Reem
asked
K.D. Edwards:
May I ask, when can we expect The Misfit Caravan to be published? because there are two different dates on Goodreads, one in a few months and the other in 2026 😱😱😱!!! I am freaking out a tiny bit😭💔!!!!
K.D. Edwards
I spent a lot of time thinking about how to answer this question. So, so much time. There are a lot of factors at work.
For example, I put a ton of time into my outlines. (I've been working on the outline for Book 4 for over 10 years now.) I also am not a fast writer -- though I have tried so hard to improve. Also, and maybe most pertinent of all, the basic reality is that most publishing doesn't pay enough to live off. Most small authors need to be both writers and....well, something else for 40 hours a week.
(I actually love my "something else" -- it's a fun, intense, and demanding day job. Though I dream and dream and dream of being a full-time writer someday soon.)
Another basic and personal reality for me is that I don't have a very rewarding relationship with my print and ebook publisher. It's something I try hard not to talk about publicly, but it's a real and present frustration in my life.
I don't know why they released a pre-order link and a pub date of May 2024. If May 2024 was ever a reality, it certainly wasn't when that link got posted. I also don't know why they shifted it to January 2026 -- I can only guess, since they didn't communicate the change to me in advance.
The moment I heard it had happened, I knew a lot of readers would be upset -- and I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to address it in advance. This bond I've made with a lot of you? You, the reader, many of whom have become real and online friends? It's one of the coolest things in my life. I had no idea how much I'd cherish this connection, but I do, and I feel like I've let you down. It's a horrible feeling, even if some of the decisions are out of my hands.
Anyway.... Since I can't control the pub date, the only thing I can do is to be honest with you about my process and milestones.
Here it is:
I spent about 18 months on the final outline for Misfit Caravan. I think -- I really hope -- it may be one of my best books yet. (At the very least, it's making me laugh A LOT, and I almost never laugh out loud when I'm reading my own writing. Putting them all into two RVs -- and throwing in someone like Lord Wheel -- has been a freaking joy.)
I am now fully in "writing mode." The manuscript is almost exactly half done, and I'm happily wallowing in the second half this weekend. I'm writing or preparing what I call "scene notes" every day. I genuinely hope to finish this over the next ten to twelve weeks, with a beta reading process that begins even sooner than that.
I'll let you know when all that happens. All of it. I'll let you know when I turn in my book, and I'll let you know what happens every stage after that. I usually update readers on Twitter -- but I'll try to remember to post here as well.
I am hoping that the shift to January 2026 was just the publisher pushing out the date as far as possible until they have an actual book in their hands to set a more realistic date. Either way, like I said, I'll be honest about my milestones going forward. Unless a bus hits me, this is my creative life's goal -- to get all 9 books in people's hands. There is so much ahead -- Dragons! Storms!
(That's not a secret -- they're in the names of the next two books: The Dragons Rise, and The Living Storm.)
More soon, I hope. I'll keep in touch.
KD
PS - Oh, and my tentative working title for Book 7 is "Atlantis Reborn." I've been playing with a lot of words like reborn. And resurrection. ;)
For example, I put a ton of time into my outlines. (I've been working on the outline for Book 4 for over 10 years now.) I also am not a fast writer -- though I have tried so hard to improve. Also, and maybe most pertinent of all, the basic reality is that most publishing doesn't pay enough to live off. Most small authors need to be both writers and....well, something else for 40 hours a week.
(I actually love my "something else" -- it's a fun, intense, and demanding day job. Though I dream and dream and dream of being a full-time writer someday soon.)
Another basic and personal reality for me is that I don't have a very rewarding relationship with my print and ebook publisher. It's something I try hard not to talk about publicly, but it's a real and present frustration in my life.
I don't know why they released a pre-order link and a pub date of May 2024. If May 2024 was ever a reality, it certainly wasn't when that link got posted. I also don't know why they shifted it to January 2026 -- I can only guess, since they didn't communicate the change to me in advance.
The moment I heard it had happened, I knew a lot of readers would be upset -- and I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to address it in advance. This bond I've made with a lot of you? You, the reader, many of whom have become real and online friends? It's one of the coolest things in my life. I had no idea how much I'd cherish this connection, but I do, and I feel like I've let you down. It's a horrible feeling, even if some of the decisions are out of my hands.
Anyway.... Since I can't control the pub date, the only thing I can do is to be honest with you about my process and milestones.
Here it is:
I spent about 18 months on the final outline for Misfit Caravan. I think -- I really hope -- it may be one of my best books yet. (At the very least, it's making me laugh A LOT, and I almost never laugh out loud when I'm reading my own writing. Putting them all into two RVs -- and throwing in someone like Lord Wheel -- has been a freaking joy.)
I am now fully in "writing mode." The manuscript is almost exactly half done, and I'm happily wallowing in the second half this weekend. I'm writing or preparing what I call "scene notes" every day. I genuinely hope to finish this over the next ten to twelve weeks, with a beta reading process that begins even sooner than that.
I'll let you know when all that happens. All of it. I'll let you know when I turn in my book, and I'll let you know what happens every stage after that. I usually update readers on Twitter -- but I'll try to remember to post here as well.
I am hoping that the shift to January 2026 was just the publisher pushing out the date as far as possible until they have an actual book in their hands to set a more realistic date. Either way, like I said, I'll be honest about my milestones going forward. Unless a bus hits me, this is my creative life's goal -- to get all 9 books in people's hands. There is so much ahead -- Dragons! Storms!
(That's not a secret -- they're in the names of the next two books: The Dragons Rise, and The Living Storm.)
More soon, I hope. I'll keep in touch.
KD
PS - Oh, and my tentative working title for Book 7 is "Atlantis Reborn." I've been playing with a lot of words like reborn. And resurrection. ;)
More Answered Questions
M'rella
asked
K.D. Edwards:
Another big fan of the series here :D *waves* (The 80ies mall was a delicious slice of book cake you offered, still smiling! :)) How did you come up with the characters' backgrounds? Will they play some significant role in the future or is it just a "fun fact"? Will ties to Sun Throne extend Brandon's life? There is an entity in the book that carries a loaded name - Rurik. Will it go anywhere or is it "just" a name?
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