G.P. Sorrells's Blog

In my last post, I mentioned the unique approach I’m taking with the creative process for my third novel. With my previous works, the creative process was relatively simple: workshop an idea, find the thread of a great story, hone said story into something interesting. I’m oversimplifying a bit, but I could sum the basicContinue reading "Transcending the Page"

The time to construct a world is at hand and with that comes the chance to show the steps I intend to take in the creation process for my next work. Where What Remains is Infinity existed, in some ways, as a chance for me to prove I could climb the mountain of publication, MurderContinue reading "What Lies Ahead"

Seven months ago, I made a post about the donations made to the Epilepsy Foundation because of all the copies sold to that point of Murder in the Magic City, my second full-length novel. Although it was always my plan to make the posts less frequent as I geared up for the creation of novelContinue reading "Long Time No Post"

Hello Dear Reader, If you’ll remember from my most recent post, way back on January 25, 2021, I mentioned I would make a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation for each copy sold of Murder in the Magic City. This is something I plan to do for the life of the book, and will probably extendContinue reading "A Quick Note"

If you ask a room full of writers why they toil away, creating worlds that only they may see, you’re likely to get a multitude of reasons in response. Some do it for the love of writing. Others hope to strike gold and become the next George R. R. Martin. I would tell you it’sContinue reading "Writing for a Cause"

Greetings, dear reader. Quite some time has passed since last I sat down to put together a post describing my most recent exploits. Fret no more, for the days of wondering whether I was still toiling away behind the keys of my laptop are now behind you. Murder in the Magic City is currently inContinue reading "Murder in the Magic City Nears Release"

Welcome! You may have noticed the website looks different from the last time you were here. If this is your first time here, just know that this version, we’ll call it 3.0, is considerably cleaner than the first couple iterations and should be easier to navigate. Some time has passed since last I provided anContinue reading "Charting a Course Through Uncertainty"

The other day I thought it had been quite some time since I last gave any sign about my progress in working toward my next couple novels. A quick glance at the blog proved me correct on that front, and … Continue reading →

Inspiration for stories can come from anywhere. The idea for What Remains is Infinity popped in my head while staring up at the night sky, into the cosmos, wondering what lie beyond the time I had on this patch of rock hurtling through space. Thinking to myself that somewhere in the universe’s existence, another being may have had the same thought. They were long gone by the time I pondered what lies in wait when we die, but the notion sparked in me a desire to wonder what the reality of the great beyond could be.

Sometimes the idea behind a story starts from a level grounded more in what we know. In something tangible. Although I’m hard at work on Murder in the Magic City, I’ve already begun laying the groundwork for my third novel. It may not have an working title, but it isn’t hurting in the origin department. This time, rather than study the stars, I took a hard look at the tabletop. Specifically, to the realm of Dungeons and Dragons.

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Those who know me even passingly well know that I’ve been playing the popular tabletop roleplaying game with a group of friends for the past two years. Not a wealth of experience compared to most who have dabbled in this wonderful hobby, but enough to know I’ll be playing it for years to come. My experience would be the equivalent to a Level 2 adventurer just setting out to find their way in the Forgotten Realms. However, we’ve completed two campaigns (almost; Covid-19 be damned) and are very close to embarking on our third.

For the uninitiated, Dungeons and Dragons is a game which sees a group of players creating characters to travel through a world, vanquishing evil, and sometimes being party to it themselves, with the end goal of eradicating the realm of a titular boss hellbent on bringing chaos to the denizens of the universe. Prior to the start of each campaign, players roll dice to determine the statistics of the character they plan to play. From there they allocate the values to various abilities (wisdom, constitution, charisma, etc) depending on the class they choose. Some people are wizards. Others are barbarians. A few are even murder hobos. Okay, that’s a solid majority if the situation calls for it.

Part of the character creation process is determining the backstory for your character. Where do they hail from? What is their motivation for adventuring? There’s a seemingly never-ending rabbit hole to travel down, full of questions to ask yourself in crafting the character you’ll spend countless hours pretending to be. This portion can be as in depth or succinct as the player desires. It provides a jumping off point into the story and helps to give you an idea how your character may react to a situation. I have a tendency to go a bit overboard in crafting a reasonably compelling narrative. This can backfire, but I do it to better understand who my character is, and who they might become.

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With Annabelle, the character I’ve created for our third DnD campaign, I discovered someone who can transcend the tabletop and become something else entirely. I crafted a nearly two-and-a-half page backstory that set the tone for who she is and provided a powerful motivation for her adventuring ways. Truth be told, it could have been even longer, but I had to leave something to the imagination. I’m excited to get to the table and inhabit this character based on my late, great, feline buddy, Annie, who allowed me to be her human for nearly a decade. She will be a Tabaxi Monk. More on that in a future post.

Covid makes getting to the table with friends challenging, so Annebelle will have to wait a bit to be fully realized. We’ll be doing a homebrew campaign, a story I have no way of knowing anything much about, so all I can do is sit back and wonder. The more I thought about her character over the past couple of months, however, the more it made sense to see where her story could go. I thought about what she might do when she left the monastery she spent years training at. Would she leave willingly? Would they force her out? If so, why?

Eventually I realized I could craft a full-length story out of her life to that point, and what could follow in the universe within my mind. However, as science-fiction is more my forte than fantasy, though I thoroughly enjoy reading both, I had to come at the tale from a different mindset than I would if I were creating her for the tabletop. It couldn’t be straight Dungeons and Dragons fan-fiction if I hoped to publish it without issue, but that was ok. I saw it as a challenge worth delving into.

This will be a larger undertaking than my first two novels, as this will require the construction of a non-existent world. It will exist solely in a world unlike our own rather than in locales we are familiar with. If you’ve read What Remains is Infinity, you’ve seen a glimpse at some world-building I’ve done to this point. That pales compared to what will be necessary for even just the first half of my third novel. And I’m looking forward to all that comes with creating a believable world that readers want to lose themselves in.

Though I’m not sure what to call it just yet, the first novel in the Annabelle Atala Saga (series title subject to change) will be available next year. I’m eager to share more about this world in the coming weeks and months.

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week!

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That’s the working title, at least, for the sequel to What Remains is Infinity. I haven’t worked on the elevator pitch much, but I can say it’s, in some ways, going to feel like reading about the lovechild of Jason Bourne and Leon from The Professional. In this reality, Micah Brantley tries to work his way into prominence within the Medina Cartel as a hired gun. As the story progresses, his true motives become more pronounced as a past he’s tried to escape forces its way to the forefront. This all culminates with what I expect to be an eventful climactic scene.

What Remains is Infinity delved more into general science fiction, focusing on building the world necessary for the multiverse. This was important because it allowed me to set the stage for future novels which could either expand upon the original narrative, or jump into something different. Murder in the Magic City (title subject to change) will exist mostly within one universe, of the greater whole, and will be a thriller. Most of the story will take place in my hometown of Miami, Florida — hence, the Magic City.

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I’m 110 pages into the first draft of Murder in the Magic City. The end goal is for the book to hit the 350-400 page mark. Work should become part of my daily routine again soon here, but I don’t expect it to create any issues with my weekly goal of 7500 words/30 pages. I won’t stop just because I hit my daily or weekly goal. If creativity and time permit, I always chug along.

The expectation is that draft one will be complete by the middle of August. I’ll begin revising shortly after, rather than waiting a while like I did for What Remains is Infinity. What does this mean for publication? Ideally, that we can publish the book by Halloween.

Keep an eye out on the blog as I’ll post more updates about the story as it evolves. I may even share an excerpt or two. Thanks for reading!