Having finished Sceptic and Deadline (at last!), work on the completely rewrite of Astronomicon book 1 is now underway in earnest. I’ve set myself the ambitious target of finishing the first draft by the end of July. That’s particularly tough as it’s currently only part planned.
I will keep a few of the characters, obviously including those who make it into the later novels in the series, but most will be replaced or extensively changed. Apart from improving the depth of the characters, I’m also aiming to reduce the cast by at least a third. One of the biggest causes of change will be replacing the old Elysian design with the vastly improved design I used for it’s sister ship in Behemoth. This has led to a cascade of major changes throughout the novel, completely changed the orbital insertion, the crash and mission of the survivors on the surface of the planet.
It’s always hard to predict, but I expect to the new version of the book to be 10-25% shorter. After talking to many readers, it’s become clear that the title “The Beginning” was not widely liked so the rewrite will have a new title AND a new front cover too. The new name will be released when I do a cover-reveal in a few weeks time.
If you would like to help support me while I tackle this job, please consider supporting me on Patreon.
The finished new version (after proofreading and editing) will be released for FREE on Amazon, directly replacing the current version.
