The Other Side

If you scrolled down the page on my blog in the past few days, you might have noticed that there's a new book cover in the lower right. That's right: The Other Side is now published! It's available in paperback on Amazon: The Other Side  I hope to have it available for Kindle by next week.

What a process this one has been! It really tested my patience (which was probably good for me), but I'm so glad I stuck with it.

I want to thank Nicole Smith, the artist who created the cover image, for her patience and willingness to work with me to get the image right. She put up with a lot of emails from me and she was always gracious and helpful in response. Thanks, Nicole.

I also want to thank everyone who put up with my hand-wringing and eye-rolling throughout the long journey that led to this novel. You were all very kind not to tell me to shut up and get control of myself.

Now I hope at least a few people will read it ... and like it! Please spread the word that the fourth novel in the Penumbra series is out: no one will read it if they don't hear about it. (And if you buy the novel from Amazon, please write a review.)

Thanks for your help!

Finally Some Good News

I just returned from Nebraska, where I spent some time with my parents and sister. The weather was spectacular for us, except for one brief downpour that managed to drench me thoroughly. We did a little sightseeing (driving past the Nebraska State Capitol never gets old), watched a little hockey and baseball, and did a lot of talking, which was the most enjoyable.

It's always nice to spend time with people who accept me for who I am and don't seem to mind my company, amazingly enough.

When I got home, there was a brown cardboard package waiting for me in the stack of mail. I knew it was the latest proof copy of The Other Side ... and once again, I was a little afraid to open it. We've had so much trouble with the cover image and I wasn't sure I was ready to go through that again. However, I knew I had to do it, so I opened it.

I think this is the one! The image is much better and I think the artist has fixed the problem. I can't tell you how happy I am to report that to you.

Tomorrow after I get unpacked and do the laundry, I'm going to try to go through the whole book once more (just a run-through, not a complete rereading), and then I'll most likely approve it at CreateSpace.com. When that's done, it won't be long before The Other Side shows up on Amazon!

I must admit that there were times I wondered if that would ever happen, but I was determined to see it through, so we're almost there. You can either watch for the news on my Facebook page DianeMcCallumAuthor on FB, or keep checking Amazon, or check back here next week for the latest news on when it will be available.

Tell all your friends that it's almost time for the fourth novel in the Penumbra series to come out!

And thank you again for your patience.

Getting Closer

I got the proof copy of The Other Side two days early ... and I was afraid to open the package! I know it's silly, but so much has happened to delay this novel that I didn't think I could stand to see another cover that's too dark. It was Schrodinger's cat! As long as I didn't open the package, the proof copy could be good to go, or not.

I finally opened it. The verdict: the cover is still dark, but not as dark as the first one. My husband thinks it's okay. I'm not sure. The silhouette is now visible, but it's not obvious. The image also seems bluer than the original. I emailed the artist and asked if she wants to look at it before I release the novel. If she does, I'll see what she thinks. If she doesn't (she's quite busy these days), I think I'm going to go with this version.

That leaves a final run-through of proofreading, which I will try to begin in the next day or so. (I confess that I've been a little busy birding: the warblers are coming through SE Kansas so I've been trying to see as many of them as possible. I've also been watching the NHL playoffs. Tomorrow night the Cubs are on ESPN, so forget about me getting anything else done that evening!)

Thanks so much for your patience. We're a lot closer than we were last week!

And Happy May!

Small Setback

I have a proof copy of The Other Side in my hands! (Well, not while I'm typing, but you get the idea.)

It came two days early, so I thank CreateSpace for that. Also, I see exactly why it's important to order a proof copy because there's a small problem with the cover: the image is darker than expected so a silhouette in the image hardly shows at all. Thank goodness I had a chance to see this before the book officially comes out!

I've already notified the artist and she's working on it, so I'm sure we can get this fixed. She's done a great job so far and has always been very patient and willing to make adjustments. (I'll tell you more about her when the novel actually comes out.) Meanwhile, I'm proofreading the text to check for any typos or stray things that need to be fixed.

I have given you some teasers for this novel, but I thought I'd give you a first look at the cover blurb:
       Reggie Hawkins has been in some bad situations ... and being confined to his
     house for weeks has to be in the top five. No appliance is safe when a mechanic
     gets bored.
       Things are about to change, though: a messenger with a warning is on the way
     and gunmen are storming his brother's law firm. Hawkins will have to act quickly
     to rescue his kidnapped brother.
       What he learns about who's behind all this will lead him and the crew of
     Penumbra on a quest to the far reaches of space, where they'll make their
     most stunning discovery yet.

I hope that will pique your interest! It's never too early to start spreading the word about the new novel coming out soon, so we can build interest for it. I'll be sure to keep you updated on its progress.

Closet Spaceship Part 18

(NOTE: This post refers to events from In The Shadows. I hope you've read it!)

Everyone needs a private place, a place to think one’s thoughts and escape the world for a while. For many of us, that’s home … so it’s a place I don’t want to invade.

I’d always visited Reggie aboard the ship, whether it was Outsider or Penumbra, but there was a time, while he was recovering, that he wasn’t there. I didn’t think Cyril was ready to see me, so I avoided him, but that meant avoiding Reggie, too. I wondered if I should just leave him alone.

This left me with another problem, though: as long as Reggie was recovering, the others were living their private lives, too. I didn’t want to drop by their homes unannounced, but I couldn’t hang out with them on the ship, and I didn’t think I should overdo it with Sean.

I missed them.

