Sanctum Mod Remake Out for Beta

General

I’m happy to announce that the remake of my NWN adventure module, Sanctum of the Archmage 2: The Quest, is now complete and out for beta test. If all goes according to plan I should be able to post it for general release sometime next month.

The update includes version 4.2 of both Sanctum of the Archmage Chapter 1: The Sight, and Chapter 2: The Quest. When released they will both be included on my project page for The Sight, which will be updated to reflect that it now includes both modules.

The updates to Chapter 1 are mostly in the form of gameplay improvements. The changes to Chapter 2, however, constitute a remake that is similar in scope to the version 4 changes to The Sight. They feature new and re-built areas, new and expanded quests, new custom content, and lore changes to bring the story more in line with the novels. They also include a significant revamping of custom content to use the same integrated CEP and Project Q architecture as the first module.

Thanks to everyone for their patience. I hope you enjoy it!

Sanctum 2 Preparing for Beta Test

General

After a couple of weeks of fairly intensive work, I’ve (tentatively) completed work on the remake of Sanctum of the Archmage 2, now titled The Quest. After a play-test this week to make sure there are no major bugs, I’m going to prepare the module for beta-test and subsequent release. Anyone interested in participating in the beta test, please feel free to comment here, or to PM me on my NeverwinterVault account.

I’m also currently editing and working on production of the now completed and first full-length novel in the series, Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos. If all goes according to plan it should be available on Kindle toward the end of the summer, probably in September.

Work on Sanctum 2 Resumed

2 - The Quest, Dawn of Chaos, Gaming & Modding, Prologue to Chaos, Sanctum v4q

I’m pleased to announce that after a three year break to focus on my career and on writing my novels, I am returning to work on completing the remake of my NWN adventure module, Sanctum of the Archmage 2: The Quest.

Formerly released under the name Sanctum of the Archmage 2: The Miracle Worker, Act I, the second chapter of my adventure module series has been unavailable for the last two years since IGN’s Neverwinter Nights Vault went off-line in the spring of 2014. The most recent version, v3.4, was also incompatible with the v4 remake of Chapter 1 that I released in 2013. I had wanted to release a remake of Chapter 2 as well, but was forced to put that work on the shelf to focus on re-booting my career, and on writing the saga’s novels.

I have worked sporadically on the remake over the last three years, though. And there is still some additional re-work that I want to do, particularly in re-making the “flying areas” at the end using the wonderful “Sanctum Flying Skyscape Tileset” that Estelindis built for the series. But I’ve decided that can wait for a future update. And without those changes, I think that another month or so worth of work would bring it close to a releasable (or at least beta-testable) state. So I’ve decided to move forward with that as a plan.

With that said, my work on the series over the next months should be as follows. In June I expect to be finishing work on The Quest, and completing my full edit of Dawn of Chaos. In July and August I hope to get the novel out for a professional edit and to finish production, and to set up a beta test for the module remake. In September I’m hoping to be able to release both to the public.

After that, I’ll work on remaking the flying areas for The Quest, and getting started on my next projects: producing an audiobook version of Prologue to Chaos, and starting work on my second novel: Wrath of the Peregrine King.

I’m thinking that should keep me busy for a while. 🙂

Dawn of Chaos: Draft Cover

General

I’m pleased to present the first draft of the cover to my upcoming novel, Dawn of Chaos:

The titling is rough and only notional for now. The final version will be more consistent with the series intro, Prologue to Chaos. My illustrator Charles Imbro is is working on a color version of it for the final cover. I’m also planning to include the black and white illustration in the text in the appropriate scene.

Dawn of Chaos is Complete

Dawn of Chaos

I am very pleased to announce that I have completed writing Dawn of Chaos, the first full-length novel in the Sanctum of the Archmage Saga. The final draft comes to about 143,000 words, or just over 400 “paperback equivalent pages.”

Now that the book is finished, the next phase of preparing for publication begins. I’m currently going through a technical edit of the full manuscript to identify and correct typos and misspellings, inconsistent word usage, and the like. After that I’ll do a full read-through to give the book a stylistic edit and make sure the final version is as polished as possible. I’ll also be looking to hire a copy-editor to review it. And I’ll be working with my illustrator, Charles, to finalize the cover and in-line drawings.

