So About That Next Good Intentions Book

Here it is, people. The moment you’ve been waiting for. This is the Tentative, As-It-Stands, None-of-This-Is-Set-In-Stone, I Will Turn This Car Around If You Kids Don’t Behave Update for Good Intentions III: Holy Shit Is That an Ice Weasel?

Many have asked. Most have been answered. A few may have been overlooked or fallen victim to a spam filter. I figured it’s time for a blog update and I’m a little too engrossed in writing GI3 to go for one of my more ambitious blog ideas, so here you go!

Good Intentions III is in progress. The rough draft is currently at 60,000 words. To put it into perspective, Natural Consequences is around 180,000 words and Dead Man’s Debt is a little over 170k. By those standards, I’m arguably around 1/3rd of the way through it…but I really, truly hope to God that it’s more like half.

“HALF?!” you say? “Does that mean you want it to be only 120k? Why would you do that to us?”

Well, I’m hoping for more like between 120k-150k, but the truth is I need to learn to write slightly shorter books so I can publish more often. Some of that is the simple economics of being a mostly-indie writer. The Indie market has changed a lot since I started, and I’ve done a poor job of keeping up with it. That said: I’ll write to where the story takes me, and if that includes a 30,000-word expansion of fireball-spitting mecha-penguins, I’ll do it.

“When will it be out?”

All I’m gonna say is that my goal is to publish this year and it’ll be out as soon as it’s done. Experience has shown that giving people a projected date only makes me into a liar. But I’ll definitely post a good chunk of it as a sampler (probably the first chapter) once I’ve had a few people read the completed rough draft.

“Okay but will there be an audio book and will Tess Irondale be back?”

Almost certainly but no guarantees on the audiobook, since Audible seems pretty happy with me so far. As far as Tess: God I hope so! She was down with narrating the audio for Life in Shadows, so I’m guessing she’ll be down with this, too. And I love working with her! She’s the best.

“Are we gonna see Taylor again this time?”

Yep. She’s here. The whole crew is in this one so far, except Amber, but I expect she’ll turn up before it’s all over.

“Whatever, tell me what this book is gonna be about! You were fucking with us about the ice weasels, right?”

*Sigh* Can’t fool you guys. Currently there are no ice weasels, and even if I wind up including some they won’t be prominent enough to merit an inclusion in the title. (I don’t have a title yet.)

I’m reluctant to tell all that much, but I will say that GI3 opens up with Christmas following the events of the previous books. It builds off of the events of the previous novels and the first & fourth stories in Life In Shadows. We’re going to see more of Molly and Onyx’s magical “neighbors,” along with what I expect will be a pretty big expansion into the world outside Seattle and the ongoing struggle within the Pit.

Also demon panhandlers.

And undead terrorists.

And an apocalyptic cult of sorcerous doomsday-preppers.

And problematic ex-boyfriends from Hell. Possibly literal.

And surely some explicit sex. Less than in previous books, because reasons, but I think by now it’s safe to expect that from this crowd.

And conspiracy to commit rampant promiscuity. And gambling. Also eye-gouging. Definitely some illegal use of firearms. Probably grand theft. Absolutely Too Much Information from grandparents. Couple MacGuffins. At least one car chase. Arguably assorted acts of espionage and/or treason. More than likely some dismemberments and maybe a decapitation or three. Presumably some classist snobbery. Guaranteed murder. Arson kinda goes without saying. Maybe some awkward confessions. Could be some sexual frustration. Might be some choices that could permanently alter relationships. Grave personal sacrifices seem inevitable, weather permitting. Oh, and Alex isn’t sure where he is, but he just woke up in a dumpster surrounded by fire and cannibals and magical bullshit, so he’s betting he’s not gonna get his first homework assignment in on time.

I could say more, but I wouldn’t want to give anything away.

43 thoughts on “So About That Next Good Intentions Book

  1. Jimmy

    Shorter but more often sounds good to me. Getting Tess Irondale as the narrator will be great. Looking forward to whatever you can publish.

