Haven’t Disappeared…:)

I’ve just spent two days with the killer migraine from hell. Feeling much better now.

Just time today for a quick WIP update as I gear up for August madness.

Demon’s Touch – First Draft – 1489 words

Raven – Rewriting – 8417 words

The Bargain – Rewriting – 3852 words

In Which Real Life Hits With A Bump

Apologies for my absence. We went from having loads of time to get the house ready, to the house being on the market and still being decorated. So things have been more than a little bit mad here. I’m currently in a bit of a lull – thank goodness.

Currently reworking The Baragain, and the first draft of the Raven. Sqeezing my writing in at the moment around my job, family committments and (hopefully) selling the house, so things are progressing slowly.

Online fiction – it’s going to be difficult for me to devote the time needed to do a complete story. SO…. Taking a leaf out of Maura Anderson’s book I have decided to post snippets along the lines of her Friday Flash fiction. Where these relate to specific settings – e.g. Land of the Fey – I’ll make a note. And hopefully it will give you something to read whilst I get my head down and concentrate on the main stories.

WIP Update

On the writing front not much has happened over the past week or so.

Raven – up to Chapter 4 of the first draft, very pleased with the new outline.

Online Fiction – First part completed, going to get this out to my crit partners and see what they have to say. Will be posting more details next week.

On the decorating front – the kitchen is done and we’re halfway through painting the hall. Hence the lack of writing.

WIP Update

Currently writing the first draft of Raven – 8291 words

And at the moment it’s looking like it will end up a minimum of eighteen chapters.

Also writing an outline for the sequel to The Bargain, which will be something of a challenge as it’s multi-plot.

WIP Update

Currently rewriting the first draft of Raven – 5964 words

Why am I rewriting? Because I didn’t want to let go of Alaric and Valerian. And although I have more I want to write about them, they shouldn’t take over Lily and Darvan’s story. So currently I’m going through and rewriting the chapters where Valerian in particular, came in and took over. That doesn’t mean they won’t appear. But their story for the moment is concluded.

WIP Update

Third draft of The Bargain is finished, and I’ve just put it on one side for a few days before I have one last look over it. Currently writing the synopsis of The Bargain and reworking the first draft of The Raven.

WIP Update

Comments are back from the beta reader. Yay!

Some ???, some lol’s and some clarification needed. But I’m very pleased. Currently working through on a hard copy (up to Chapter 14) making notes based on their comments and adding some of my own. Hopefully will have the third draft completed very soon.

Thoughts

Not really a WIP update as such because that’s a little in limbo at the moment.

But I’ve had a serious think about my plans. I have got so many stories I want to write that I need to gain a little focus – lol.

Therefore the plan (currently) is as follows:-

The Land of the Fey was originally conceived as a Trilogy so I’m going to stick to that. Book 2 – Lily and Darvan and Book 3 to lead off Book 2. There are potentially lots of other interesting , side stories to follow (Genys and Reynard especially) but I’m going to try and stay strong and hopefully there will be time to squeeze those stories in, in the future. Lily and Darvan’s story will be up next, I have an outline though it needs some reworking following feedback from my crit partners. However, the main plot is down, it’s just a little of the nitty gritty that needs sorting.

The Bargain (working title). I am so looking forward to working on this story and getting it as good as it can possibly be.  There are definitelyother stories in this Universe that I’m just dying to tell. So after I have a working version of Raven, I’ll be looking to write another story leading out of this one.

WIP Update

Second draft completed.

And it’s come in at 32,615 words and is currently 23 chapters. Now it’s off to the beta reader and waiting to hear back from them.

So still a way off from 50,000 words, and whilst I think it might not quite make the 50,000 mark, I think the finished version will come in at a lot closer to 40,000.

Where it stands at the moment. If the first draft was the skeleton, the second draft is the skeleton plus the muscles. The plot niggles from the first draft have been sorted out and basically what’s left is fleshing out, making sure everything makes sense and perfecting the love scenes.

In the mean time I’m going to start the first draft / outline of The Fox Prince (Land of the Fey).

WIP Update

Currently working on The Bargain (second draft), Chapter 17, word count 25,002

Have merged four chapters down to two. Things are proceeding smoothly at the moment.

Sex/love scenes – I’ve just completed one – are something of a stumbling block. Mainly because I think these scenes perhaps more than any other you are conscious of having to get right. Nothing knocks a reader out of a moment quicker than  a badly written love scene. So it’s almost sweating blood to get them so what you have in your head matches what’s on paper. I’m still not happy with what I’ve got as it stands in the second draft but I know there’s going to be much more refining to come before I even think of submitting.