Hello fellow readers,

J.J. here. I wanted to stop by and share (with whoever is interested) how my current work in progress is going. Book 2 of the series “The War of Light and Shadow” is closing in on the finish line! I’m about 135k words in and the end is in sight.

Normally my novels average anywhere from 140k to 150k words, so about 450 actual book pages. I’ve never been able to write short stories with any degree of satisfaction. I admire those writers who can, but I prefer long flowing works of fiction.

Because I write mostly epic fantasy, (Thanks to Tolkien. He ignited my desire to write when I read the Lord of the Rings at 14 years of age and then wanted to create my own magical realms.), I like to fill out a story, give it some depth, put some meat on its bones. So that’s what I do. And I’m always so pleased when others choose to enter my worlds and read my stories. Writing for oneself is a lot less satisfying than writing for others, don’t you think?

And now, because I am getting so close to the end, I’ll share the subtitle of this second novel with you. I call it “A Black Sun Rises”. You’ll understand what that means if you ever read the book. I have to say that it’s been so enjoyable to bring back Simon O’Toole as the main character again. He was lurking around in the previous series, but I felt that the world of New Earth should expand and follow other characters for a while, not just my favourite wizard.

But he’s taken centre stage once more and trying to adjust to life in his old tower again. Things are getting dark and we’ll see how Simon deals with the approaching threats, not to mention trying to reunite with his old friends, the ones who didn’t travel into the Void with him. I do hope that my fellow readers enjoy the book and the series as a whole. I’ll try to drop by this site more often, not just when I want to share news on my progress.

Take care,

J. J. Thompson