?
Red Creek Audiobook: I have officially started. Recording isn’t hard, but it is about timing, not only for myself, but for the neighborhood. Every little sound gets picked up, so the kids running around and playing outside put a pause on instant recording. The most time consuming part is the actual splicing together.
Like my writing style, which is nonlinear and character selected, I don’t record everything all at once. The first day of recording is the narration. The second day of recording is doing the voices, one at a time. I stick with a character all the way through the chapter, then go back and record the other characters or internal thoughts. Also, I do multiple takes back-to-back so that I have different ones to choose from. There have been a few times where I like the first half of one, and the latter half of the fourth and I splice it together.
Afterward, I sit down and listen, splicing it together by reading along with the book. Time consuming? Yes. Consistently staying in character and voice? Also a yes. I prefer this method than trying to swap in the middle of a narrative track. I’ll keep trucking on.
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Transmission decrypted, but we’re having trouble accessing the incoming files. That’s all I have for this round—short, sharp, and sweet. I shall return…