It’s time to reveal the cover of Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon! I’m excited to see what you think of it. Otherwise, this week was a tough one. I had to work through three Real Life Family Events (RLFEs), with a fourth one kicking off after I’d finished writing for the night. Plus, I continue to explore options on the audiobooks front. Before we talk about any of that, let’s look at the key performance indicators.
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
I’ve had a heck of a time establishing and maintaining forward momentum on this book!
Does it seem like this book is taking freaking forever to write? It does to me. I started working on Dreams of Deucalion Book 3: Bait and Bleed, the book before this one, on November 29, 2024. I finished the first draft on February 2, 2025. That’s about sixty-five days. I started Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Conventional Forces on February 3, 2025. I’m writing this on April 27, 2025, and that’s about eighty-three days. So, yeah. This has already taken almost twenty more days. And I’m not done yet!
It’s not that I’m trying to run a production line here. It’s that the feeling of writing Bait and Bleed was utterly different than writing Conventional Forces. I think I have a handle on it, now. I found it easier and more enjoyable to write the last couple of chapters than what came before. I talked about why last week. I think it’s mostly because I have the trilogy’s overarching plot in mind. Everything from Owen Payne’s motivation to Mortiz Lehner’s fears to Gerhard Wimmer’s nascent heroism makes more sense now.
But I’ll be honest with you: I’ll be glad when this draft is done! That said, I think the plot’s holding together, and I think readers will enjoy it. I sure hope so!
Cover Reveal for Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon
And here it is!
Another solid cover from Miblart, I think!
What do you think?
I like what Miblart was able to do with this. I gave them a vague description of wanting a special forces soldier in full gear prominent on the cover. I also told them I wanted spaceships involved. And here we are!
Special Recon is now in its beta read. Dreams of Deucalion Book 3: Bait and Bleed’s first alpha read came back yesterday. The second should come back in a couple of weeks. So, the books are edging closer and closer to publication!
An Update on Audiobooks
I subscribed to ElevenLabs for a year. That got me two months free. I have a draft of The Sword of Sirius Prequel Short Story: Fallback Position done. I think it’s adequate. ElevenLabs is ahead of other AI narration companies I tried. Still, I’ll be honest with you: I’m not sold on AI narration.
Yes, I know I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t afford a human narrator until I make more sales. Yes, my plan is to use AI narration to help fund human narration. That sounds like a good use of AI, at least to me — using AI to fund human creativity.
Still, I’m uneasy. I’ve asked my newsletter what they think, and I got some thoughtful responses. I upgraded my subscription to BookFunnel so I could host short audiobooks, and I uploaded the AI narrated version of Fallback Position there. I’ll share it with my newsletter and ask what they think of the quality.
I’m also exploring options for human narration. An amateur narrator might provide a less immersive experience than someone like R.C. Bray. But I’m beginning to wonder if that’s the right question. What if I can find an amateur narrator who has potential, is willing to work with me (a non-bestselling writer), and is better than the best AI narrator? That’s be a good fit, wouldn’t it?
Heck, I’m an indie writer. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could find an indie narrator? Though even using something like Fiverr, the lowest voice I was comfortable with would charge $1,500.00 for a book the size of Special Recon.
Let’s call this journey a work in progress!
Progress against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I did against last week’s goals:
- Write Gerhard Wimmer’s Pinch 2 Part II: Done!
- Write Moritz Lehner’s Pinch 2 Part II: Done!
- Things get hazy here; I’ll either write a Wimmer and a Lehner chapter; or I might insert an Owen Payne chapter here. Or some combination. It’s getting close to the end, and I’ll need to interleave things. Done-ish! I wrote Payne’s Plot Turn 2 Part II, in anticipation of Plot Turn 2 Part III. This arc feels the most powerful to me (i.e., it’ll require the least amount of rewriting — I think).
- Explore options for an audio version of my lead magnet The Sword of Sirius Short Story: Fallback Position. Ongoing! I have an AI version done. Now, I’m trying to find an amateur narrator to see if I can find a mutually beneficial relationship.
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2025 Week 18
Here’s what I hope to achieve next week:
- Write Gerhard Wimmer’s Plot Turn 2
- Write Mortiz Lehner’s Plot Turn 2
- Write Owen Payne’s Plot Turn 2 Part III
- Receive the beta feedback for Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon and incorporate the results
- Continue exploring audiobook options for The Sword of Sirius Prequel Short Story: Fallback Position
What Do You Think?
Do you use AI audiobook narration? How did you get comfortable with it — if you did? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!