A ghost, a magician, and a kitsune walk into a bar…
…then things get weird.
That’s the premise for the next Tokyo Supernatural book. Scott does a favor for Kitty-Sue, helping a human friend of hers quit her job at a sleazy Tokyo bar. How hard could it be to escort a girl out of a bar?
Pretty hard when the bar is owned by a mystical branch of the Yakuza. These unsavory businessmen take exception to Scott’s actions and try to take him out. Unfortunately for them, no one has ever bested Scott in a fair fight.
Did I say fair fight? There’s no such thing as a fair fight with the Yakuza. These mystic warriors have magical protections woven into their tattoos, protections that should protect them from almost any physical harm. But Scott has more than physical weapons at his disposal, much to the surprise of the Yakuza.
At the end of the fight, Scott finds himself the owner of the bar; something he had never wanted. That’s too much responsibility for a peripatetic magician.
Still, being able to hang out in an invitation-only bar that serves only top-shelf liquor, staffed by beautiful women, with Akiko’s ghost friends providing invisible security, seems like an easy life. As Kitty-Sue snarkily notes, Scott is right at home in sleazy bars.
Between Scott, Kitty-Sue, and the potent ghost-mage Akiko, almost no one can challenge them mystically. What could go wrong?
Of course, this is Scott we’re talking about. One night, Suribachi-Yama walks into the bar. The personification of the Suribachi volcano, with god-like powers, has a mission for Scott and won’t take no for an answer.
In this episode, we’ll see the return of Scott, Kitty-Sue, and Akiko. As well as the ever-so-slightly-pregnant Ashley (the dragon of Lake Ashi). I’ll probably throw in a few more surprises.
I’m shooting for publication in February 2019. Leading up to that date, I’ll be dropping sample excerpts here on the website as well as on the Tokyo Supernatural site.
Long term, I have a very rough outline for the fourth book in the series. If you were wondering how Scott and his friends will face off against the time-warping fae prince introduced in The Haunted Onsen, keep a look out for updates.
Note the February 2019 publication date. From a writer who never planned more than a month ahead, I have changed into someone who plans out the year. Having written for the last three years, I now have a good feel how long it takes me to complete a book. I have accepted the fact that I can’t crank out a book every month, or even every six weeks. My best speed is about one novel every two to three months. I hope to be able to ramp up production in 2019, without getting burnt out. Sure, I’ve had weeks where I put out 10,000 words; but they were followed by a week or two of disgust every time I looked at the computer screen. And of course, real life always has a way of intruding on the important business of storytelling.
The other reason for the delay is that I am concentrating on my other pen name. I have the first novel in that series complete, as well a half of the second novel. My plan is to have all three ready to go in November 2018. So, the plan is to publish the shifter novels in November, then wrap up the third Tokyo Supernatural novel by February, 2019. If the shifter series takes off, and I’m hoping they will, I will add to the series.
In any case, I plan on a fourth Tokyo Supernatural novel around May 2019.