Hey everyone!
Now that the Empire of Talents trilogy is complete, I wanted to update you on my plans for the summer and share what I’ll be working on next.
Tomorrow I’m taking a 16-hour flight from Hong Kong to spend a week at my alma mater, Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and attend my first Colgate Writers’ Conference. I’ll stay in the dorms, meet a new group of writers, and revisit all my old haunts. I’ll also participate in an intensive novel workshop where I’ll receive feedback on a standalone novel I wrote last year. (More on that in a minute.)
I’ve never been to a weeklong conference like this, and it feels like I’m getting ready for summer camp. Colgate is located in the rolling hills of central New York State, and its historic campus is routinely named among the most beautiful colleges in the US. I haven’t been back since I graduated in 2009. At the time, I had zero plans to ever write a book or move to Hong Kong. Now I’ve just published my twelfth novel, I’m about to turn 30, and I’m a Hong Kong permanent resident. It’s amazing how much can change in nine years! This conference will be an opportunity to pause and reflect–and hopefully improve my writing skills!–before I hurl myself into my next project.
On that note, some of you may know that I usually write two books at once so I can put aside each draft for a few weeks without sacrificing productivity. Last year, my side project was a post-apocalyptic novel set in a different world than my Seabound series. It’s about a girl who wakes up from cryosleep 200 years after a comet destroys life on earth and discovers she’s the only survivor in her bunker–and maybe in the world. I’ll be getting notes on the manuscript during my conference and getting the story ready for you all to read (after I spend a few weeks visiting my family in Arizona).
The release of that book will hopefully tide you over until the launch of my next fantasy series, which is planned for a late fall release. The series is a spin-off of Steel & Fire featuring a new protagonist who will join Dara and Siv on a perilous adventure. The series will be my main project for the rest of 2018 and into 2019.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I’m also working on a Secret Side Project. I’ll tell you more about that as soon as I can!
Thank you all for continuing to read my stories. I’m so grateful to be able to share them with you.
Have a wonderful summer!
Jordan
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Jordan Rivet 