Ask the Author: A.C. Andrews
Answered Questions (7)
A.C. Andrews
In fall 22 I'm working on a new series- attempting to just write a complete story arc, beginning to end, at once, and then dividing it into a trilogy to publish. I will start work on Bel's War book III later this winter. I expect all four books- the new trilogy, and book III of Bel's War, out in 2023. I don't set firm release dates though until I have a complete draft in hand and am well into the editing/revising process.
A.C. Andrews
A planned end, yes. An iron-clad path to that ending, no (although certainly the path is sketched out- I tend to be an architect writer who then gardens his way around the blueprints... including occasionally gardening his way into completely changing the blueprints). Honestly, I need to finish book III before I'm going to know if I can convincingly wrap it up as a trilogy or if I need a 4th book. Definite no to Bel's War book 17...
A.C. Andrews
The seed for Descent of Ravens started from me playing a popular MMORPG online where you could buy houses or residences in world, and then craft or "buy" furniture, decor, and all kinds of things to customize the space to your liking. One of the "residences" I had in that game was on an island, and I had this idea about a sleeping vampire hidden in the basement of this fortress-like residence getting woken up by someone who turns out to be his soulmate. From there I started building my own world around that, asking what was going on in that world, and I gave my main character a best friend, who then "accidentally" became a main character in his own right as I explored his story, and before I knew it I had a book...
A.C. Andrews
So I mentioned, in the answer to one of these questions, that my desire to be a "good" writer stood in the way of me actually writing anything for nearly twenty years. Truthfully, I was inspired by to things: a MM PNR fantasy author that I really admire, whose work made me think about what it would mean to try to tell good LGBTQ stories, and the realization that a ton of the books I read are, frankly, not that good. And yet those people had written a book, and I couldn't say that. So with that understanding, I realized I had no good excuse for not fulfilling my childhood dream of being a writer.
A.C. Andrews
Book Two of Bel's War, naturally. I'm pretty sure I know what the title will be, but I'm sitting on it just in case I change my mind! I'm about 10k words into it, and have a good outline. Hope to have the draft done by December!
A.C. Andrews
I'll let you know when I figure that out! I am, however, keeping the old adage about getting unstuck by killing off a character in my back pocket, in case I ever get so stuck I can't get out of it. =)
A.C. Andrews
My advice for an aspiring writer is to give yourself permission to write a bad book. A stupid book. A silly book. I don't mean that you should tank it on purpose- but rather that for me, the desire to be a "good" writer kept me from writing for 20 years. I was only able to actually write a book when I finally let go of that. Get your draft out, even if it's terrible. Let feedback and the revision process help you improve on what you've got. Maybe the result still won't be a bestseller or critically acclaimed, but at least you'll have written something, and will be on the road to being a better writer.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more