By now, some of you know the TCOTU “secret” inside Confidence Game. It never fails to amaze me as a writer how some characters seem to drive their own stories. Characters that were supposed to die in a book’s original outline somehow manage to outwit me and survive at least one more chapter, and sometimes forever (I’m looking at you, Denise Gables). Other characters come back to the back of my mind and say “I’m not done yet.”

I won’t say more because we’re still early in Confidence Game’s release, but I will say that even though the book is not military science fiction, it is still very much rooted in the TCOTU galaxy and now part of the canon. There are so many stories left to tell, perhaps more than I can ever get around to telling:

• There’s the small matter of the fate of the Brevic Republic following the events in Hero of the Republic. This is one story that must and will be told, I promise!
• There’s the story of Jacob Heskan, Garrett’s father, and his interactions with a much younger Adira Fane. Minister Fane is one of my favorite characters, and wouldn’t it be interesting to learn more about her rise to power?
• Reece and Mercer and the rest of the crew of Zanshin may have only just begun their adventures. Confidence Game is their origins story, but I can’t imagine they’ll stay out of trouble.
• What about the Solarian Federation? What about the Hollaran Commonwealth? What about more privateer tales? What about Aoife Covington’s team in Hero of the Republic and more “Shadowrun”-style capers?

When I started building my corner of the universe, I had no idea what I was getting into. There are many twists and turns to explore in the future. Thanks for coming along!