I was planning to save this blog post until I have a more definitive conclusion to my query process for The Blood Games. I’m still waiting to hear back from a few agents, and while my inbox has mostly been a flood of “no’s” as expected, there has been some positive news to share! But more on that in a few weeks once all of those loose ends are tied up.

Today I want to talk about fan fiction for a minute! I assume most (if not all) of the people reading this blog came here from reading my works on Archive of Our Own or Fanfiction.net, particularly my magnum opus, Fighting From the Shadows. It’s been half a year now since I completed that project, and I’ve been able to distance myself from it while focusing on my professional writing goals. But in recent weeks the story has been on my mind again, and I wanted to talk about it a little for those who enjoyed reading it! (If you haven’t read it, you can disregard this entire post.)

A couple weeks ago, I was going through old folders on my phone to clear up memory space, and stumbled across an audio recording I made years back that I’d completely forgotten about. Back in December 2024, I was on a long road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento, CA. If you have never driven that route before, just know that I-5 in the Central Valley is the most mind-numbingly boring stretch of freeway on Planet Earth, so I was looking for something to occupy my mind. I had just completed work on the fifth year of Harry’s journey in FFTS, with plans to begin Year Six when I returned home, so I decided to pull out my phone and record an impromptu brainstorming session by myself while driving.

At that time, I knew roughly where the story would end and what major story beats I wanted to hit along the way, but hadn’t written any of it yet except 1-2 chapters towards the very end. In the recording, I go through my planning process that would eventually lead to the final story. I had completely forgotten about this brainstorming session and found it to be a fascinating comparison between what I had in mind at the time and what I ended up changing in the final product.

And I thought some of you might find it interesting to hear as well! If you enjoyed Fighting From the Shadows and want to hear me ramble for nearly an hour about it, you can get a little glimpse into the evolution of the story and my writing process. For context, the most recent thing I had published at the time was the end of Year Five, where Harry kills Bellatrix Lestrange and was celebrated as the ‘Hero of Hogwarts’. Everything that happens after that chapter is discussed in this voice recording, including some story lines and plot devices that didn’t end up coming to fruition. Basically you’ll be able to compare how the story began as a jumble of loose ideas and evolved into what it eventually became.

So check out the audio file embedded at the bottom of the page if you’re interested! Apologies for the rough audio quality and lack of structure, as I was just holding my phone up to my face and speaking off the cuff while driving on the freeway. Just a bit of fun behind-the-scenes content for those who care about such things!

I’ve also been mulling the idea of writing a sequel to the story again. While I haven’t actually sat down and begun outlining or anything, plot lines have been forming in my head as I ponder what I would want the story to look like. I wouldn’t hold your breath if you’re hoping I start posting it any time soon, because even if I DID sit down and start writing it tomorrow (highly unlikely), it would be quite some time until I work out the kinks enough to feel comfortable enough to post. I don’t want to repeat the same mistake as the original where I start posting before I’ve fully fleshed things out, resulting in a weak first half of the story that needs substantial re-writes. I want to get it right the first time!

Stay tuned for another update on the editing and query process for my original novel, The Blood Games – hopefully as soon as later this month. I’m eager to get the story out to the world ASAP, and one way or another I’ll have news on that front very soon. Peace out!

-Austin

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(Voice_Memo_2024_12_27.mp3)