I’ll also be working on starting to put together a “marketing plan.” This will involve a lot of the kind of things described in the self-publishing references I’ve been studying such as the terrific Write, Publish Repeat, as well as updating my website and establishing an author platform (on Amazon at least).

So when will it be published? That will depend on how much time all of the above takes, but I’m estimating roughly three to four months. That makes my current target to release Dawn of Chaos on the Kindle store sometime this August.

Writing the Last Chapter!

Dawn of Chaos, Sanctum: The Novels

Chapter 24 of Dawn of Chaos — now titled Homecomings — is complete. I’m now officially writing the last chapter, The Seeds of the Rebellion. It will finish tying up the events of the first novel and set the stage for the second, Wrath of the Peregrine King.

The book now stands at 133,754 words, or about 382 “paperback equivalent pages” (PEP). My current estimate for the final length is about 139,000 words, or just shy of 400 PEP. I’m hoping to be able to get through the editing, production and marketing activities needed over the next few months, and to publish it sometime this summer.

Chapter 23 Complete

Dawn of Chaos, Sanctum: The Novels

I’ve now completed writing Chapter 23 — The New Order — of Dawn of Chaos. Only two chapters remain and the manuscript will be complete. Next up is Chapter 24, The Seeds of the Rebellion.

The book now stands at 129,373 words, or about 370 of what I call “paperback equivalent pages” (PEP). I’m hoping the wrap up the last two chapters fairly quickly. My current estimate for the final length is about 136,000 words or just shy of 390 PEP.

EDIT: I’ve decided to rename Chapter 24 “Homecomings,” and to use “The Seeds of the Rebellion” for the final Chapter.

Climax Complete

Prologue to Chaos

The climax to Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos is now complete.

I just finished writing Chapter 22 – The Last Stand – which is the last chapter of the the climax. Only a three more relatively short chapters of the denouement remain, and then the first draft of the novel will finally be done.

Writing the Climax

General
Momentum is picking up on writing the climax to Dawn of Chaos! “The Last Stand” was running long, so I decided to break all but its last and climactic scene out into a separate chapter. The result was Chapter 21: The Terrible Truth, and it’s now complete. Chapter 22: The Last Stand will complete the climax. After that all that remains are the three chapters of the denouement.
 
The book is working out to be longer than I’d planned, but in a good way. The current word count with four chapters to go is 116,577 words. The final draft will probably end up around 130k.
Also, stay tuned for an announcement! I’m hoping soon to be able to release a first draft of the cover art for the new novel.

Dawn of Chaos

Fall 2015 Update

2 - The Quest, Prologue to Chaos

It’s been a while since my last post about the status of my writing projects, so I thought it was time to offer a quick update.

As of this morning the word count on Dawn of Chaos, the first full-length novel in the Sanctum of the Archmage Saga, stands at eighty-eight thousand, six hundred and seventy one (88,671) words. After some chapter and scene restructuring that I realized was needed to not rush the climax, that puts me in the middle of Chapter 17 out of 24, with fifteen out of a planned total of sixty-one scenes left to write. Since the chapters and scenes tend to shorten as the story moves into the climax, I’m estimating that this will probably involve another twenty to twenty five thousand words, with the final manuscript ending up somewhere in the range of a hundred and twelve thousand.

Another item of good news is that some of the unfortunate work-related distractions that were taking my focus away from writing are continuing on a path toward… well, not doing that quite so much anymore. I finally managed to complete a career change this summer into a position working in Data Science. As I settle in to that, I expect to be able to devote more of my spare time once again to my writing projects.

As for when Dawn of Chaos should be ready for publication: I think it’s likely now to be sometime early next year. On the one hand I’ve gotten much better at writing quickly and well, and can probably turn out at least a scene a week going forward. On the other I’m recognizing a need as the story evolves not to rush the climax, and I still have to figure out how to provide for a final editing of the book. I’ve gotten very good at being my own editor, but I’m not certain I should trust myself to do the full job on my own.

As for my modding work: I’m still planning to finish the v4 remake of The Quest (formerly The Miracle Worker, part I) after Dawn of Chaos is complete. Sadly, though, I think that will have to be my last foray into modding the story, at least for some time.