Progress

So, there was this plan to write only three novels in my series: Section 51, Department 51, and Unit 51. Well, there's been some major news and progress going on in the last few weeks, which is why my blog has been so stagnant. I'll explain.

For some strange reason, getting through Unit 51 had turned into a slog-fest. But, I finally made a breakthrough when I completely rewrote the first five chapters and went into an entirely different direction. Things sailed smoothly from there, taking directions that I never thought about until it came to that point in the story. I'm thoroughly proud of how Unit 51 turned out...until the ending came. I had broken one of my cardinal rules of writing. I ended the book on a cliffhanger. *hand slap*

Honestly, that was not my intension. I want to keep each book in the series around 65K words. When I looked at how this was going to end, there was no way I could shove the rest of the story into another 5K words to stay within my limits. Perhaps a smaller novella or a short story to wrap things up? Maybe 20K more words to end on a high note? Or how about a spin-off?

None of those were an option.

So as result, there will now be a Station 51. That makes four books total. I'm glad I chose this option because all of the open ends are being neatly closed instead jamming everything into one book and rushing the ending. I'm officially 15K words into it and there are so many ideas flooding through the gates that there might even be room for another book. But in order for that to happen, I need to see how these first couple of books will sell. Even though I'm writing for myself first, I'd really like to make a living wage off this, too.

If all goes well, I'll be touching base with the editor I've chosen tonight, and be ready to put out Section 51 by October. From that point on, I'll be working toward one a week. If all goes really well, I'll continue the series. We'll see.

My First Post

The title says it all, I guess. And like most bloggers I have no idea what to put here that might attract millions of followers and boost my ratings into the stratosphere. But I guess I can talk a little bit about myself and go from there.

My name is VG Harrison and you can find my website at www.vgharrison.com. I'm an author who likes to combine science fiction and fantasy and come up with hopefully some good books to read.

My series The Solstice Project is about how things like vampires and werewolves evolved from ancient alien races that crash-landed on the planet and eventually inbred with the humans of the time to become the creatures that they are today. One problem. Their ancestors are coming back and their plans are to bring their galactic war to Earth. Nobody knows who these aliens are, but by the third book they will. Either way, it's going to be one hell of a fight. Oh, and one more thing. Humans don't know that preternatural creatures exist, but the government does and has long before the Roswell Incident. After all, they've been cannibalizing the technology from crash-landed UFOs for decades and using it to create secret communities and military bases that look like they're from the 25th century. The heroine's name is Ava Frost and reluctantly, she's at the center of it all because of the alien microchip that's evolving her brain.

So where am I right now? My beta reader has been reading the first book in the series, Section 51, and has only gotten a few pages into it with her interest peeked. That's a good thing because I've been stressing like a madman. In terms of writing, I'm halfway through the first draft of the third book. So wish me luck that I can complete the thing by the end of next month. That's the goal, anyway.

There are three books in the series. Section 51, Department 51, and Unit 51. I'd like to continue with Space 51 and perhaps a few more, but if the first three books don't sell well, I'm not going to bother with a fourth. I have no idea when I'll release the books. I just know that they will be released on after the other. I'm thinking a week apart, but we'll see. I'm hopeful for no later than Labor Day weekend.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Don't be surprised if I'm short-winded on these things going forward, since this is my first blog. I just don't know what to say, but introducing myself and my books seemed like the logical thing to do.

Thanks for stopping by!