In Hope's Debt, Sever Squad deals with the aftermath of their assault-and-rescue on Dynas, finding that it's not so easy when you turn on a massive, galaxy-spanning company with a penchant for murder.
The squad lands on Wexer, a fringe world with a lotta rocks and not much else going for it. As a place to find a few jobs on which to build a reputation, there aren't much worse. But you can't count on Sever's misbegotten group of war-torn fighters to take things as they come, and Wexer's blasted setting is no different: one heckler on the street leads to a potential contract and all the strings that come with it.
Strings that, turns out, might lead all the way back to people Sever Squad never wanted to see again.
Hope's Debt comes out next week, and you can pre-order the ebook version or snag the paperback right here!
It's hard, as an author, to put a pin in exactly what happened with Sever Squad. I used the general concept, and much of the first story in Drop Zone as a cathartic exercise, a chance to bring out and expunge the slam-bang story demons haunting me as I worked through more complicated (at first, anyway) plots in The Hero's Code and The Far Horizons series. Like grabbing the tequila and taking it straight from the bottle to break up the cocktail mixing.
But, you know, I found I actually really liked that tequila. Or, uh, Sever Squad. Their brash antics and developing histories kept me intrigued as they rampaged around Dynas, pulling me into a bigger adventure than I'd expected. Now I'm hooked in, funneling between Eponi's snark, Sai's cautious conflicts, and Gregor's big hammer as they fight through the galaxy searching for cold hard cash.
That's why, over the next few months, you'll see one book after another coming out in this series until it's done. Really, that's going to be the method I take from here on out - wrapping a series at a time - just because it's easier to track, easier to fall in love with the characters, and, I'm sure, more fun for all of you out there to get a completed story in your hands sooner.
I'm not sure which series I'll be tackling after this one, but I'll let you know here!
Lastly, just a jot about posting frequency. As most readers know, 2020's been a bit of a mess on all fronts. For me, personally, I've had it better than many out there and am, in no way, complaining about the privilege I have in being able to write crazy outer space stories where a dude in power armor gets to swing a giant hammer.
But, nevertheless, writing those stories takes time and energy. Given the choice between the two, I'll always be putting my efforts into the novels first and foremost. Doesn't mean I won't be stopping by here often, but if you're not seeing posts on the blog, it's because I'm burning through the stars with my favorite crew.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!
