Category: where shadows fall

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the path to perfection

I’m a writer.  Left to my own devices, I would probably never stop fiddling with a story.  I still find places in things I wrote twenty years ago that I’d change, fix, re-write, update, flesh out….you get the idea.

So there comes a point in every manuscript where I have to make myself take my hands off it and send it to my editor.  I’ve reached that point with Where Shadows Fall.

Later today I will be sending it off to my hard working editor who will correct all of my typos, point out the places where I don’t tie things together, ask me what was I thinking here, give me comments on characters and characterization and give me feedback on what’s missing, what needs more fleshing out and how to fill up that plot hole I didn’t even see.

When I get it back from her, I’ll be a step closer to ready to submit to my publisher.  Before submission, however, it’s my turn to use what she gives me to make the story shine.

Finishing this book is a milestone.  It ends the story begun in Through Shade and Shadow,  and closes off a chapter in my writing life.  There are so many stories bursting inside my head and I can’t wait to see where they take me next!

Now, to a cup of coffee and the day job.  Happy Wednesday, Readers!!

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the early morning quiet

I’m in the office over an hour earlier than normal this morning because I need to leave early to shoot some senior portraits for a lovely young lady. So early in fact, none of the restaurants down stairs were open when I got here.

The office is dark and quiet and I’m the only one here.  It’s times like these I enjoy, which is also why I love working from home and living alone.  The silence is pristine. and the quiet is very settling…which is good when you have a day as full as this one is going to be.

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time working on Where Shadows Fall, because the ending just wasn’t working for me.  It’s a lot better now, which brings us closer to the place where I get it off to the editor who will make it even better.

I also spent some time reconsidering an old story idea that has been hanging around the back corners of my brain since I was in my twenties.  May see if I can breathe some life into it.  Not sure it has the plot for a full novel though.  Possibly a novella.  We’ll see.

Sounds like the coffee is ready, and I should take advantage of this quiet while I can, so I’ll leave you here, my lovely readers.  I hope your Monday is filled with hope and wonder.

 

 

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where shadows fall

The final book in the Shades and Shadows trilogy has been a slow go for me, not because I was bored of the story or anything like that.  In fact, I still love this story a great deal.  However, in the process of re-writing the first two books several times there were a number of significant changes in the plot that needed to be carried over into the final book.

Making sure I got all of that right took some time, and then I had three possible endings in mind, so I had to make some decisions. This weekend, I wrote the ending, and the “zero draft” as it were, is finished.

That’s not to say that Where Shadows Fall is ready for the editor.  I have a lot of work to do on it before that time. I have at least two pages that contain notes such as “Insert description here” and “needs better dialog” and other such creative bits, and the word count is far below what it needs to be as a result.

Still, it’s a big thing to finish a trilogy.  With any luck I’ll be able to tell you how to get Where Shadows Fall this summer!

But for now, I’m off to the day job and a second cup of coffee.  Happy Monday, Readers!

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coming back strong

I’ve spent most of the first month of 2018 sick.  I caught a cold at New Years that became a sinus infection that did not respond to the first two antibiotics we tried.  I just finished my course of clarithromycin yesterday.  I’m still super congested, but feeling so much better!

Which means I can begin to focus on writing again.  This has me excited.  I’m nearly done with the zero draft of Where Shadows Fall, the finale of the Shades and Shadows series, and I’m five chapters in on a new novel, and I have two short stories in the works!  It’s a busy time to be me, I guess.

I will be focusing on building my Patreon in the coming months as well, hoping I can use it to source enough money to work on getting audio books recorded.   I’m still working out what exactly to offer over there, but it will include some behind the scenes looks at work I’m doing, possibly so vlogs of me talking about writing, and other fun things, including patron-only giveaways.

That said, I should get on over there to post something for my patrons, and then get back to work.  The words won’t write themselves!

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#amwriting

It’s another Saturday, so of course that means it’s time to write.  Which is good, because I have three different stories percolating in my head.  Of course there is Where Shadows Fall, but there is a new short story idea that I’m just starting on, and the new novel tentatively called The Gift of Blood.  Not sure which will get my writing hours today.

I have to go out later today to pick up a few things and transfer some money, but aside from that my weekend is going to be spent right here at home.  I have a guest coming in from England on Wednesday, and I need to make sure the house is up to snuff.

Yule is just around the corner, with Christmas hot on its heels, and even with vacation on the horizon, it feels very hectic.  I hope you all are closing in on done with your shopping and wrapping and all the prep that comes with the holiday seasons.

I’m off to refill my coffee cup and get to making words appear.  Happy Saturday, Readers!