  2. Amarus

    My God it sounds glorious! Always love the disclaimers, they really get you in the mood of the book.

    BRING ON THE ICE WEASELS!!!

    *addendum, totes understand the need to keep up with the publishing curve, you do what you have to, I’m sure even thought we will whine and complain, at the end of the day we will patiently wait for your awesome books to release.

  3. Alexander

    This is great news! Looking forward to more news on this but… Now I am kind of hung up on the idea of Ice weasels. Oh well, with or without I am sure the book is going to be amazing.

  4. Shack

    Holy crap man… you’ve no idea how long I’ve waited (well I’m sure you do given that you write the books… but however long it is…was… Will be.. you can multiply that shit by a google and still come up a Amazon demon or two short. Please please pleaaaaaase don’t make me wait all year!

  5. Sean

    I love the disclaimers, they always give yo just enough information to get hooked and ready for the story but never give much away. I am really looking forward to this book, and looking forward to the mayhem that Alex and crew must survive.

    As for length of the books, so long as you don’t shorten them too much we won’t complain. Or at least I won’t because that means we will get sequels more often. I’m looking forward to reading your future novels.

  6. Robert

    > Arguably assorted acts of espionage and/or treason.

    Are we arguing whether or not they’re assorted or whether they’re espionage?

    (Also Alex totally doesn’t need any powers. It’s even more cliche than vampires!)

    1. Elliott Kay Post author

      He’s the best piano player west of the Mississippi. How is that not a superpower?

      The REAL strain on my own suspension of disbelief with this story is the notion that, because his girlfriend is so well off financially, he’s probably gonna get through college without any student debt. I mean demons and angels whatever, but seriously? College without massive financial hardship? Who the hell believes that nonsense?

      1. Katie

        Absolutely!
        I have fallen in love with GI / NC! I have laughed out loud and been caught snickering several times while reading them. Now I’m starting on all your other books. You definitely have one more avid fan!

  7. Rehcra

    The Way I see it, Alex already has four super powers.

    1. Succubus Cooties: Makes him fitter, more attractive, have more endurance, and of course all the other sex stuff. That not even all of it. It also allows him to go on almost no sleep.

    2. Past Memories: This is far more then it would imply by the simple fact that it includes muscle memories.

    3. Reincarnation: The whole reincarnation thing might not be a super power in the G.I. universe but the will Alex displays in actually going through with it is close enough and unusual enough that it might as well count.

    4. Pathological Heroic-tude: The key part to this isn’t the “Heroic-tude”; but it’s incessant pathological nature , that does not change, is (key). Even the accumulation of a massive extreme dose of Shock Therapy in the form of his past lives has had no altering affect of it.

    5. Ice Weasels: He can mentally control Ice Weasels and make them explode with his mind. I wonder if the two (exploding and controlling) are related?… But anyways, I don’t think it has came up much so far.

    Wait, I thought I said four super powers at the start?

    -rehcra

  8. McDiel

    So, when can we expect that book about fireball-spewing mecha penguins? Will that be in the GI universe or in the Tanner universe? Who will be piloting the mecha? How big is it? Does it involve the japanese? Is it really a mecha, or are you confusing it with a gundam? Will giant mutated lizards also be involved?

    But that all aside, good to hear about GI3. Probably gonna take at least another year til we see it released, but I can wait. (And no, the twitching an eventual onlooker might see right now is certainly not because of said book. Not at all. Take your time.)

    Also, your disclaimers always crack me up. I would be disappointed if there wasn’t one in the next book 😀

    1. Elliott Kay Post author

      My impression is mecha is a genre term for giant piloted robot stuffs, and Gundam is a specific brand of mecha. Am I mistaken? A quick Googling of said issue would seem to back me up, but in truth this is not one of my major fandoms.

      1. McDiel

        Not mine either, I just wanted to focus on the giant flame-spewing mecha penguin instead of the ice weasel.

