QUARTERLY UPDATE - SUMMER 2025
Hello again...
This is the second of my quarterly update newsletters and it is summer in my part of the world which means I'm spending most of my time outdoors staring aimlessly into the distance and getting sunburnt.
Because there's not a lot going on for me at this time of year (I pretty much shut down over summer - I find it impossible to do anything writing related when it's hot), this newsletter will focus more on looking back at 2025 as a whole, rather than on anything I'm currently working on.
2025 has been an extremely busy and extremely exhausting year for me, and right now I'm pretty burned out. But anyway, the newsletter must go on...
WHAT IS WAS ALEX WORKING ON?
Right now, I'm not working on anything, except maybe my sun tan.
In mid October I finished the first draft of “The Monadic Broadcast”, which is basically a sci fi/time-travel story. I’ll be spending 2026 editing it, and hopefully it’ll be released some time in 2027.
I also released the novel “Joie de Vivre” on October 31st, so thank you to anyone who bought it, read it or vaguely acknowledged its existence. Leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or wherever you bought it) is helpful, or so I’m told, so if you wanna help me... why not do that?
As for what I was working on for the rest of my year, well, my writing-related calendar looked something like this:
January: Joie de Vivre, Draft 2.0
February: Joie de Vivre, Draft 2.0
March: Then Came the Night of the First Missile, Draft 4.0
April: Joie de Vivre, Draft 3.0
May: Joie de Vivre, Draft 4.0
June: Joie de Vivre, Draft 5.0 and final proofread. This was also when we started working on the cover art.
July: Setting up my website and social media, prewriting the Monadic Broadcast, emergency final proofread of Joie de Vivre before sending it to the printers. (Also had some personal BS to deal with in July.)
August: The Monadic Broadcast, Draft 1.0
September: The Monadic Broadcast, Draft 1.0
October: The Monadic Broadcast, Draft 1.0 and Joie de Vivre released
November: Then Came the Night of the First Missile, Draft 4.1 (basically, typo squashing)
December: Nothing. (My thumbs ain’t gonna twiddle themselves...)
CURRENT STATE OF MY PROJECTS:
I’ve written six novels, only one of which has seen the light of publication (yet). Here’s a quick breakdown of where all my novels are at:
1. B.I.R.A.
The first novel I ever finished writing, written all the way back in 2019, never moved on from the second draft, mainly because I couldn’t find anyone willing to read it and give me feedback on it. At this stage I’m aware that I’d need to pretty much redo it from scratch were I ever to release it, as it’s very evident that this book was a first novel written by someone with no idea on what a novel is supposed to look like. Plus, there are some major plot points that would need changing as history and technology have marched on since 2019.
Current status: On hiatus. I would love to rewrite and release this one day as I do like the story, but I just don’t have time right now.
2. Abigail Hunter: Crown Princess of the Known Universe
This is my least favourite of everything I’ve ever written and the only thing I’ve ever written that could be described as fantasy. It was largely the product of me taking writing advice from people who ought not be giving writing advice. While there are some scenes that are okay, and there’s been some positive feedback from beta readers, I doubt I’ll ever publish this as it’s too out of place in my oeuvre. But it’s in the running to one day become free bonus content, maybe.
Current status: Sitting in a desk drawer, where it will likely always remain.
3. I am MACHINE
This was supposed to be my debut novel, until beta readers excoriated it to the point that it became clear that it was unpublishable without rewriting from the ground up. Which is a shame as there’s a lot I liked about it. I did write an outline for a new version of the novel, but I don’t currently have the time or energy to write it. In some ways, Joie de Vivre could be considered a remake of I am MACHINE, as the ending was directly copied and pasted from it. And a lot of characters from this book have been turning up in other projects lately...
Current status: Cannibalised for parts, but there is an outline for a possible later attempt at rewriting this story from scratch.
4. Then Came the Night of the First Missile
This has had by far the most positive feedback from beta readers, and it’s also gone through the most rewrites. I also suspect this could be the most commercially accessible novel I’ve ever written, which is why I’m taking it down the trad publishing route, rather than going indie or small press. I know that this one has a lot of potential, the problem is the age-old one of trying to find the right publisher. It almost got published, but then things fell through, hopefully I can get it published in 2026 or 2027.
Current status: Stuck in querying and editorial hell
5. Joie de Vivre
I don’t have much to say about this one, except that it was written as a last minute replacement for I am MACHINE, in which I decided to double down and be even weirder. It’ll take me a few years to decide how I really feel about it, though I describe the process of writing it as the literary equivalent of death metal. I wrote it with both middle fingers up and I know it won’t be for everyone. And I don’t care.
Current status: Published worldwide, 31/10/2025. For better or worse, it's done.
6. The Monadic Broadcast
I have to be careful not to think too much about this, because part of why I take summer off is so that I can forget about whatever book I just wrote in order to edit it more objectively in the autumn. I do know that I really enjoyed writing this one, and that it’s the first book I’ve ever written that wasn’t extremely cynical or nihilistic. I don’t know what I’ll see when it comes time to start the second draft, though instinctively I suspect this will need a LOT of work before it’s in readable shape, let alone publishable.
Current status: I plan to begin writing the 2.0 draft in February or March of 2026.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The truth is that I have absolutely no idea what’s next.
A lot of it depends on factors that are largely outside of my control – namely, trying to find a publisher (especially for Then Came the Night of the First Missile, which was first written all the way back in 2022). So really, it’s a matter of baiting the hook and seeing what bites.
I think the fishing metaphor is also true of all my current projects. I need some time off from writing to catch some new ideas. Plus, I really am burnt out and feeling a lot of resentment toward this whole endeavour, because I’ve worked myself to exhaustion this year. (Well, it’s not just the writing – there’s also been some personal stuff draining me this year.)
So for the next few months, I don’t plan to do anything except stare at the wall, stand in an empty field, hang out with sheep (I mean sheep as in the animal, not the derogatory euphemism) and risk melanoma by spending time outside in the hot sun.
In February or (more likely) March, I’ll start on the next draft of The Monadic Broadcast and hopefully by then my energy and enthusiasm will have replenished and perhaps I’ll have a better idea of where to go next and what to do, both in terms of writing and in terms of life in general.
But for now, I think I’ll sign off here and wish you a happy new year! I’ll be back for the next quarterly update, on March 31st 2026.
- AEW