*Spoiler Warning for Dragoon and Chloe*
FAQs & Non-Spoiler Updates on Progress for Dragoon Novel #3
1: When will Dragoon Novel #3 be out?
My current goal is late spring-summer 2021. Dragoon and Chloe both came out in May (2018, 2019), so for consistency’s sake I’d like to stick to that release month. May 2021 will mark two years since Chloe was released and three since Dragoon, so I’m aware that the gap between Chloe and Novel #3 will be at least twice as long as Dragoon and Chloe. I appreciate your patience. This being the third book in the *shivers* Dragoon trilogy, it took me quite a bit longer to draft through and nail down the story than it did for the second book, at least it felt that way. Whatever the month, 2021 is the goal year.
2: How close am I to finishing the book?
I’m 3/4ths of the way through and hoping to complete the story and get it to my editor sometime this summer. As it turns out, writing a story set in a post-global disaster world during an actual global disaster makes it a little difficult to focus. But beyond current events, the story for this book is probably the most involved and has the most characters of the trilogy. In fact, I’m currently writing what I would argue is the biggest set-piece of the entire trilogy. I’m being extremely tactical with how I approach each scene and chapter, making sure everything lines up with the plot and characters, as well as with the events and character arcs of the previous books. Although only 3/4ths of the book is written, I know where the last 1/4th is going. It’s just a matter of getting it done.
3: Will the book be about the same characters from Dragoon and Chloe?
Yes. I won’t say who the main point of view character is at this time, but Anna, Samantha, Chloe, Sean, and Addie (the second Addie) will be at the center of the story, along with a couple other characters.
4: Will it be in the same setting as Chloe or go someplace different?
The story will be set in the same town as Chloe, Merenranta. However, I would not say it’s the same kind of story as Chloe. There are differences, as there were differences between Dragoon and Chloe. I don’t think I’m a writer who likes to tell the same type of story back to back.
Will this book be violent? Yes. How violent? Yes.
5: Will this book be more sequel or spinoff?
While Chloe is a sequel to Dragoon, as I was writing it I viewed it as half-sequel to Dragoon half-spinoff, since the focus shifted from Sean and Anna to Chloe and the setting from Marathon/Aegean Valley to Merenranta, with the timeline jumping by fifteen years.
As I’m writing Dragoon Novel #3 on the other hand, I view it more as a sequel than a spinoff, but with differences from the other books as I said before. If you’re someone who likes to reread books, and given the longer time between the releases, I would suggest rereading Dragoon and Chloe, or just Chloe if you only want to reread one, sometime before the third book comes out.
6: Will this be the last Dragoon novel?
I’m worried about the impressions and expectations I might set on readers by answering this question, and my own opinion on it is subject to change depending on where I am in the process with my current work. I will say, though, if a Dragoon novel #4 follows #3, it will probably be more of the sequel/spinoff nature, like Chloe was to Dragoon, rather than the sequel heavy nature of #3 to Chloe.
But my mindset there could change. In early days of trying to write a book, I thought I needed to plot out an entire series from beginning to end. I’ve learned through trial and error that process doesn’t work for me in the slightest. I have to devote all my concentration to one book and treat it as if I won’t write another one, even when I know deep down that’s probably not the case. So until #3 is finished don’t expect a firm answer on will there be a #4, but it is a question I will be pondering myself.
Thank you for reading this update and thank you for reading and supporting my books!
Stay safe!