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So, I'm nearly done with A Squire's Wish. I've got a few scenes left, and I have a much better idea about the themes for all the characters so I expect there to be certain extensive edits needed. It's currently around Chapter 17, so across November, I'll update with the new chapters for everyone.

I also (hope) to get another short story written while I'm away. Those are easy to punch out while with the family. So, comment for your favorite character and pick either serious or humorous scene. 

Lastly, just hit the scene with Roxley & John. Stop reading if you don't want spoilers right now.

I'm waiting...

And yeah, if you don't want to see the behind the scenes aspect of my thoughts of the characters, stop reading here too.

Okay. So, this is just some side thoughts and a look at the backend. Lana & John have always been doomed in my mind. I kind of foreshadowed it in book 1, with how 'bad' John is at relationships. He's obsessed, with both his personal quest and the System. Lana on the other hand I've always seen as needing something ore stable. She's someone who has always built things, nurtured them, guarded them. From her initial business to Richard to the settlements. To me, it always made sense that at the end of book 6, she'd be on Earth while John runs off.  

On the other hand, Roxley & John have always written their own story. I NEVER expected them to hit it off on first meeting. They just wrote themselves. But, for much the same reasons that Lana & John don't work, they don't either in the long-term. We won't stop seeing him (foreshadowing here...:P) but he and John will never have a traditional, close relationship. Neither can afford it. 

Roxley, in his own way, is tragic to me. He's a character who is alone due to his circumstances rather than choice, the Skills, tech and attributes making him a master manipulator, but unable to ever trust that anyone can ever care for him. Thus. John and his ridiculous mental resistances.

But, editing their scene together, I'm hit by the concern of my sales / reviews. I know writing what I'm going to write, I'm going to see a backlash. Hopefully, those who dislike John being bi have stopped reading or gotten over it by now. A part of me is tempted to cut the scene out. 

But I think it'd be a disservice to the characters and the story. So it'll stay in. 

Comments

Gio Dude

Thanks for the update! As the one who initially complained about John and Lana's breakup, I appreciate the clarity. To me, that 'Doomedness' never really came through, and if anything, the relationship felt more inevitable to me, with what came across as Lana stabilizing John's anger, and John giving Lana something she could be invested in (not necessarily looking for stability, but something she could call hers). With what felt like the amount of time you put into the two of them making it work in the first place, and seeming lack of fights once they got together, it felt like they 'worked', and that it wasn't really tortured. Lana gave up her stability for john and followed him, and that's personally what I expected to continue, and there wasn't anything in book 5 that led me to think she'd give up on the only thing she cared about when she knew he wasn't dead. Could just be I'm an HEA guy, but that's why the breakup felt so abrupt. As far as Roxley goes, I'd say keep it in. I feel like the tortured teasing would continue no matter what, so whether or not they have a one-nighter, it didn't add or subtract to the relationship/story for me.

Robert Rosenthal

I thought he and lana were always doomed, I thought roxley was interesting especially since john seems otherwise not interested in guys, it was a good way to highlight the disturbing nature of "charisma" as a stat

Han Pol

Well we have books for Lana and Mikito somewhere in the making hopefully. So actually a serious Roxlay short story might be interesting and maybe fun, him reporting to his liege. Or meting with one of his political enemies or allies. like the dark elfs in book 3 or something alike. If not that then something regarding Mikito.

AlexG

It's interesting to read about your thoughts. And with the Roxley hookup thing, there have been sparks between them for how many books, now? It seemed like a reasonable event given all that, and no one can say we never saw that coming. Besides, bigots have enough people pandering to them, these days, so just write the books how you want. I will say, too, that in the first draft of the Patreon chapters I've read over the last few weeks, there was so little mention of any details about Lana's current "boyfriend" that I just assumed he would die off or become a non-issue later. It would be very satisfying to me if John and Lana ended up together, but honestly it would also be satisfying to me if John and Roxley ended up together instead, if it didn't seem forced.