Good evening, afternoon, morning — whatever the time may be. So I’ve got a few updates to go over in regards to both The Ripper and Afterworld. I’ll start with the disappointing news. I’ve had to delay The Ripper by a little less than a month to January 15th, 2021. There are two reasons for that: the first, my distributor wanted the complete draft to get to all store platforms ten days in advance. I’m currently working on the chapter before the last. So, If I were to pull some fantastic writing numbers, I could maybe finish this up by Saturday, but then I would only have five days to edit. This is just a recipe for disaster, and I’ll surely find something I need to change after those initial five days of editing and rush to make an updated version right away. I don’t think anyone wants that. I certainly don’t. I assume the vast majority of you who want to read the book in its epic dark fantasy horror glory on the first time around don’t want that either.

This leads me to the second reason for delaying: editing. I want to make sure everything is edited up and flows nicely, just as well as Afterworld has done. I want you to enjoy a great book (no book is perfect, but hopefully I can at least make this one great for you!) I got a lot of positive feedback on Afterworld that has pushed me to make my second book. I know there’s only a few of you out there at the moment. Still, I appreciate every one of you, my readers, significantly as I continue to expand on this gigantic universe.

The second update is more of one that I would call expected. The audiobook for Afterworld is still in its remaster phase. (I know, I know, I’m disappointed too). The person I have working on the edits between him doing them, and me marking them we’ve both been busy during this season + with everything else going on. I’m hoping to have this out by February at the latest. I will do my damnedest to get that done, but that depends on both mine and his schedule; both of which is an unknown variable at this time.

Finally two bits of useful/exciting news. I started (though haven’t had time to continue) to recreate The Desperado’s Tale cover from scratch. I think this design as it is now is already looking exponentially better than the last. In case you missed the last blog post you can check the rough outline (which will still probably change a little bit) in the artwork section of the website. https://nextlifeuniverse.com/artwork 

Last but not least, while it is a small award, it was one that was unexpected and I’m happy to accept it. Afterworld has been honored with the Literary Titan Silver Award. I’m grateful to have won this on my very first story. This award, along with the feedback provided from reviews and your messages has been very warming to me. I will continue to do my best to give you a remarkable story to enjoy out of The Ripper. He has a significant role to play in this universe, and while his methods may be a bit over the top, I hope you’ll check it out. 

I know these updates have been slower, but I’ve just been working hard trying to get The Ripper book taken care of. Thanks once again for your support, every little bit helps. Remember as always, stay posted!