E.S. Raye

With 2025 drawing to a close, I thought I would share with you my five year writing career plan, and in doing so, commit it to the world so it’s no longer just something in my head I say I’m going to do.

The Status Quo

The current status quo of my life is one split between freelance marketing work and writing fiction. I very much want to change this.

While I have enjoyed some aspects of marketing, and I appreciate its role in opening my eyes to writing in general as a career, now that I’ve gotten a taste for writing fiction, I’m over it.

It’s time to move on.

The Goal

Put simply, I want my fiction to provide my income.

Now, as a science fiction and horror author, I know that a single published novel, no matter the awards, positive reviews, or accolades, is not going to get me to that goal alone.

I’m not writing romance over here.

The Plan

So, to reach that goal, I plan to publish five novels–including Gas Giant Gambit as the first–by the end of 2030 (which makes it a six year plan, I guess).

Much of this may be out of my hands. While I have a lot of respect for authors who self-publish, at this point in my career, I have little interest in that. I’ve had a wonderful experience with Alex Parker Publishing, and I really appreciate the support they’ve given me throughout the process. I’d love to keep that relationship, or one like it, for as long as possible.

However, I understand that APP are running a business, and if they decide one of the next four or five novels I have planned is not for them, then I will need to find another publisher if I want to avoid self-publishing.

I do not currently have an agent, and was really hoping GGG would attract one. Perhaps it still will. Regardless, I am confident in the relationship I have with APP, and have a good feeling about at least my next novel.

That naturally leads to a pertinent question:

Do I have four more stories in mind, and if so, what are they?

In fact, I do.

Planned Novels

Here’s what I have in mind. Other than the first on this list, which I am currently neck deep in, the rest aren’t necessarily in any particular order.

Shallow Trenches/Open Skies

If you’ve followed me recently, you may already be aware of the sci-fi/World War I epic I am currently working on. This one is based on the real-world legend that the Red Baron shot down a flying saucer over Belgium in the spring of 1917.

The basic setup is that the US has just entered the war, and both the Allies and the Germans think that whatever the Red Baron shot down is American… and America is happy to let them think that so they can get to it first. My story follows a young American officer, fresh out of West Point, as he is sent to the front lines to investigate the crash.

The basic themes will explore the societal dangers of xenophobia and hatred.

I’m a little more than halfway through the first draft, and it’s coming along nicely.

Dreamland Shuffle

One of my guilty pleasure movie franchises is Ocean’s Eleven. I don’t really know why; I’m not especially into heist movies, nor director Steven Soderbergh.

Maybe it’s the writing. Maybe it’s the cinematography. Maybe it’s the chemistry between the characters. I’m not sure, but I love it.

And what’s more, it’s given me an idea for a novel; something like Ocean’s Eleven meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I don’t know all the details yet, but here’s the gist:

Set in the early 1950s in Las Vegas, a group of World War II veterans plan and carry out a heist on a casino. But when they get in the vault, it’s not cash they find, but the survivor of the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico UFO crash.

This one was originally conceived of as a screenplay, and I even wrote about half of it, but I think it will be better as a novel. I don’t know what the major theme will be yet, but I feel like there is a lot to explore.

Alternate Reality

I’ve got this really weird idea for a story that begins when the main character, along with a small percentage of the human population, are shifted into an adjacent reality–one that resembles their own, but is empty save for the new arrivals. Perhaps even a little post-apocalyptic.

I don’t yet know a lot about the story, but I have some pretty wild ideas for it, and I think the main theme will orbit around cults of personality.

Another Tall Tale From Beyond the Cygnus Rift

Yes, another Gus adventure is already simmering in the back of my mind, and depending on how the next year goes regarding awards and/or sales, this one may move up on the list. I know many of my friends are already asking for another Gus story.

I don’t have a title yet (at least, not one I’m willing to reveal at this time), but I do know what the driving force of the story will be. That said, I’m not going to share it now, as it would reveal something of a spoiler for the end of Gas Giant Gambit.

You can expect more western tropes twisted until they fit my sci-fi world along another high-stakes, swashbuckling adventure!

I intend the Tall Tales to be episodic rather than a serialized series, so readers should be able to pick up any and read them out of order. However, I also intend to reuse characters over the books, so you’d probably get the best experience reading them in order.

I don’t know how many Tall Tales there will be (my hope is five, seven, or more), but I do know how the last one will end.

Bonus: The Cobalt Fist

The Cobalt Fist is my 1930s-’40s superhero who joins the army after the attack on Pearl Harbour.

This is the story that inspired me to start writing fiction in the first place. It’s huge, spanning at least seven books and the entire length of World War II, and will be my ultimate genre mashup, including elements of science fiction, cosmic horror, fantasy, and alternate history.

I have so far put off writing it because I wanted to become a better author first–an author equal to the task of writing this enormous story that’s been busting out of my brain for more than fifteen years.

I have a rough outline of the entire series and had outlined and re-outlined the first three or four book at least twice. And I’m likely to do it again when I finally feel confident enough to return to it.

I know that I may never feel confident enough, and may have to take the plunge in a leap of faith in myself. So, with that knowledge in hand, Book 1 may take a place among the five book published by the end of 2030.

Which of these ideas interests you? What would you like to see from me next?