      2. Dylan

        Mech is just a genre name really. Humanoid robots are usually called mobile suits though some universes coin their own name. Gundam is a specific type of mobile suit, originally got the name because they’re made of Gundanium alloy. Sorry I’m a giant nerd I know.

    1. Elliott Kay Post author

      If you like my stuff, you’ll probably really enjoy the 20-Sided Sorceress series by Annie Bellet. Not smutty like mine, but it has much the same geek-friendly snark appeal. It’s also just plain really well-written.

      1. John Orange

        All of the Annie Bellet stuff I’ve read so far is good!

        I’ve also enjoyed Niall Teasdale’s various series – Thaumatology and Steel Beneath the Skin are the larger series, but his recent Fox Meridian near future police series is also very good

    2. Dylan

      Also not sure if it’s my place to chip in but I’d check out “Off to be the Wizard” by Scott Meyer. I’d recommend The Tome of Bill but mentioning vampire fiction on here might get me banned lol.

      1. HLynneRD

        It really should be called ‘The Tome of Sally’ :p but, yeah, it’s still an amazing tale to read 🙂 besides, GI has vampires, so I don’t see why that’d get you bonked out 😀

  9. David Cooper

    Christmas, huh? I bet there’s a flashback or something to Thanksgiving, and Rachel meeting the Momster! I’ve been looking forward to that one!

  10. Stache

    With regards to publishing on an accelerated schedule, it is understandable needing to “keep up” at least financially, but never let the crowd dictate your artistry. George RR martin deals with this on a regular basis (granted, his novels publish once a decade seemingly), but once they’re out, it’s totally worth it. Not trying to make comparisons in any sense of the word, so much s to say that it’s YOUR story, and if it takes more that 180K words to tell said tale, then dammit, take it. Obviously, those of us who are fully hooked fans continually hunger for more and if we had our druthers, we’d have a new book out each year. However, I think I can speak for us (the nameless fan base) in that none of us would have you make compromises in exchange for keeping up with the Indie market trends. To quote your book, “…Quality over quantity.”
    Whenever it comes out, no worries. Just keep rolling with them. It is a fantastic world, one that seemingly has endless possibilities.

    Thanks

    1. Why Do You Need To Know?

      And on that note, if finances become concerning, offer an “alternate” version with some extra artwork or something, and those of us with far too much disposable income will be happy to help 🙂

  11. paravia

    I’m already looking forward to this. And while I hadn’t heard anything before reading this post, I now wish also for Ice Weasels 🙂

    I can’t wait to read this whenever you finish it.

  12. Michael

    I still think you need to charge more for these. I’m also a fan of Benedict Jacka, for example, and he writes urban fantasy novels on the slightly smaller side (not sure of the word count but they feel smaller than any GI book) and sells them for like $8-$10 vs. your $3-$4. Perhaps I’m wrong, but you’ve got some pretty rabid fans (I’m one) and I just can’t imagine an extra $5 turning us off of getting the book, likely the day it hits Amazon.

    Anything to keep you writing more and doing the day job less.

  13. Rehcra

    It’s easy to say you would buy a good book at a higher price after you have read it. But I for one would probably never have tried GI in the first place if it cost over $5.99. Now, going forward I would but I have stopped reading series in the past because the price of a book went up but the quality went down. And the more I spend the high my expectations are going to be; so, it takes a better book just to even out the scales. Plus I like standard pricing, the raising the price feels kind of like a trap.

    A little afield, I have always liked the concept of an early adopters fee. So if the price of the book for the first few months to a year was significantly higher or a preorder system in which people could get the book at a higher price before it actually goes up on Amazon was introduced I would be fine with it as long as everyone knows the price point will eventually come back to standard. Preferably knows the exact date it will go back down. But that could have too high a diluting effect of the initual surge to be worth it unless you could pull off the pre-order thing.

    1. Michael

      Even $5.99 would result in EK getting considerably more revenue.

