Let me start with an apology. I don't know how many of you were interested in reading a book two, and how many of you still are, but regardless, I should have kept you updated it on it better.

Reminder regarding the state of this story: I tried to get published with a small publisher. The feedback they provided was "cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused." It made me not want to self-publish, like I did with L, as the general consensus for that was a 2.5 "cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused." He suggested I start a new project to see whether I could improve that way. I did.

So I have good news, bad news, bad news, bad news, good news, and you guessed it, bad news. Here is a TDLR, followed by actual details.

Reminder regarding the state of this story: I tried to get published with a small publisher. The feedback they provided was "cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused." It made me not want to self-publish, like I did with L, as the general consensus for that was a 2.5 "cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused."

Good News: I finished a new story, Children Of the Deep. For some of you, this may qualify as bad news. I fully respect this view.

Bad News: I sent this to the same publisher (and a few others I haven't heard back from.) Their consensus? You guessed it. If you haven't, don't worry, by now I'm fully aware I'm terrible at communication. "Cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused."

Bad News: The only way for me to improve on my clarity and prose is to be specifically told what didn't work. This is typically in the 'no shit sherlock' category, but it qualifies as bad news because for all my begging, none of my readers are telling me anything. As it stands, I have no way of improving.

Good news, but really, it's just bad news: I'll be revising and continuing with These Games Of Ours after I publish Children Of The Deep. There is no point in continuing TGOR if it's just going to have the same issues as what made L fail, which brings me to our next

Bad News: L is not going to be continued. Not sure if I mentioned this before, not sure if some of you even care. I hope you don't.

Now, for the actual details.

Good news: I finished the first book of a new story, Children Of The Deep, published somewhere on this site. The last of humanity lives within walls that protect them from the Deep, their entire lives decided by how much Energy they earn by hunting monsters of the Deep and winning duels in the colosseum. The world is a stagnant, typical capitalistic nightmare that uses human bodies like they're commodities, ruled by the most powerful Rankers, though everything changes when someone destroys the 4th City using the Deep.

MC is Nico. He lives in the 3rd City, but the destruction of the 4th City killed his parents too. He needs to make Energy to keep himself and his family inside the city walls, and he's a good fighter--too good of a fighter. Nico won duels--issue is, he won a duel against someone he shouldn't have. Now the most powerful House of the city wants him dead for it. So now the only way for him to survive is by working with the same person that destroyed the 4th City, and that looks like they're going to destroy the 3rd (with all his little cute little siblings in it).

I've never been so invested in a story before. No matter what, I will publish this on amazon with better artwork, and possibly pro editing, but that's going to take time and until I save up enough money for it. Even if it doesn't get to that level, I need to see this story to its conclusion. I'm not personally invested as much as I invested a whole chunk of my soul into it. At this point, I am more a writer than I am a person.

Bad News: I submitted Children Of the Deep to the same publisher (and a few others I haven't heard from yet), and I just got word back on it today, which was "cool idea and system bro, but the prose sucks and I'm confused." He said while it had a strong tone/aesthetics, he said that the prose was difficult to follow, the system overly complex, and some of the humor didn't land.

Obviously, I am not happy. I was hoping he would tell me the plot sucks and the characters were insane, but alas, this puts me in a very precarious situation. If he told me the plot sucks, I could change it. If he tells me the characters suck, I would have to change the entire story, which I would not have liked, but would have still done.

But being told that even after a new project, I have the same problems and that generally, my prose itself sucks, means that no matter what I write, it will come out with the same problems.

Bad news: The only way for me to learn at this point, is to be specifically told what parts were confusing, what sentences were bad, and which jokes didn't land.

This isn't something I can do. This is the bad news because no one has given me any feedback on Children Of The Deep yet, which means I have no way of fixing it. I can't fix a problem I can't detect. which brings me to my next

Bad news: There is no point in working on These Games Of Ours if it's going to continue to have the same problems.

Good News/bad news: These Games Of Ours will be continued after I fix my problems, likely when Children Of the Deep is published and I receive feedback on it through amazon reviews and feedback on facebook. I do not know the extent of revision that will go through it, but probably from the ground up, while keeping the cool idea and system and changing everything else. Unlikely to happen in 2022. Maybe 2023, depending on whether I learn by then.

Good News for fans of These Games Of Ours : You're not a fan of L.

Bad news for fans of L: This story is not going to be continued, but it'll always hold a special place in my heart.