So I finished the long overdue follow-up to “White Sands, Red Steel,” and sent it over to the publishers. It’s in the queue for a developmental edit and based on what I have to change (a little or a lot) it’ll go onto the next round of edits.
Title is “Savage.” Back in the day, I did a search on Amazon to see how many books there were with the same title. Turns out there weren’t that many. Today however, there are a few more (le grunt). But that’s okay, I don’t mind.
Cover reveal:
Next up, is book 6 of 131 Days.
Long overdue, but if you read the books and followed my posts—or even emailed me direct—you know that the series was delayed by a lack of sales. Sales improved when the series went to audio, which is good, so we’ll see how book 6 does. How well it does is the big unknown here, and will greatly affect how quickly book 7 goes into production, and whether or not I bring the series to a close sooner rather than later.
How many books are left in the “131 Days” series? Unknown at this point. Depends on sales. If sales are good, I can take my time with this thing and finish it in perhaps a few books…. If sales are poor it’ll mean scrambling to get the series done sooner, so I can move onto something else. Ideally, at least three more books… but it could be longer.
As always, if you’re a fan of “White Sands, Red Steel” or the “131 Days” series then spread the word. Recommend it to folks who you think might like it. I don’t advertise much, if at all these days, which makes word of mouth even more important. If you like the books that, is.
So… “Savage” is in the water.
Book 6 of 131 Days will get started shortly, after I read the books over again (won’t take long).
After that, I’m not sure. I was planning to do an “evening” project, where I do a thousand words at least a day, four or five times a week. I’ve tried splitting my time between two different genres before and it hasn’t work out well. I might try it again, just in case “Savage” and 131 book 6 flop upon release. We’ll see.
What might that evening project be? No idea. I would like to finish off Isosceles Moon, however, and repackage the first two novellas with the third book, to make a bigger single volume. I think my biggest mistake with the IM stories was to write them as novellas. The novellas didn’t sell very well for me. It’s been a long time as well so I don’t think (and I hope) it won’t be too much of an issue for folks who have read the first two books. Sales wise, it’s a better wager to do this, especially with audio being so huge these days.
So, do a third Isosceles Moon book, to bring closure to that story.
After that, well, I don’t want to think that far ahead. I’m a fantasy writer, heroic fantasy (or “grimdark” I think might be closer), who happens to also write horror stories and dabble in a few other sub-genres (“Weird Westerns” comes to mind). These are the titles on my list of things to do…
131 Days (2 or 3 books, depending on sales)
Breeds 4
Zombie story 1 (not MM but maybe a side character—I’m thinking of Anna Hajek, the “Frying Pan Lady” from the first MM prequel book.)
Zombie story 2 (not MM but set in the MM world)
Weird Western (not so weird as the Majestic 311 but more horror oriented)
Troll Hunter follow-up/standalone
Heroic fantasy book ( not “131 Days” or “He-Dog” related. At least one or two of these.)
Standalone horror books (2)
Crime fiction (1)
Pirate story (only if I’m financially well off and can take the chance on writing the thing)
All in all, a good 5 years’ worth of work, if I get to write them all. And while working on those stories, I hope to have a few more ideas for whatever. You’ve no doubt noticed there’s no MM8 planned. I’ve mentioned this before, after 9 MM books (two prequels plus 7 regular novels) and one short story, I kinda like to leave Gus where he is right now. That might change if I get a really good idea for an 8th book, (or if everything flops and I need the cash), but I hope I don’t have to….
MM Movie news… none that I can share, sorry. If/when I have news I can share, you can believe I’ll be posting it asap).
That’s it 😊. You’re all caught up.
As always, thank you for reading everyone…
18 Responses
Reading White Sands Red Steel now. Enjoying it. Love MM and Gus. Read them all. The series ended very well. Became very vested in 131 Days, just have to know how it all ends up. Keep up the excellent work. You’ve given me many hours of enjoyment.
it really surprises me to hear 131 days wasn’t a huge success! to date it is my all time favourite series (John lee is incredible)
I’m really interested to see how all the books from that land tie in ( if they do )
I think I’ll redo them all while I’m waiting, I’m just starting book 5 of 131 now.
thank you
Justin
There’s just so much material out there, and everyone is promoting, so yeah, it’s easy for it to get lost. Word of mouth is still king, in my opinion, IF the material is worthy to be mentioned. So, if you liked it… please recommend where/when you can :).
