January 2023 Author Update

Hey guys, I’m back again for this January 2023 Author Update.

Happy New Year!

New Projects 🆕

In case you haven’t heard from my last post, here’s some new projects I intend to work on this year.

1. The Hollow Death of Belladonna Bates (my current work in progress)
2. The Gathering of Misfits Presents the Muscle (Working title)
3. A potential comic book for Lafonda and Leo Heroes of the Land

The Hollow Death of Belladonna Bates ❄

For those that may be new or may not recall, this story has been my work in progress since early 2021. It follows the story of the infamous Psyche “Belladonna” Bates as she remasters her trade and faces her former crime syndicate.

Here’s the working blurb 🙂

Kill me once, shame on me. Kill me twice… good luck.

“One last job” proved too much for this lady assassin, leaving her corpse to paint the concrete.
Luckily for her, death wasn’t the end.

Undead and outmatched, Psyche “Belladonna” Bates must risk it all in a fight for her life, as her own guild wants her dead.

Sadly, after she perished, her trade and her memories are a blur, and if Psyche wants any hope of escaping this city’s threats, she will need help.

Not to mention her own body ticking like a time bomb. Cheating death comes at a cost, and phoenixes don’t come cheap… if she can find one.

Caught in a treacherous web, escape is anything but simple. But if she can remaster her trade, and assemble the supernatural forces of this city, she just might free herself from the pursuers’ clutches… Maybe.

Can she spare herself and friends from the forces around her? Or will her undeath spell her undoing?

In a thrilling high stakes battle, one thing is certain: Death won’t stop revenge.

Dive into this epic, urban fantasy full of gripping action and adventure, scandalous romance, and thrilling suspense for Adults and New Adults. Reader Discretion is Advised.

***

My first professional edit should wrap up very soon and then the polishing process will continue from there.

Stay tuned for more details. I hope to publish this year, but the story’s quality is the most important thing to me for this one, so I will need to assess the situation as it goes. Stay tuned.

The Gathering of Misfits Presents the Muscle 💪

This story follows a secretary who must rescue her sister from the mob by assembling a team of unique criminals for the crime don’s bidding, starting with the muscle.

I finished its second draft thanks to the lovely crew of people at the Write Practice and have already scheduled a developmental edit for this March.

Admittedly, The Hollow Death of Belladonna Bates has taken precedent over this story, so this one may not publish this year. But stranger things have happened. Who knows? Maybe I can publish two books again this year. 🙂

Adventures in the Land of Magic (Lafonda and Leo Heroes of the Land Comic) 

This project is more of a pipe dream currently, as it is fresh territory for me. A comic book script completed yesterday, believe it or not.

What’s next? Character designs I believe.

Luckily, I just so happen to have a few already. Remember these?

Now I just have to hope my artist is willing to adapt these designs into the comic. Plus, I may actually need to create a design for the fabulous Maximillian “Preposterous” Fripplehoot-Mcgee the Third, (but you can call him Maxy).

This has been an unbelievably exciting book to work on, and it makes me really want to write a sequel to the novel really bad.

I’ll keep you posted if there are any complications, but so far, the journey has been smooth sailing.

✒What have I been writing? ✒

I suppose I should also cover what I’m writing in this January 2023 Author Update.

A new second-ish draft has suffered some growing pains, but the path ahead is clearing. Love, Eville, and Superheroes is the working title. The story started in a discord group for some friends where we write stories for fun.

The premise is the son of superheroes and daughter of supervillains fall in love, caught in the middle of their parents’ feud.

Sadly, after I caught Covid, I fell out of love with the story. So, over the past week or two, I spent time picking up its pieces and mapping out how to continue. I feel I’ve come too far to quit, so I must keep pushing through it. Two scenes really catch my attention and I really want to write them, so I need to hang in there for just a smidge longer.

As much as I hate outlines, I needed to put my thoughts on paper and out of my head. Once I rework some new scenes, I hope to garner feedback again from some author friends and the Write Practice.

Website Updates 💻

One more thing, I wished to mention that my author website received a few facelifts and sad changes.

The Tavern section of my website offered Fantasy and tabletop RPG content. Until the path is clear, I do not believe I will post any more TTRPG content to protect myself legally.

Recent D&D OGL rumors and changes worry me, even though I’ve tried to keep my stuff system agnostic. For the time being, the Tavern portion of the site could be in jeopardy. However, since I sell nothing D&D related, I believe I should be okay. It’s a muddled mess.

Here’s some links to more info on the OGL situation:

• An overview of the OGL’s history, definition, and what it could mean for players and creators going forward.
• This article covers the leaked “draft” (some people believe it was not a draft) that caused the controversy.
• The new OGL 1.2 and apology in response to 1.1 leaks. 

More responses from Wizards of the Coast can be found D&D Beyond website for fairness’s sake.
I’d rather not talk too much about it as I want to stay positive about the future of the game that I love.

On a brighter note, I continue to tweak pages of the site for a cleaner look and hope to eventually share new pages for each of my books. Please check it out if you get a chance. It makes me happy seeing how the site has improved over the years.

In Conclusion

That’s wraps this January 2023 Author Update.

Catch you next month.

Until next time, keep writing.

-Antonio