After a bit of delay for some personal issues and family stuff that crept in, I can finally take some time to write up a quick progress report for the fifth book in the Galactic Mage Series.

For starters, the first draft of Dance of Destinies is written and has been through beta reading already. The real delay has been in getting back to it to work on revisions. I’ll be cutting down some chapters that I think ran a little long and cleaning up the text with this round of revision. I hope to be done with this pass by September sometime, and then, depending on how it comes out, I’ll either go through it again or call it ready to be sent off to my editor. The draft right now is very clean, so I am optimistic that it will go smoothly. Plus, this book is a little shorter than the last, which obviously speeds things along.

Deeqa Daar – Dance of Destinies (Galactic Mage series #5)

The cover art is coming along very nicely, as you can see above. Here are some others, a close-up of Deeqa Daar (right), who looks gorgeous. Cris Ortega has such gift for rendering beautiful characters. Deeqa’s eyes are amazing, and I think Cris really captured her hair perfectly. Blow is another cool bit, showing a partial view of both Chelsea and Roberto in their purple Glistening Lady uniforms.

Captain Roberto & Chelsea – Dance of Destinies (Galactic Mage series #5)

Also, if you look back up top at the first image, you can see that The Glistening Lady will be getting some cover space too, which is very cool. I can’t wait to see how Cris Ortega manages that. If you recall the detail in the metal on previous covers you’ll know what I’m talking about—in particular, Rift in the Races has some really amazing work with the armor of the orcs. Cris is so good with metallic textures; it’s amazing. (Below is a section of the Rift cover; check out the helmet on the left in particular.)

Example of metallic skills – Rift in the Races (Galactic Mage Series #2)

So, for now, that’s the update for book 5. I’ll try to pick up the pace as the summer gets on, but I am more concerned with getting it right than getting it fast, so it will go as fast as it goes. This is the penultimate book in the series as I’ve envisioned it (that is to say, in the direct line of the original Galactic Mage story—I have other books in mind, but can’t say what or I will give spoilers to this line, and, of course, I have two more Spadebreaker books to write at very least). Because this is setting up the wrap up, my priority is to get it right so the series ends as I have envisioned it since I began. It will take how long it takes, but I would like to have it out in time for the holidays. Check back for more updates (I make short update notes on the book page HERE), and if you want to be notified by email when the book comes out, sign up for my newsletter HERE.