I’m not really sure what to say here other than I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. In some ways, it seems like a lot longer; Ziva Payvan and some of the other major characters from the series have been living rent-free in my head for 17, 18, even 19 years at this point. I won’t bore you by repeating everything here, but if you ever want to learn more about how I got started writing and how these characters and their stories came about, you can check out My Story.
In other ways, it feels like 10 years can’t possibly have passed already. I think this can mainly be attributed to the fact that almost exactly 5 years ago (so halfway through this whole endeavor) is when I reformatted all my books, gave them new covers, and moved them all to wide distribution rather than remaining Amazon-exclusive. That whole process felt a bit like starting over.
Regardless of how long it seems like it’s been, it has indeed been 10 years to this day since I hit that big yellow PUBLISH button for the first time. It’s been an incredible 10 years, to say the least, full of all kinds of ups and downs. There was a time when I never would have imagined sharing my work with anyone except for a couple of close friends. The prospect of publishing in any manner was absolutely terrifying; you’re taking this thing you created and putting it out there for other people to see. You’re putting a part of yourself out there for other people to see. That’s an introvert’s worst nightmare.
But I’m so glad I did it. It was partly a matter of not wanting to let my work go to waste; I put a lot of writing time in before I actually decided to do anything with the finished product(s). But it has also become a matter of taking these things from my head that I think are reasonably cool and arranging them in a format that allows other people to enjoy them, too. And, sometimes still to my dismay, other people do enjoy them!
Take that, 18-year-old me.
Writing has never been particularly glamorous for me. You put in a lot of work and often don’t end up with much to show for it. Some indie/self-published authors have had a lot more success than I have; some have also had a lot less. But I figure, if I’m going to be writing anyway (because I can’t NOT write), I might as well keep putting it out there, and hopefully a handful of other people keep having fun with it.
So thank you to each and every person who has picked these books up over the years. YOU are truly what makes this whole thing worthwhile. I hope you’ll continue to stick with me for everything else still to come.
The To-Do List
What is still to come, you ask?
First on the agenda is one more novella that I’d originally intended to publish in conjunction with the other two I released this month, but it just didn’t take off the way they did. The idea was to create these standalone stories for a trio of secondary characters who have always been reader favorites; Emeri and Kat are done, and the third is Ken Oda. His story revolves around a mission he went on with his brother before the events of Fracture and will give me an opportunity to delve a little more into the inner workings of the Niiosian Mob. Look for this story later this summer!
Another idea is for a full-length novel starring a Durutian bounty hunter who ends up stranded on a backwater penal colony planet—she’s also related to another Durutian character we met in the main series. If you’re particularly eagle-eyed, you may have noticed a mystery planet called Cruth that has already been on my galaxy map for a while.
And then there will be a continuation for Ziva & Co. I’m looking at doing a trilogy of (or maybe even four or five) shorter novellas that tell one overarching story but each focus more on a particular character; I had this crazy thought that Adin should be the lead in the first installment (we’ll see lots of other familiar faces in this story as well). There are still a number of logistical issues that need to be worked out.
In short, anything I write in the future will take place in this same universe I’ve created, but we’ll be seeing some new faces and new locales.
10 YEARS OF BOOKISH THINGS
As a firm believer in transparency, I’ve put together this little series of infographics with some bookish stats and fun facts. Click each image for a larger view!
MAY 2024 RECAP
There are still a couple of days left in my annual sale if you’re interested in the Ziva Payvan series and haven’t hopped on board yet. If you’re a ZP veteran, have you checked out this month’s new releases? If you’ve already read and reviewed Fracture and Embers, I’d love it if you’d be willing to copy your reviews over to the Legacy Collection at Amazon and/or Goodreads!
22 years before Ziva Payvan and Aroska Tarbic brought down Dakiti, another HSP agent embarked on a daring mission in a battle against the Sardons. That agent’s name is Emeri Arion.
Don’t forget Ronan: Ziva Payvan Book 3 is now available in audio! Find it at Audible, Spotify, Apple, and all your favorite audiobook retailers.
The world of Chaiavis is a lawless place, but Kat Reilly navigates its streets with ease as she strives to help desperate people solve impossible problems. But on her latest job, can she save herself?
And the audio for Fracture: Ziva Payvan Legacy, Part 1 is currently in production! I’m expecting the first batch of chapters for review sometime this week.
This new ebook bundles Fracture: Ziva Payvan Legacy, Part 1 and Embers: Ziva Payvan Legacy, Part 2 into a single volume and includes a little bonus content. Check it out today!
I haven’t officially announced it yet, but The Ziva Payvan Collection (which includes the main trilogy) is also now available in audio! Retailer rollout is just being slow.
