When’s Caina coming back?!? and other scheduling questions

Now that CLOAK OF DRAGONS is out, people have been asking 1.) What will my next book be, and 2.) When am I going to get back to Caina already?

My next book will be MALISON: DRAGON UMBRA, and I’ll get back to Caina & the GHOSTS towards the end of the summer. It’s taking me longer than I planned because MALISON is bigger than I expected. When I planned it out, I had the bright idea that I would release the MALISON books at the same time as the SEVENFOLD SWORD books. In retrospect that was a bad idea because it exceeds the limits of my available energy. But I do need to finish MALISON, since it lays the groundwork for my next epic fantasy series.

So, here’s what the next few months of publication will hopefully look like, God willing:

May: MALISON: DRAGON UMBRA.

June: SEVENFOLD SWORD: SOVEREIGN.

July: Final MALISON BOOK.

August: First book of new epic fantasy series.

September: GHOST IN THE VAULT.

Since I’m not going to get there for a few months, what will GHOST IN THE VAULT be about?

Short, pithy answer:

Lord Corbould sues Caina!

Longer answer:

Lord Corbould Maraeus is the most powerful lord in the Empire, and his support has kept the Emperor on the throne during the civil war with the Umbarians. But Lord Corbould still hasn’t forgiven Caina for the events of GHOST IN THE SURGE, and he will take vengeance on her if he can.

But. The ambassador of the Shahenshah of Anshan has disappeared in Malarae. The ambassador is one of the Shahenshah’s numerous bastard sons. And the Empire is locked in a struggle to the death with the Umbarians. This would be a very, very bad time to offer a grievous insult to the powerful Shahenshah. Such as by, for instance, losing the Shahenshah’s ambassador, who also happens to be one of his favorite bastard sons.

So Lord Corbould is willing to forgive and forget…if Caina can work the minor miracle of figuring out just what the devil happened to the ambassador…

-JM