After Friendship Games, What Comes Next?

First, some news: Friendship Games has a preliminary release date: February 21st! Knock on wood! Audiobook a little later, in March or April 2023.

Friendship Games was a fun novel to write, more so than Alter Road, I dare say. I learned a lot from writing Alter Road, and I think that comes through in Friendship Games. FG is faster-paced and more dialog-driven from the beginning whereas, in Alter Road, it took me awhile to find that dialog-driven groove.

Still, some pretty fun characters came to life for me in Alter Road (LeRon Gordon, the "People's Mayor," for one). Same is true for FG. In fact, the development of particular characters has been a real surprise and joy as a writer. I have some characters in FG that came to life as I went. I really enjoyed writing Rear Admiral Hashemi "Hash" Ghavam, of the Iranian Navy, for example, in FG. I think you will like him, flaws and all.

So what comes next? I had a vision in mind from the start of Alter Road, but as Alter Road developed - and now, Friendship Games - that vision has faded. The story has taken on its own trajectory and I really don't know at this point where it goes.

I have some ideas germinating, of course. And I am eager to get started on the follow-up to FG. The outline has begun. But this is a new place for me: starting anew and thinking about where I want to end up from here. 

So what comes next?

I don't know yet. And it's an unexpectedly fun place to be.