      It’s a shame he didn’t sign with Baen, as they do exactly what you propose vis a vis the pre-order system. They call them eARCs (Advance Reader Copy), and it came about because many of us were driving up the price of the old-style physical ARCs for David Weber on eBay months before the books came out. Now most authors with Baen can sell their book as an eARC, typically 30-60 days after the author-edited manuscript gets turned in, and the reader gets it a good 4-6 months before shelf date. Price is usually fixed at $15, plus you’re going to miss out on some of the polish the publisher’s editorial process puts on it, but it’s nonetheless very popular. I haven’t waited for the shelf date for a Weber, Ringo, Flint, Correia, etc., book in ages.

      Not that this matters for Good Intentions as it’s still self-published and we’re getting it as soon as he’s finished with it anyway, but the process does exist (for Baen, at least.)

      I don’t think the industry is sustainable at $3 a book. I want my favorite writers to write, not have to support themselves with a non-writing day job.

      1. Leon

        As I understand it Amazon pays royalties on a stepwise scale. Therefore pricing between 3-6? (I think) gets you a much higher return (more than double) then 7-10 or below 3. (I might be off on the range but it’s around there)

        Additionally, sales rank is an important advertising element on Amazon. Selling more copies can get your book more visible.

  14. Nate

    this has probably already been answered but i didn’t see the answer is timothy andres pabon going to do the audible for dead mans dept and is their a eta on the audible version i love the tanner Malone books and relisting to them while i work helps me get through my day.

  15. Patrick

    One thing I noticed is the lack of children or even thoughts of having them in the future. The discussion with Amber at the end of NC and discussion in GI about a demon not spreading sin means no kids. Not ,meant as a criticism, just a thought since that sounds like something else Alex never got to experience in prior lives and it seems that that would eventually become an issue to him. I would also think Rachael would at least put it out there to shock and her nature would possibly negate some of Lori’s. Even if there were no kids involved, the issue I would think would at least come up as Alex gets a little older, maybe in book 5 or so if not at an epic dinner with Mom.

    1. Elliott Kay Post author

      While I felt like the “no kids” issue was important to address with the succubus curse for a few reasons, I’m also generally just not interested in reading about parenting. That will largely be reflected in my characters. As my two “lines” go on (and as I write other things), there will surely be characters with children, but it’s not something anyone should expect out of the lead characters I have established so far.

      Alex, Lorelei, and Rachel aren’t capable of having kids, but they really aren’t interested, anyway.

      Tanner absolutely does not see himself as parenting material in the near future. 🙂

      1. Leon

        I was chatting with a friend about your book and she seemed skeptical that most doctors would perform a sterilization for a woman so young. I’d think something like IUD would be a lot more realistic. It has many of the same effects and can be removed later if the patient changes their mind.

  16. Justin

    Are we going to be seeing a, “Life In Shadows,” physical release at some point? My copies of “Good Intentions” and “Natural Consequences” are looking a little lonely on my book shelf.

  17. Oyinda

    Will Life in Shadows ever be available in print? I’ve been checking in frequently since January but I have not yet seen any sign of it being sold as a paperback.

  18. Angus

    I’ve read both GI an NC and I’ve come to greatly enjoy how long you made these books. Personally I say don’t try to keep it short, length and detail is a good change from the books that are under 300 pages

  19. Ben

    Part of what I like in the GI series is the very well writen erotic scenes – the mind always does a better job of builind a scene than images do, along with the thoughts and reactions of the characters. Most SF& F erotica tends to the tentacle and vampire or LBGT stuff. So don’t cut out or reduce much of what makes the series unique – well written stories that include explicit sex as approprite to characters and story line. I expect Heinlein or other “classic” authors would have not hesitated if they could have gotten away with it, when appropriate to the story. And it’s done so well in these books.

    Looking forward to the next in the series, as well as the “hard SF” books.

    Keep up the good work!

    1. David

      I gotta agree. Bring on the emotionally rich, fulfilling, explicit sex! It one the main things I enjoy about these books. Also longer books are better and I would definitely pay double the price. Also, I love it when Alex kicks ass!
      There… I think that covers it.

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