The Silence Breaks: An Update on The Driftliner Book 2
Hello everyone,
It’s been a little quiet here on the comms channel lately, and that quiet has been intentional. I’ve been deep in the star charts, navigating the void, and charting a course for the next leg of our journey. Today, I wanted to give you an update on what’s next for The Driftliner.
When I released the first book, I was sending a ship out into the unknown. For me, it was a personal trial—a shakedown cruise into the world of writing and universe-building. I had a story I was desperate to tell, but I was also learning how to pilot the ship as I built it. The response has been more incredible than I ever could have hoped for. To everyone who took a leap of faith and came aboard for that first journey, who left a review, sent a message, or simply told a friend—thank you. Truly. Seeing you connect with the crew and their impossible situation has been the fuel for everything that comes next.
With that experience now in my logbook, I'm pouring everything I've learned into this next installment. My goal is to create a bigger, richer story that does this universe justice. Book 1 was the anomaly; Book 2 is the exploration of the beautiful, terrifying, unraveling reality it left behind.
I’m focusing on a few key things:
More Detailed Worlds (And the Ship That Travels Them): Whilst we’re going to be venturing far beyond the bulkheads of the Driftliner, I also want to spend more time exploring the 'old girl' herself. After all, the series is named after the freighter our found family calls home. We’ll delve deeper into its corridors, uncovering hidden nooks, strange quirks, and the secret history etched into its very hull. The Driftliner will be our lens and our sanctuary as we explore forgotten colonies, wander the neon-drenched streets of cynical metropolises, and stand on the edge of cosmic wounds that defy physics. I want you to feel the grit and see the starlight of these new locations, both inside and outside the ship.
Deeper Character Arcs: We’ve only scratched the surface of who these characters are. What drives them? What did they lose in the old world, and what are they terrified of losing now? We will be diving further into their pasts, their fears, and the complex relationships that bind them together as a found family on the edge of oblivion.
Descriptions You Can See and Feel: My biggest personal goal is to make the experience of reading Book 2 more visceral. I want you to feel the low hum of a struggling engine, smell the ozone of a temporal rift, and feel the profound silence of a love story fractured by time.
This is the story I've been building towards.
What happens after you save reality, but break it in the process? What is the real, human cost of living in a universe with scars? These are the questions we’re going to face together.
I’m deep in the trenches of writing now, and while there’s still a long voyage ahead, I am more excited than ever to share it with you. The silence is about to break.
Thank you for being here. The journey is far from over.
All the best,
Zack Drake