I want to take a moment and thank my FictionPress readers who have been with me since the beginning. What started as a story in a notebook when I was graduating high school has evolved over the years into a much more complex sequence of events than I ever imagined originally. Through trial and error, and with the help of your reviews, private messages, and enthusiasm, the scope of BeastKing Chronicles has grown far beyond what I could have reached alone.

Many of you have voiced that you are still hoping that further chapters will be posted. As of right now, my intent is to post through the end of Book 2 on FictionPress. I believe you deserve that closure for still holding on with me after all these years.

I do intend to make some changes from here on out, however. You have seen me go through revisions, and have even commented that you see the story improving with each revision. I appreciate your encouragement. I want this story to be the best that it can be. Over the last four or five years, I came to recognize that this story had outgrown my skill level. Since 2019, I have been looking for ways to level up my writing and, with it, elevate my manuscript to a publishable level. At this stage, I am pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in fiction novel writing, to this end.

I am about ten chapters into a rewrite of Book 1, and I admit, it has been like pulling teeth since March. I am reaching a stage where I need beta readers who have been with me since the beginning to tell me what is working and what is not. Specifically, I would like readers who could tell me whether they feel a character is acting out-of-character in the beginning of the series, based on what they know of later events and the sense they have already developed about the characters, their personalities, and their reveals. I am incorporating a revenge plot, a Fantasy subplot, earlier Pandora actions, and a fair bit more characterization for Bre. But that is not the only new content to which you would be privy, if you decide to beta-read. I have already begun writing into Book 3, and my current intention is not to post it on FictionPress, because I believe I will be much closer to publication by the time Books 1 and 2 are sorted. In other words, when I do take stories down from FictionPress for publication, you would get to keep reading. And I promise you, I haven’t even hit half of the plot twists and relational developments I have planned, so it will definitely be worth it.

If you are interested in beta reading, please either DM me on FictionPress or submit an “inquiry” on my Authorship page, accessible on the top navigation bar on this site.

I am also excited to announce I have some emerging short stories, which I will be seeking to publish on platforms other than FictionPress. Two novellas are emerging from the BeastKing Chronicles world, simply because they may not fit within the scope of Books 2 and 3. They will be treated as part of the series, featuring the same main cast of characters, and thus will be directly referenced within the main books. One novella is set to take place between Books 2 and 3, as a stage-setter. Major romantic developments between Rome and Bre will be happening in there, so don’t miss it. The other novella features Kitiora. I’m not a big fan of switching to main characters. But as a “chapter,” this would have had to be written in Kit’s POV, and (on purpose) I did not structure my novels to accommodate that kind of random POV shift. Let’s just say, once Kit decides to finally stop sitting out the dating game, she grossly underestimates the identity of the man she chooses for a one-night stand in the face of what seems to be the end of the world as they know it. Even Rome and Bre are unnerved by her choice. Though, it may take someone getting stabbed next to her for her to realize why.

I also have a short story about a water dragon and a village girl, playing off of the classic girl-offered-to-dragon and beast-vs.-lord tropes. Because it drops very quickly into a one-night stand before tapering up to actual Romance, I’m going to have to classify that one as either Erotic Paranormal Romance or Erotic Fantasy. But it is not sex only. You know me: Nothing can be that simple. Not even Kit’s oneshot.

I also have a planned short story about a dragon and a bard. And one about a dragonfly castle. And one about the boogie man. I doubt any of these will turn into full-fledged novels. Not that anything I write doesn’t have that potential. After all, BeastKing Chronicles started off as only a one-liner idea.

The story that very well might turn into a novel is Poppin’s story, Fire and Lyra. Once upon a time, I was forced to create short stories for undergrad courses, which I had never seriously attempted prior. It birthed the water dragon story and the aerial dancer story. Poppin is the aerialist. He’s also a transient kleptomaniac with portal-jumping abilities. (Because, you know me: I can’t just make a normal character. That would be boring. I don’t do boring characters. He has to be a drug-addicted, flame-dancing fire god descendant who hangs out in rafters like a bat.) Poppin’s story isn’t a Romance—not even in subplots—unlike pretty much every other story I have ever written, whether seen by others or hidden away. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who, you might favor some of his travels on his way to retrieve the box he stole that got stolen from him. Right now, it’s a serial, with each short story acting as a publishable standalone. Read in sequence, they would create what may eventually equate to a novel-length work.

Throughout the next year, I intend to submit short stories to contests and journals. These will likely include shorter ideas not listed here. If any stories are chosen, I will post here and on Twitter to notify you so you can go read them.