Hey all…
For the last two years, I’ve posted a new chapter of River City almost every single week. Haven’t read it yet? You can read the whole thing here:
https://www.jscottcoatsworth.com/the-river-city-chronicles-english-version/
It started out as an experiment. Could I write a weekly serial and have a new chapter up for my readers every Thursday? I was inspired by Alex Woolfson and Adam DeKraker, who post a new page of “The Young Protectors” every week.
But River City also started with secrets. Each character had one, and I intended to reveal them all by the end of the story. I expected to have a lot of fun doing so, and I did. 🙂
What I didn’t expect was how in love I would be with each of the characters by the end. Marissa’s irrepressible youth and snark. Carmelina’s bold and brassy attitude toward life. Ben’s gentle love for Ella. Matteo’s constant worry about just about everything. Each of these, and all the others, connected with me in a way that surprised me, and I was genuinely happy at where they all ended up by the end of the tale.
So what’s next?
The current story arc will be released, probably in the spring of next year in book form – all 114k of it, with minimal editing – in English and Italian. I want to stay true to the spirit of the original, so I am only changing it for grammar and inconsistencies that inevitably crop up in a project like this, where you don’t have the luxury of going back and changing things after the fact.
And for the characters?
I haven’t decided yet. There will be more… but it may come in the form of another sprawling opus like this, or as a series of short stories focusing on character pairs. I loved working with a huge ensemble cast, but it would be fun to focus down more closely on smaller sets of characters. I’m also looking forward to being able to comment more on current events, as the first tale takes place entirely in 2015, before things changed.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride – there’s much more to come.
🙂
–Scott