With the next installment of the Skywalker Saga only 7 weeks away it’s hard to contain my excitement. I have detached myself from all social media chatter because I don’t want have any more expectations than I already do. But if you are interested here are my predictions for what will happen.
 
1) “When I found you… something special.” Is Snoke talking to Rey.

2) “I need someone to help me find my place in all of this.” Rey talking to Luke.

3) Rey is a descendant of Palpatine.

4) Kylo Ren actually saves Leia.

5) Ren is offering his hand to anyone other than Rey. Based on the background I am going with Finn as my first choice but could also be Luke, Poe, or distant a maybe, his mom.

6) Porgs are either Force sensitive or Force negating. They just better have a good reason for showing us Porgs on the Falcon. Their existence needs to be justified.

7) By the end it will all be flipped, Ren will be with the Resistance and Rey with the First Order.

8) As all 2nd installments do, it will end on a cliffhanger

9) Episode 9 will be Operation: Rescue Rey.
 
Other factors to think about:
Jedi is plural, not sure how that all will play out.
                Anakin’s Force ghost
                What is Hux up to
                Rey’s Force vision from Ep 7 @ Maz’s castle
 
If I end up being wrong, even really wrong, I will be so happy. I rather be surprised by a movie. Whatever happens I just hope they do the characters justice.
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What do you agree with, disagree with?
What are your predictions?

“Good things come to those who wait.” A popular mantra since 1892. I recently saw a modified version of that quote that crossed out “wait” and replaced it with “work their asses off.” In this case, both are true.
 
Some of you have asked, and I really appreciate your interest, when book three will be out. My original hope had been this year, already. I had hoped to be done with it in 2015.  But alas, that is not the case. It WILL be published in 2018 or I will die trying.
 
When I started book one I had no idea it would lead to a second or third book. And I definitely did not have any notion of where the trilogy would (will) end.  (Word to the wise, don’t publish anything until you know how it’s going to end.) Anyways, once I had completed Trespassing, I had no conscious plans to do another book. Linchpin just came out of nowhere and writing it was so easy. So easy. I emphasize this because book three has been anything but easy. Book three, Iteration, is making me work for every single word. Which is fine, it’s just pushed back my timeline. When I was explaining to my writing coach what I wanted to accomplish with book three I realized it is an ambitious undertaking so it will need time to make sure it’s done right.
 
I have had to work for absolutely every word and I hope they are worth it. At the moment the word count is hovering around 100k, the wordiest of the three. I will wrap up the first draft by the end of November and then it will go through the hoops with my workshop group, writing coach, and finally the editor. Who knows how many words will survive after all of that. In any case, the waiting will be well worth it. I promise.
 
As to the why behind a third book, is really because – trilogy. Everybody loves them. Two books doesn’t feel complete. There is something so satisfying about sets of three, ask any art or writing major.
 
For the release of book three, I hope to publish a definitive collection of DPA/Elbie material. Including all the short stories, the graphic novel, and an alternate beginning to Trespassing. It’s going to be a big deal you guys. So I have my work cut out for me over the next six months, working my ass off, so that once the wait is over, you will be very happy with the results.