Really happy we’re getting another 131 days and over the moon for Breeds 4. 2 of my absolute favourite stories and re-listens. This update is great to see.
Oh and Anna’s side story would be fantastic. I’ve made mention before on Facebook that her story would be a great follow.
This is great news, Keith C. I shall be saving up my pocket money in expectation.
I need the next 131 days if you could make it a priority! I need to know what happens! So please all of the Keith Blackmore reader buy the 131 series so he can finish it!
I love where MM finished it’s a great series and it’s my go to when I need to laugh and be happy that Gus is kicking ass and taking names.
Thanks for the update Keith!
Excited for Savage and can’t wait for Book 6 – 131 days, Christ tell me the threshold to keep that series going and I’ll drum up your sales myself 😉.
Troll hunter follow on would be great lots of potential there as indeed would Breeds 4 that baby needs to get written as hoping Dougie starts to go after the leaders in the other geographies.
Weird western would be fun – always been a massive fan of Gemmells Shannow series and with the rise in popularity of westerns again post Yellowstone etc might just hit a groove.
As for MM/Zombie – a Wallace & Collie back story?
Whatever your writing I’m buying buddy
Lol…. I’ve said this before, I only wish there were a thousand–nay, ten thousand more like you. The grim reality of the whole writing business is its sales driven, and if the series isn’t selling, well…. yeah. The general thought is to end it quick and move on or…. what I’ve been doing now. Trying to fill coffers to absorb another hit in case the next book flops. We’ll see.
I have a whole set of stories for the as-of-yet unnamed “131” World, but I hope to get a few more out there. I’ve read the Jon Shannow books and very much enjoyed them. This weird western would be more on the horror side of things, however.
MM/Zombie stories–one would be frying pan lady…. and the other would be new characters and new situations, in a different part of the world–but same zombie problem….
Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts there Ian :)! All the best….
“—Breeds 4
—Zombie story 1 (not MM but maybe a side character—I’m thinking of –Anna Hajek, the “Frying Pan Lady” from the first MM prequel book.)
—Zombie story 2 (not MM but set in the MM world)”
This has me so freakin’ excited!!!!!
I’m really enjoying the Mountain Man series.
You have some great stories. I have read/listen to thousands of books, but your stories are so original and like nothing I have read before. I read these books and think, Hollywood can’t come up with an original story to save their lives. And here sits a GD treasure trove of quality. I will say that R.C. Bray and John Lee reading them make them twice as good as me just reading them in my head. Those guys are gold. Every character feels like a friend that I’ve known forever and miss between the times I finish a book, till the next one comes.
Thanks for all the great stories! I started with Audible during Covid and stumbled across your work. I love the audiobook format for the convenience , though it does not allow the story to take on as much of its own life in my head. I just listen to them all multiple times😁
I think I’ve consumed everything you’ve put out. If you put it out I’ll find it. Thanks for sharing your talent!
Thank you Chris 🙂
Fricken Awesome! Would love some MM world books. Money ready for those and others now.
Frying Pan lady would be interesting, maybe a few shorts on characters like the guy he met in the sporting shop, Maybe…Aliens land and take the Zombies as slaves to do their bidding so Gus and team has to go out and stop this madness,,,,,LOL jk
Pretty much all you send out I’m reading, Thank you for your works!
Like so many others, I LOVE the Mountain Man Series. Then I listened to Breeds 1-3, and loved that too. Then I listened to The Missing Boatman, and well, loved it. At this point, I think it would be impossible for me not to love all of your stuff, so I’ll be working my way through it. I was introduced to MM because The Hospital was free on Audible, and I enjoy zombie stuff, so I figured, why not? I loved it so gladly used credits to listen to the rest. I love when the free stuff leads to such great books and an author that sits at the top of your favorites list.
Keith, I love your writing! Absolutely talent and your style is hilarious and natural. I started with the hospital years ago and now I own every book you have written and each one is unique and captivating. The ending for MM couldn’t have been better, a nice wrap up the whole crusade. 131 days is so far my favorite and I’ve been recommended your work to everyone I know. Trying on my end to get you the acknowledgment and extra fans that your work deserves. Appreciate all that you do, Keith! Thank you
Thank you Larami 🙂