Hey Reader,

I'm back from my cave for another update after this fine Memorial Day Weekend~

With the past broadcasts, you may have forgotten about being subscribed to this newsletter with all that's happened around the world and in your personal life. If so, hi again - I'm Victor Vahl, I'm an author. Hope your year's been good or that it's, at least, moving steadily. If you've read stories such as Mad City, The Yellow Oak, or A Night at Memoren Diner, hey – that was written by me.

Here's a quick recap some things about me. If this isn't your cup of tea, scroll down until you find a yellow highlight thing like this.

• I've been married since 2019, and finally had our ceremony with our closest friends and family all in our backyard.
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• Imagine a brisk evening with the comfort of warm yellow lights strung around a giant poinsettia tree. And even though it was delayed, I even made my proposal as a book for Mrs. Vahl. She's my biggest critic, so fingers crossed she likes it!
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• After a cycle of toxic jobs and making ends meet with multiple odd jobs, I now have a steady job in commercial real estate where I've been, honestly, happy. It's the kind of stable job environment I've been searching for.
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• It's been so stable that I've been able to write and revise steadily again.
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• My friends and family are also moving forward to bigger accolades and accomplishments. Getting engaged, tackling their passions, making big swings, weddings, and so much more. They're in states of progression I couldn't be prouder of.
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• They are inspiring reminders that I have to keep moving along in this writing journey, and not forget why I started this in the first place.
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• This whole period of significant change means less time with each other. When I spoke about this with a friend of mine, he shared how another friend of his compared this to everyone being in a giant wave pool. Right now, we're all bracing for the wave, focused to stand tall and survive instead of flopping and drowning and looking like a goof. It may be a big wave that'll take a while to pass. But when the wave is over, we'll be back surrounded by our friends and family.
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• I liked that comparison.
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• So far, my favorite movies of this year have been Sinners, Companion, and Thunderbolts.
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• Biggest aspiring flex would be wanting to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie that's so crazy good, it makes my brain go, 'Maybe diabetes wouldn't be so bad if this was the reason for it.' One day.

With that said, you should send me what you've been up to this past year when you get the chance.
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For now, it's time (and well overdue) for another writing update~

A Refresher

• I've still been at hard work with further sharpening my kit to make something that would make me happy if I were the reader on the other side of the page.
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• I last mentioned getting Mad City fully polished to, in my honest opinion, a kick-ass edition. But you can be the judge of that. It is available here in many formats.​
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• Before I continue any further, I need to give a very late shout-out - Thank you FantasyMaven1 for the positive rating on GoodReads! It is very appreciated and I couldn't be happier to see love for Mad City.

Mad Vigilance is New, Improved and Ready.

• And now Mad Vigilance, the bridge between Mad City and Mad Virus, is officially better than ever. This new and improved edition is available here in Kindle and Paperback.​
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• A little tidbit for where this story has evolved: half of this story is focused on newcomers Norman and Bryant Figueroa, a troubled father-and-son duo thrown into the mix of the underworld side of the MAD Universe. While Bryant remains somewhat unchanged, the original version of Norman was a bit of a...cartoonish asshole, if I had to be personally honest.
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  In the new edition, Norman's character was reworked to be someone striving to be better and successful for his family. But he struggles to escape the cycle of cynicism inherited by his father.
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  I believe that, for some, escaping from a cycle that you've been raised in for so long is like trying to escape a finger trap. The more you pull, the more the trap tightens, and your digits are back at the same spot. The apple, indeed, doesn't fall far from the tree, but it is trying to roll away.
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• It adds to a more interesting duality in the specific theme in this novella. As a short read, I recommend it, especially if you've already enjoyed Mad City.

And now we return to Book Two of The Sage's Legacy...

As of this morning, I started drafting the new outline for Mad Virus, Book Two of The Sage's Legacy. While the major concept remains to be the same, there have been a lot of ideas and notes I've saved while reworking City and Vigilance. I'm happy with the last draft I wrote, but I'm even happier with this one and how much more cohesive it feels.

With that said, after reopening my old outline...this new iteration of Virus needs a new outline. I would say about 20% to 30% of the previous draft will still remain, but the rest will be freshly done as new.

One thing I'm trying to be mindful of is the midpoint. How do we switch gears and make something thrilling and exciting and really, really cool while remaining authentic to the story's residents?

Thanks for staying along for the ride.

Until next time!
~Victor Vahl
​www.victorvahl.com​