Project Amble Newsflash

Well, it's been brilliant getting back to work after the holidays. I wrote Chapter 1 of Project Amble, sent it off to my editor, and got it back in record time, giving me the chance to dig into revisions. I've also been coding Chapter 2, which is much larger and branchier than Chapter 1, and involved various bits of research around travel and geography (which I think is going to be an ongoing theme for this project!)

It is such a challenge writing in a new setting! I hadn't realised just how much it would be - I'm so familiar with the Creme de la Creme world, even as I explored different parts of it, that it's become second nature. Writing the new setting definitely isn't! I've also been having some dark nights of the soul about personality stats, and have actually changed a couple of them around after starting writing as I realised they weren't quite working.

But with all that, it's an absolute delight to be exploring a completely new place and characters. It's a bit like getting to travel myself!

Here's a nice teaser image from Pixabay:

Most of the fortnight has been very positive, writing wise, although today I had a horrible night's sleep and have had to spend my workday on moodboards and romanceable-character-intro-posts instead - which is still productive, even if it's not what I'd have preferred to be doing.

Total Project Amble Wordcount: 38363 words

Project Amble average playthrough wordcount: 13505 words

Next up on Project Amble: I'll be continuing work on Chapter 2. I'm about two thirds of the way through the draft, which is currently rather rough so once I've finished the first draft I'll take a little time to polish it up and reveal the shiny diamond beneath.

Next up on Patreon:

• On 28th January, the next bonus supplement story will be going up! It's a cute one about Raffi and the MC, and it went in a direction I didn't quite plan when I started - it was nice to be led by the story.

Since I didn't manage to do so at the end of last year, I want to share some IF I enjoyed playing in 2024, as they're all ones that I haven't seen talked about a huge amount:

Don't Wake Me Up by Baudelaire Welch: an amnesiac's journey through multiple worlds both wacky and heartwrenching, this game is best enjoyed without knowing too much going in.

Haunted Hearts Hotel by Elle Grace: a cute female-locked romance game about inheriting your aunt's old hotel, renovating it, and getting to know the human and ghostly inhabitants around it. Part dating game and part management, the game handles both elements well, with vivid characters and sexy setpieces. (I had an F/F/Nbi threesome with my assistant and their FWB ghost pal; much recommended!)

Love Undying: A Kiss Before Dawn by Lauren O'Donoghue: you're a Victorian vampire who's just moved into a small Cornish village with your human servant, and must navigate human and vampire politics and connections in order to avoid getting chased down with pitchforks. This has a lovely atmospheric tone and a fantastic sense of place (I grew up near to the place in which it's set). I loved the characters in this game, and the ways in which my eccentric vampire could connect with them. I'm eager to replay when it's less fresh in my mind to get to know some of the others better.

Stars Arisen by Abigail C. Trevor: you're the child of a deposed immortal queen who she's been raising to take back the throne. You travel to the big city to do that...or perhaps you'd like to rebel in various directions? I very much enjoyed the sense of history in this game, and the sheer breadth and variety of decisions I could make (even contradictory ones, as I did, to make a twisty-turny story that still hung together great).