I’ve been giving some thought to the longer term, and here’s what I’m hoping to do:

Complete Realms of Light in the spring of 2009.

Start The Final Calling in the summer of 2009. This is the Ethshar novel that finally wraps up the overall story of warlocks. I haven’t actually written any of it as yet, but I have a decent outline, and today I worked out the exact structure of the opening and how it’s going to work. I won’t start by posting Chapter One for this one, but by posting a short story called “The Warlock’s Refuge.” That story will also be a prologue to the novel, and a bridge connecting it to Night of Madness. The Final Calling will complete the warlock arc of the Ethshar series; all told it’ll be four novels and a short story: Night of Madness, “The Warlock’s Refuge,” The Unwilling Warlord, The Vondish Ambassador, and The Final Calling.

When that’s done — probably early in 2010 — I plan to serialize a science-fantasy novel called Vika’s Avenger. It’s already written; I wrote it on a whim, but ran into the fact that the current publishing market is in such bad shape that my agent doesn’t think I can get any more money for it from a real publisher than I would serializing it. This may change; if market conditions shift, it may yet wind up with a traditional publisher. If not, well — it’s twenty-eight chapters, so it’ll take six and a half months, assuming readers like it enough to keep the money coming in.

After that, late in 2010 I hope to start another Ethshar novel, either The Sorcerer’s Widow (which, despite the title, is about a pair of swindlers who may become recurring characters), or Azraya of Ethshar. I have an outline and half a chapter of The Sorcerer’s Widow, and a detailed outline of Azraya of Ethshar. Azraya has the interesting feature that several scenes in it have already been seen from different viewpoints in With A Single Spell and Taking Flight; I’m not sure whether that’ll make it easier or harder to write.

All schedules are approximate, since I don’t actually know how long three of these four novels will run, and there may be delays while I, you know, earn a living, or do other stuff. Also, any or all of these may be delayed — any time I don’t get enough money to post a chapter, that pushes everything back.

This is all subject to change, but it’s what I have in mind at the moment, and I thought some of you might be interested.

Next chapter at: $1,200
Current total: $1,135