I officially started writing my new novel tonight, set in the Birthright universe during the War with the Tahni. It’s tentatively titled “A War to the Knife,” though that might change.
I had to make a choice about what to write next after Glory Boy, and it was a hard one to make. Glory Boy was a novel I’d first envisioned in the late 80s, so that one was a no-brainer, but after that, for the first time in 5 years, I was entertaining the idea of creating a different universe besides the Duty, Honor, Planet timeline and the Birthright timeline. I’ve put a LOT of thought, time and effort into fleshing out both of those universes, and the idea of trying to come up with yet another was a bit daunting. In the end, I decided to hold off on doing that for a bit, both to put a bit more time and thought into it and also because I felt like there were more stories to tell in the Birthright timeline.
One of them, a very compelling one, I thought, was the Battle for Demeter. I’d first referenced it in Enemy of My Enemy, then explored the very beginning of it in Glory Boy, but there was a whole novel’s worth of story to be told there and I had to find someone’s eyes to tell it through. That character is Randall Munroe, a young Force Recon Marine who lands with the Glory Boys in their initial, ill-fated attempt to retake the colony, and is stranded there when most of his platoon is mowed down in an ambush and he’s left for dead.
Randall Munroe has a colorful history before Demeter and I hope he’ll be an intriguing voice with which to tell this story.

So I’m outlining the plot for my next book, which is going to take place in the Birthright universe during the War with the Tahni.  It’s going to be the story of a Marine who’s stranded on Demeter during the Tahni occupation.  Those of you who’ve read Enemy of My Enemy and especially Glory Boy know what happened during that occupation, and you’re going to see quite a few familiar faces in this book.

Glory Boy, my latest book, is now available to buy on Amazon for Kindle or as a trade paperback.