Well, if I thought the advantages didn’t outweigh the disadvantages, I’d do something else. But basically: the main disadvantage to me is taxes. You have to be incredibly careful with money since it isn’t automatically witheld from your paycheck. You need to keep track of every receipt and business expenses, and you get hammered with high taxes for being self-employed. It’s no fun. All that is outweighed by the enjoyment I get in doing my favorite thing — writing and sharing stories — for a living.
The Ragpicker King is the sequel to Sword Catcher. In it, Kel — now fully embedded with the Ragpicker King and his crew — tries to solve a mystery: Who’s responsible for the murders in the Shining Gallery? If someone’s plotting against Castellane, who is it? And why is the woman he’s loved since he was a child, Antonetta Alleyne, determined to marry a monster?