All right, I know it's been over three years since The Gullwing Odyssey was published. Many of you have asked for details on the sequel - when it's coming, what it's about, who's in it —  and mum's been the word around here.

First things first, let's shut down the rumor mill. There is still only one book in the Gullwing series, but that is going to change. I'm at work on the sequel, but you know what they say about the best-laid schemes of mice and men. Life has a way of cropping up when you least expect, and that's not always a bad thing. Fact is, I've been busier than ever — have you seen how Darkwater Syndicate has exploded with new books in the last six months?

Back to Gullwing: I had a blast writing Odyssey. I'm having a blast meeting you all at conferences, at book signings, at meet-and-greets. Do you really think I'd want to cut my fun short by not writing a follow-up to Marco's adventures? Of course not. And I'm pleased to announce that Odyssey's sequel is 50,000 words and counting. I'm looking to release it in 2018, so sit tight, and watch this blog for updates.

Some of you have asked: "Why is it called The Gullwing Odyssey?" The short answer is that it's the odyssey undertaken by the main character, Marco Gullwing. But there's more to it than just that.

We'll start with the "Odyssey" part. An odyssey is a long journey full of adventures from which one derives knowledge or wisdom. The word and its meaning come from Homer's Odyssey, that piece of classical Greek literature about an ill-fated sea voyage.

It's axiomatic for odysseys that things not go as expected. If everything had happened as Marco had hoped, we wouldn't have much of a story. Nor would Marco (and we, the readers) have learned anything from the experience. What's more, the adventure sure wouldn't have been as funny, if at all. Thus, throughout Marco's journey, everything that can go wrong often does.

The "Gullwing" part is a bit harder to explain. Marco's surname is unorthodox for his ancestry, but it's entirely fitting. His surname is meant to evoke seagulls. Seagulls are coastal birds, keeping with the book's nautical theme. They are capable of soaring for large distances at a time. By comparison, Marco's travels involve long stints of ocean voyages to far-flung locales.

Moreover, seagulls are particularly good at flying, as was famously pointed out by Richard Bach in his classic novella, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Bach's novella is about Jonathan, a seagull who strives to be so good at what seagulls do best (flying) that he transcends his physical nature to become the perfect seagull. To quote Bach's work:

Marco is like Jonathan Seagull, but in reverse. He claims he's only good at delivering letters because that's all he wants to do for the rest of his life, and he doesn't think he's terribly good at that, even. He doesn't want to be a world-traveler, or a fighter, and least of all a hero, but he becomes all these things quite by accident, and much to his chagrin.

It isn't until Marco's misadventures are foisted upon him that he realizes he has a lot to learn about the world, and perhaps most of all, about himself, which brings us full circle back around to the odyssey theme.