UPDATE: Noble Dead Saga, Mist-Torn Witches, TNDS, etc.

It has been a while since any news or a new release for TNDS: Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga. A few questions about this have come in over the last few months. Time for a general update on all else as well…

Contracted novels always come first, for those are of primary interest to all readers. Dominating our schedule to date and for the previous season is finishing the initial manuscript for S3B5: The Night Voice, the final volume of the Noble Dead Saga. This is due in January, and we feel certain we will have it in on time.

The second to last volume, S3B4: First and Last Sorcerer is set to debut this coming January. Links to preorder locations (with “deals” at some) are already in the “Books” section with more to come.

In addition, another entry in Barb’s solo series will come available next May. MW3: Witches with the Enemy is also now listed in the “Books” section with some links for pre-order, and you can find some deals for it as well. At present, Barb is contracted for one more novel in that series, with more to follow hopefully.

As a side note, changes are also planned for NobleDead.org itself. This includes a new responsive template being developed by J.C. in spare time around writing.

He is also doubly busy in managing our other side endeavor of services for would-be and established authors at N.D. Author Services. There will be more to come over there—including new services—in the near future and into the new year.

Q: After the last book of the saga, what comes next?

Our contracts are typically for multiple books. The last one included the final two volumes of NDS plus one more. The extra one is for another collaborative work as yet to be finalized. It will be in the area of high/dark fantasy, like most of our works. It is planned as the first book of a series, but not like the saga with a multi-volume story arc.

Instead, we will turn to something more episodic where each book stands on its own, regardless of any connection through a set of primary characters / protagonists. That is all we can say for now, though we hope to have more to share in the new year.

Q: Are there any more “tales” coming?

The short answer is “yes”; the long answer is “yes, but…”

TNDS is our labor of love in spare time; we like writing those tales, but the truth is that most do not buy out the investment of time / resources need for all phases, singularly or collectively. Paid writing, like in any career, has to come first. We have an obligation to you (and our publisher) in this.

Once the current manuscript for the final NDS novel is out the door, we will take time to turn to TNDS for a look-see at what can be done.

Q: Is the “sequence” for Jan and Julianna (part of “Homeward”) finished, or are there more to come? What about Elena and Cooper (in “MisBelief”)?

Yes and no. There will definitely be at least one more story in the Elena series. Barb has it partially outlined now. She just needs time to write it.

The Jan and Julianna sequences did reach an overall closing, but we reserve the option to continue any sequence should something worthwhile come to mind. All sequences are always open for new additions (serial or episodic) but only when something worthwhile occurs to us.

The same goes for J.C.’s third addition to “Bones of the Earth,” which is already in process but was put on hold until work on The Night Voice is completed.

Q: Will there be anymore print collections of Tales?

Very unlikely. Our one experiment with Homeward did not prove worthwhile. We do not expect to make a profit off of “tales,” but we do require such to pay for themselves. That has not been the case with our first experiment in print for TNDS.

As always, if you have questions, then feel free to drop by our site and use the Contact section. For now, we hope to be a little more regular with our updates.

—Barb & J.C.