April 2, 2018

Book 5, Book 6, Monthly Author Check-In, The Beacon Campaigns, Whispers of the Ice


Monthly Author Check-In: March 2018

Uh, so yeah. This is, technically, April. In my defense, I spent the end of March wrapping up a draft of Whispers of the Ice, and I make no apologies about missing this Check-In deadline because of it.


What I’m Writing: Beacon Campaigns 4, 5, and 6, in various stages of production. Because yeah.
What I’m Reading: Less by Andrew Sean Greer
What I’m Loving: AJR’s album “The Click”

WIP Excerpt

They moved at a sedate pace, but steady, like the ticking of a metronome. Every step of this act had been scripted, every breath accounted for. Twice over, in fact. He knew that she knew that he knew. She probably suspected. The only thing left in play was which one of them had out-maneuvered the other, out-anticipated the other. Which of their traps were meant to be traps, and which were meant to be seen and avoided, thus leading to further traps? In his mind—and no doubt hers—there were plans layered upon plans, contingencies for every conceivable outcome. If she struck first, if he attacked from the left; if it happened in the courtyards, or the kitchens, or his bedroom; if he went with magic, if she went with bullets. The only thing neither of them considered was to let the matter lie. Concealed on Tol’s person, right at that moment, he had: three knives, two pistols, one rope (coiled around his leg), an old-fashioned water skein filled with lamp oil, a vial of poison, and a dead rat.

Early proof for color testing and eeeee, look at how pretty it is!


I’m going to keep this short and simple. March was super-insane-productive, and April is off to a start that is going to kick March’s ass. As mentioned, I wrapped up the most recent draft of Whispers of the Ice on… whatever last Tuesday was. The 27th. My goal was to finish that by the end of March, so I managed several days early on that one. I’m reworking four last scenes during the beginning of this week, as I chip away at my easiest edit notes. Then it’ll get another re-read, and the heavy lifting of structural edits gets into full swing.

MEANWHILE, Books 5 and 6 are taking shape. This series is heavily interwoven, so I’ve always juggled two books at a time. 6 got an early start just because it’s the end of the series, and therefore more important to make sure that the groundwork is laid early.

I do not yet have words to describe what it’s like to actually be crafting the final book—mostly because I just started it yesterday, with a 6,000 word burst of enthusiasm. Give me a while to sort myself out, and maybe I’ll start having Feels about it, but for now I am just itching to get to all of the really good, rip-your-heart out scenes. Which, if I am productive again today, should start as early as tomorrow, so… if you’ll excuse me, it’s back to work for this author.