Novel Update: 4 June, 2022

It has been months since the last novel update, and I apologize for being somewhat lax on that front. Unfortunately, not much has changed. The war in Ukraine continues to rage, much to the surprise of practically everyone. Until the conflict draws closer to a conclusion and the dust begins to settle, Red Blitz (still the working title, but I dislike it) will remain in a publisher-induced coma. I am not thrilled with the predicament, but I understand where the publisher is coming from. From an author’s point of view, however, it is incredibly frustrating to have completed a novel only to see it hijacked by real world events. There’s a lesson there for up-and-coming technothriller writers; If your manuscript is competing with real world events to any degree, DO NOT WASTE ANY TIME.

As Red Blitz remains in a coma, the focus of my professional writing has turned to the next manuscript, centered on a US-China War in the Western Pacific. I’m moving forward on this front with a green light from my publisher. I expect to have the manuscript edited and completed by early September. So, in many ways the Summer of ’22 will be strikingly similar to the Summer of ’21. But if China invades Taiwan by Labor Day, I swear to God I’ll catch a plane to Taipei, join the ROCAF and make Beijing pay for wrecking my second novel manuscript. I’ll be the Ghost of Taipei 😊

Worst case scenario for Red Blitz is that it becomes my second novel. US-China War moves into the #1 slot and at some point in the future, Red Blitz will see the light of day. Hope this doesn’t turn out to be the case, but as I’ve learned over the last 12 months, anything is possible.

So, tomorrow I’ll wrap up the review of One Second After and on Monday we start the primers for D+23. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. –Mike