Hey everyone. I feel like I owe you all an update. I have not dropped this story, I promise.

  Several things have been happening lately, one of the biggest being that we have bought a new house and are neck deep in home improvement projects and moving, all of which make finding time to write difficult. The other major thing is something all writers can sympathize with -- writer's block.

  I have an outline. The outline says this next chapter needs to go a certain way. I was halfway through the next chapter, struggling and fighting with it all the way until I hit a wall and it came to a crashing, screeching halt and wound up as a mangled mess on the floor. It was ugly. The police are still investigating...

  And then, while the investigation was proceeding, the Royal Road Community Contest was announced. I saw the prompt and thought, "Hmm, I had an idea a while back that fits with that, but I can't; I need to get this next chapter out." But no matter how hard I tried to push the idea away, it wouldn't leave, so I gave in, thinking that a little break from Smoke and Mirrors would clear my head and let inspiration flow again. Besides, a little eight to ten thousand word story wouldn't be a major time commitment, right? Hence, was born.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Twenty thousand words later, I finally wrapped that story up, and inspiration still had not struck for Smoke and Mirrors. Every time I opened the file, it stared back at me, refusing to move forward. So, I continued on with the Soul Divide: A Time to Seek. I'm happy with how that story is shaping up, but it's still not helping with Smoke and Mirrors, and my kids keep asking me how it's going. They're bummed because The Soul Divide is a bit too dark for their young ears, so I can't read it to them, and they're eager to discover what's happening next with Jonathan and crew, and honestly, so am I. A week or so back, I remembered a little bit of advice Brandon Sanderson has regarding writer's block. According to him, it usually means you're trying too hard. Forcing an idea or concept that just doesn't fit where you're trying to put it, and in this case, I think he's right. So, I decided to scrap the chapter in its current form and take things in a different direction. The outline still stands; it'll just take a different path to reach the same destination.

  In the meantime, please have patience. We will get there eventually. And if you haven't checked it out yet, give The Soul Divide a read. I think you'll like it.

  --Kevin

  P.S. As of today, 4/27/25, Chapter 12 is 80% complete. I finally had a breakthrough and sat down yesterday, pumping out 2,000 words, more than doubling what I already had. I have one or two more segments that I wanted to cover in this chapter, and then it'll be time for the final edit.