James Osiris Baldwin
patreon
Updates on Book 7, and an apology
🕑 Added 2024-11-07 17:53:48 +0000 UTCI need to make an honest apology to you all. It's been two years since Archemi #6 was published, and I still don't have Book 7. For that, I am deeply sorry.
I believe strongly that when someone reads my work, I am making an implicit contract with them to finish that work. You're sticking your money and time into reading or viewing something I made, and that's very important to me. Archemi was written during some of the most objectively difficult events in my life: marriage, homelessness, working multiple jobs while attempting to save the marriage which ended in failure, nine months of more homelessness, and then finally the gain of a stable, secure home. I'm acutely aware I would not have this house if not for the fans of Archemi, both the written and audio versions, and also for the efforts of Soundbooth Theater and especially Justin.
The problem with post-traumatic stress is the 'post' - the mental health issues really hit AFTER the crisis is over. Now that all the chaos is done and my life is objectively peaceful for the first time in... well, maybe ever, my mental health tanked. The depression reached the deepest, darkest point in September of this year. It was triggered by the necessity of going back through many photos and documents from my marriage for immigration purposes, which required me to put together a full timeline of the relationship and basically led to me having to relive a lot of it. It was not a good time.
I'm on medication now, which is starting to help. But the long and short of it is that I haven't been writing. I really wish I was one of those people who could just churn out 5k words a day, but even on my best days, I can manage roughly 2000. And quite bluntly, I haven't been. It was a struggle to get out of bed for about two months. I'm now able to do that, and have been putting what energy I have into my work on the second season of the Dungeon Crawler Carl Audio Immersion Tunnel. I DID manage to finish I Am Legion and hand it over to Aethon and Soundbooth, so I do still have one thing coming out early next year.
All I can really do is apologize, and assure my fans and Patrons that Archemi is NOT abandoned. I'm just dealing with a lot of bad head noise and am trying to recover the ability to write and publish in the aftermath of seven very tumultuous, stressful years. I've been able to draw, at least, and have been getting back in touch with my visual art. The Voidhunter stuff is connected to Archemi, by the way. Min-joon and Hector's paths eventually intersect, though I won't reveal how until the main Archemi series is finished.
I'm not convinced I will be able to save my writing career in the long run. I may just not be strong enough to compete with healthier, less neurotic, more productive authors, especially in the upcoming socio-political climate. But I AM committed to finishing what I started, even if it takes longer than I would like. I can at least promise that much.
Comments
Jacob Robinson
Your Archemi books are some of my favorite fantasy novels, and their audible versions are an extremely impressive demonstration of just how far you can take the medium. I very much appreciate what you've made so far. While I would love more to read, I'd never want to turn another page if it made your life the worse for having sacrificed health and sanity for it. Take your time for yourself. There's no apology needed, but I appreciate the time taken to keep us informed. I can't say I've experienced or even fully understand the extent of the stresses of writing as a career, but I should point out that while there are many authors who churn out a great deal of pages a year, their writing quality tends to leave much to be desired. You should be proud of what you've written.
Pete Andrews
Sometimes, just opening the laptop and writing a few paragraphs can be tougher than the worst assignments handed out at college, or test day for your driver's licence. When writing is a major creative outlet and you find yourself unable to write even a single sentence, it can be like a kick in the head. Hang in there. It'll come back slowly.
