Hallelujah! It is with great relief that I can report that I have finished writing The Body Electric, the final volume in my upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation trilogy Cold Equations.

I’ve been plugging away at this project since late last year, and there were a number of times I was afraid I would not finish it on time, thus triggering the much-dreaded publishing crisis known as a “crash schedule.” Fortunately, that has not happened, and I am now in that professional limbo known as being between contracted assignments.

You might be wondering what I will be doing in the interim until another contract comes my way. I plan to keep busy, I assure you.

My next few projects, which I expect will keep me occupied into the fall, will be some screenplays I’ve been cogitating upon for several months. It’s been a long time since I sat down to write a screenplay — over a decade at this point. I feel like working those creative muscles again.

Once I’ve tapped out a few new feature scripts, I have an idea for a new series of original urban fantasy novels. My goal is to plot out the first three books and draft the first manuscript by the end of the year, or end of January 2013 at the latest.

And though there’s no money in it, I’m intrigued by the idea of cobbling together a playset for the role-playing game Fiasco. Just because I can.

Other side projects might also come along during this period of creative exploration. I’m going to play those by ear and see where they lead.

Will any of this pay off? Who knows? But for now I’m just going to enjoy having the freedom to try it.