Sometimes this question comes up

My very good friend and fellow geek Anthony (hi Anthony!) asked me via facebook when I plan on writing a sequel for Thagoth. If he'd asked me a year ago, I would have told him 'never'.

In actual fact, I've got material featuring Amra and Holgren written, sitting on one hard drive or another. None of it is finished, though the different projects are in differing states of completion. Some just sketches, one, if memory serves me correctly, at about 15k words and roughly plotted out to the end. But the brutal truth is, every time I think about this stuff, the question comes to my mind: why write a sequel (or a prequel, as one of them is) to a book that virtually nobody wanted to read in the first place?

On the one hand, Thagoth remains a sore spot on my writer's psyche. I could worry at it like a dog who bites himself till he bleeds, or I can move on to other stuff.

On the other, I like Amra and Holgren. I like writing about them. They're fun and interesting characters, and the scrapes they get into are amusing even when they're terrifying. From a business perspective, if I choose to pursue fame and fortune via Amazon a la Hocking, I stand a better chance with series characters.

What it ultimately boils down to is the ethos of the book and the characters. The main theme of Thagoth (and yes, it does have one) is bloody-minded persistence = survival, and possibly even success. Endurance trumps power. You do your best, and never, ever give up. You spit in the eye of those who can crush you like a bug, even if you have to run away like a littlle girl immediately after. That's what Amra and Holgren are all about.

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For a few years now I simply couldn't write in that vein, not believably, because I simply didn't believe it anymore. I find it a bit ironic that two characters I created were stronger than I was.

Yes, I said 'was'.

This last year of my life has reminded me of that ethos. Sometimes being done a deep wrong gives you a gift, all unsuspected.

So. Will there be more adventures featuring Amra and Holgren? Maybe. I've got a lot of writing projects on the slate, and the resumption of my writing career is still nascent. I have eight years' worth of material to sort through and judge as to whether it's viable to continue (my problem was never starting a story, just finishing one). I have some experiments to conduct, to see how best to write now. I'm a different person than I was before, and I suspect a different writer. Certainly a more experienced person.

So, Anthony, this is a long-winded way of saying 'maybe' :)