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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Mea Culpa: An Update on The Myridian Constellation (formerly Dark Sea Annals)

What was it Douglas Adams said about deadlines? "I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." So, dear readers, it is with profound exasperation that I let you know I am not able to get the new version of Errant King or book 3, The Forsaken Continent, out in stores by Christmas. And this comes on the heels of about 25 missed deadlines regarding this series.

In a perfect world, with a perfect author, The Myridian Constellation (formerly The Dark Sea Annals) would be into its 5th book. The original publisher wouldn't have collapsed and the return of series publishing rights wouldn't have taken years—so long that I wrote The Dreamtreaders Trilogy while I waited. But, it's not a perfect world, and things dragged on. And I'm not a perfect author. I made book deadline promises to my long-suffering readers over and over again, but I did not keep them. 

Yes, there have been many extenuating circumstances, many of a personal or family nature that required or consumed time. We all know how life can get. And, I could bore you with details of how self-publishing, the process, takes away so much time from actual writing. But, I know I could have used the time God's given me better. So, I apologize.

Rather than offer you another deadline, (WHOOSH), ouch, I'll give you an update instead. I am @80% finished the revisions for The Errant King, Author-ized Edition. Frustratingly, I've discovered a massive timeline error that requires me to completely revamp the series chronology. On the bright side, delving so deeply into The Errant King has provided some wonderful new material. This version should be so much better than the original. And, as an added bonus in the new version, there will be no characters killed off early in the book only to show up later in perfect health!

The Forsaken Continent, you might recall, was originally going to be Mirror of Souls. But that manuscript surpassed 200,000 words. So, after much toil and thought, I split the manuscript into two distinct novels: The Forsaken Continent (Book 3) and Mirror of Souls (Book 4). In essence, both novels are written, but I still have work to do. And I don't want to rush and put out an inferior product. I believe God has something special planned for these books and this series, and I feel deeply that this will be a kind of life's work legacy when all is said and done. So, I ask, patient readers, for you to be patient once more. If you cannot wait, I'll understand. I'll update you in the future, but I won't make release promises again until a given manuscript is through revisions.

Much love. Never alone.
-Wayne Thomas Batson, December 2017

11 comments:

Tracey Dyck said...

Understood! Self publishing is not an easy road, especially if you wear multiple hats. I look forward to diving into this series afresh in the future, and I pray the road ahead will be smoother for you!

Shane said...

Well thank you for the honesty Mr. Batson. I appreciate that. We forgive you for the promises that did not happen. It just is too bad that six years have gone by since anything in this series has been released which is sometimes hard to believe. I know that happens with everything though. Movies, music albums, video games, etc. I will be praying things can work out though and God continues to use your gifts to further his kingdom. I'll always be a lifelong fan no matter what.

Noah said...

Thank you for an update Mr. Batson, I look forward to the rest of the series! As a Canadian it is hard to buy books for $30 USD, is there any way you could change the price for Canada? A question about the Errant King: Are Arianna's parents still alive in this version (or killed in the last book)? Also wondering if Icy is still referred to as both male and female in the same sentence on board a ship... I found those problems (among others) in a review on Amazon before experiencing them first-hand.
Thank you for your work

Eliandr Aeldric said...

I own every single one of your books, many bought several times. Your Isles books are among my absolute favorites. I say this as a huge fan: the Authorized Edition of Sword in the Stars has some significant errors, with the worst I believe being that Chapter 25 and 26 begin with the same paragraph from Morlan’s point of view. And WHATEVER HAPPENED TO YODELS??? The poor guy never had a chance at his yodeling career after the war, sad.
Seriously though, the Authorized Edition was a hige improvement over the first edition, but a more thorough proofreading could have kept some of the more noticeable ones from being in the finished product.
I am anxiously awaiting for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th(or however many you make) books in the series!

Anonymous said...

yha the biggest mishap i saw was a character who died in the first book appear in a wedding after his death and be the father of Ariana. apart from that i didn't see any other mishaps and some story lines dropped like what happened to the mercenary army that was trying to help the kids kill the dragon. they left way before the dragon attacked the sky people(sorry i forgot their name.)

Anonymous said...

what ever happen to the mercenary army that went to try and kill the dragon. they set off to attack the dragon mid book and never heard from again it would go a long way just for the dragon to think of one line about how a nuance the attack was.

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Anonymous said...

@Sean geer: I always viewed the mercenary army as going in to look for the dragon just as the dragon crossed over to attack Drust & crew. It wouldn't surprise me if they show up at a later date.

Anonymous said...

PLEAAAAASSSSEEE!!!!! Come out with book 3. Please��

Terri S. said...

I realize I'm a bit late on this but...I purchased the Dark Sea Annuls a long time ago and only recently had a chance to read them. Has the timeline changed enough in The Errant King to warrant purchasing the latest edition and rereading before starting The Forsaken Continent?? Thanks for any responses!!

WayneThomasBatson said...

hi, Terri
If you have the old versions of Sword in the Stars or Errant King, you won't be lost with The Forsaken Continent and Mirror of Souls. That said, I have revised all the books to a much higher standard. Without changing major plotlines, I've done more foreshadowing, added new lore passages at the beginnings of some chapters, and improved the language throughout.