I keep saying those three words since yesterday at about 5:30am. Around that time, I finished the first draft of my second novel. I literally cannot believe it.
All in all, I'm happy with the mammoth of a novel I have to work with. It topped out at 150,000 words, which is just insane to me. I remember not being able to get 90,000 into my first novel until edits and rewrites.
Ah, the satisfaction, though. It took me nearly seven years to write Fractured Guardian. Seven. Years. Dark Ember took a little under a year of active writing time, 15 months of real time due to various delays with my health and the COVID crisis.
I think this one might mean a little more to me. I've figured out more of my own process with this. Shaving six years from the process is pretty good, I think.
Now, I'm going to let Dark Ember marinate for a few weeks, then get some beta readers to do a developmental check before I start the long, arduous process of finding an agent.
In the mean time, I've got some more work to do. I'm launching my Patreon April 1st, so I'm concentrating on getting some content in order. My writing time is going to have to be untouched, so I'll have to social media and content post in other time. Its going to be a lot of work, but I love the idea of finally getting my work to work for me.
Today is a special day for a friend of mine. Also a writer, of children's books, one of my work managers launched her book today! I'm so happy for her. She's been a big cheerleader for me and her success just makes me happy inside. If you're so inclined, check out Savannah and her Squeaky Clean Hands on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
So, I've got my to-do list ready for this weekend. Lots to do and my next novel which is sort of Versailles meets True Blood, is going into development mode. Man, I love worldbuilding. I do have the notebook from ScribeForge so, I'm going to start playing with that in my free time.
I hope everyone is well. Watch this space for more previews, updates, and more coming soon!
-C.A.