Laid-off from job( old job, not my current ), tenosynovitis, infected tooth and now my comic artist dropping out( round 3...4? Honestly stopped keeping track )--WELL AIN’T MY YEAR JUST A BUNDLE OF JOY!
In more serious news, yes you did read that title correctly, WE ARE SO BACK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! After shelving America Stranded and watching it collect dust, seeing the odd new comment come in every few days, but most importantly ( and let's be real, I teared up a little ), seeing the support I got for leaving/going on hiatus, and the continued support afterward. I genuinely did not expect it--quite the opposite actually, I 100% expected to get flack for it. Imposter syndrome is one hell of a mental strain.
Getting back into the writing saddle has taken more time than I'd like to admit; excluding the tenosynovitis that knocked me out for a month. That said, Chapter 40 is nearly ready for release. Though before that, I want to explain a few things that will be changing going forward with America Stranded. These changes have been made for the betterment of the overall story, and while some will conflict with Volume 1, I plan on rewriting the whole damn volume anyways. This isn't everything that's getting changed, and I'll probably end up updating this at some point. But as of right now, these are the major changes to America Stranded.
- The entire America Stranded timeline is being moved up to 2041: I was made aware that I miscalculated my election dates and 2040 doesn't make sense if Dresden is the 49th president.
- Volume 2 will be starting in 2042: This is to move the plot along a bit faster and give access to more interesting encounters--things like The Autoriario Empire royal feast, Beastkin lands, Elven Forest, Greater North expeditions, etc.
- New language system ( no more "everyone speaks English because reasons": Generally speaking, languages will be broken down into Earth, Imperial/Human, Elvish, Beaskin and Dwarven. I will probably add a few more as the series progresses, but these are the main 5.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
- A much more focused camera/POV: Not making that mistake again! Volumes will be a lot more focused and tightly knitted. With most Volumes being able to boil down to "'X' group has a problem, we need to do 'Y' thing". A more traditional style, but a hell of a lot easier than how I was doing it before. Depending on what's going on, I may do a POV jump if it directly serves that given Volume, but don't expect the whiplash-style Volume 1 had.
- Way more 0.5 chapters: These chapters will be reserved for topics that would be regarded as info dumps and/or much-needed explanations over certain topics ( such as magic, or historical events ).
- The complete removal of The Drone Carrier: It did nothing, it was about nothing, never helped move the story in any way and just proved to be a pain in the ass to write. Not to mention I was made aware that the original artwork used for it has stolen art within it! In its place, however, is another superweapon... because I found it cool as hell. Arsenal Ships--specifically the 1995 module ( battleship classification ). Every Earth superpower will have 1-2 at their disposal; this time I actually have a plan as to where the BB-71 "USS Providence" will be used.
- A way more grim, aggressive, and cut-throat CIA: I know quite a few people didn't like how I had written the CIA so far--and honestly I agree, I made them... tame? By complete accident, that was just a lack of writing experience and me not doing my due diligence in making sure it made any sound logical sense.
Finally, I wanted to truly thank everyone that has stuck around. You didn't need to, yet you did. Since shelving America Stranded, it’s always left a sour taste in my mouth with how I left it. With Volume 1 being the trainwreck that it is. A lot of potential was wasted or straight up not utilized. Well, now I’m dusting this project off and going in for Round 2. This time with a more clear vision, and an even bigger desire to push through ‘The Marathon of the Middle’ ( if you’re a writer you know what I’m talking about ). Stay tuned, this Fall (Northern Hemisphere time ) is gonna be a riot!
P.S - Here's some commissioned artwork ( kinda old, but hey, art is art )
Volume 1/Main Cover
image [https://i.vgy.me/hbudX0.png]
Volume 2 Cover(s)
image [https://i.vgy.me/Budipw.png]
image [https://i.vgy.me/BMvRj7.png]
CIA Agents celebrating... something
image [https://i.vgy.me/49ujxi.png]