I was working on the next novel, polishing it mostly, so it shouldn’t have been such a problem, but rewriting is a lonely business. I was dealing with words, not characters, and sometimes words don’t want to be wrangled without an exhausting fight.

I finally broke my own unwritten rule. Let’s face it, I’m sort of making up the rules as I go along, so occasionally there will be adjustments.

There wasn’t any snow, but it was still cold. I walked around a little, flapping my arms and shivering. I eyed the rocks circling one of the trees. I walked around the storage shed in the far corner. I thought maybe I shouldn’t be there.

Then the back door opened.

Reggie backed out and closed the door. When he turned around, I was startled to see him leaning on a cane. He took a few steps toward me, but I darted to join him so he wouldn’t have to go any farther than necessary.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I didn’t know—”

“Forget it,” he said. “I’m bored as hell anyway.”

“Are you supposed to be walking?” I asked. I knew he’d been badly injured, but I’d managed not to think about it. The cane made it impossible to ignore, though.

“Sure,” he said. “Thought I was so smart: I lost the cane so even Cy couldn’t find it. So what’s he do? Buys me another one, damn it.”

I checked his expression to see that he wasn’t angry at his brother.

“It’s mostly for balance,” he said. “So why are you here? Not much to see, is there?”

“Rewriting,” I said, as if that explained everything.

It didn’t. Reggie looked puzzled.

“Take your favorite book,” I said. “Now read it ten times in a row.”

He nodded. “So you’re bored as hell, too.”

“Pretty much.”

He laughed. “We’re just a couple of winners, right? Got it made.”

I smiled. “That’s right. Top of the world.”

“Give it a while,” Reggie said. “I’ll get back, so will you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

And he was right: The Other Side is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Stages

Remember that skeletal park I visited in February? I finally got a chance to go back today ... and it's certainly not skeletal now.

The trees are still mostly bare, but there's an undercurrent of green across the ground. Here and there I caught pale purple flowers or the bright pink of redbud trees. One bush had delicate white blossoms. The park isn't fully dressed yet, but she's starting to put on the initial layers of finery.

The birds are arriving, too. The air was punctuated by titmice calling everywhere I went. Carolina wrens tried to fool me into thinking all that noise couldn't come from such a diminutive bird. A barred owl made me smile with its call of "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for YOU??" Throw in a few cardinals, a fish crow and some goldfinches, and it was almost a symphony.

The bare bones were fascinating, but I have to admit that I like the dressed-up version better.

I'm getting close on The Other Side. I have an ISBN. The interior has been submitted and accepted. However, there's a slight problem with the cover image so I'm working on that with the artist. I'm hoping we can get it figured out quickly so I can move on and get to the proof copy stage. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for reading my blog! Please spread the word about the Penumbra series and leave a comment if the mood strikes you.

And happy spring!

Update on The Other Side

Rewriting The Other Side has taken a lot of time, as you can tell by looking at the calendar. This is the latest I've ever gone without releasing a novel, but I feel I need to take as long as necessary to get it right. I'm sorry for the delay.

Right now, though, I'm formatting. That's good news because it means the rewriting is mostly finished. Yea!

The initial formatting is done because I put together a binder with instructions on how to do it and that really helped. There are a lot of steps involved with margins, gutters, headers, drop caps, etc. and my brain doesn't like to remember all of that after a year so it's nice to have a reference.

That means I'm at the hard part: making it look good. I think I've written about this before. Sometimes when I'm scrolling through the document, I'll see a sentence that has a paragraph at the end of one page and a single word of that paragraph on the next page. It looks terrible!

For example, I found this on one page: Lamont turned on the radio. “This is Captain Ben Lamont asking you to cease fire. Who are you and what

On the next page I have this: do you want?"

That's not the worst example I've seen, but it makes the reading a little awkward. I'll have to check the first page to see if I can remove a word or two so the last part of his question can go with the rest of it.

It's amazing how hard that is sometimes. I've written it the way I want ... and now I have to change it! I'm trying to add words on some pages and remove words on others. It can be frustrating.

I'm hoping to get the bulk of it done this weekend, however. After that I'll get an ISBN and we can move forward!

If you want to review the teasers I've given about the novel, here they are: Teasers

Please remember to spread the word to your friends and family (and complete strangers) about the Penumbra series. Word of mouth is the best way to let people know about it!

Also, if you happened to buy a copy of any of my novels on Amazon, thank you and please consider writing a review there.

Thank you! I'll keep you posted.

Teasers

WARNING: This blog post contains some minor spoilers. If you haven't read Another Shot or In the Shadows, you might consider skipping this one. (The obvious solution is to read them now!)

I just watched a trailer for the new episode of "The X-Files," which will air next Sunday, Jan. 24. It's one of those shows that my significant other and I enjoyed for years. We loved the creativity of the storylines, we enjoyed most (but not all) of the conspiracy theories, we laughed at the corny jokes, but mostly I think we enjoyed the relationship between Mulder and Scully. The trailer makes me think the series will keep those strengths and add some new elements. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with it.

It occurs to me that some of you might be thinking of The Other Side in the same way. Will it have the same characters? Will it have the same chemistry? Will I crash another spaceship? Will I be able to do anything new? (I am very aware that crashing another spaceship would not be new, and I think I've managed to avoid it this time!)

Unfortunately, The Other Side won't come out right away, due to some extensive rewriting, but I haven't said much about it ... so maybe it's time to give a few teasers.

First of all, this novel will include the return of Sean Foster. He won't be a major factor in the story, but he will make an appearance. I hope that's good news for you.

We'll need to see how Reggie Hawkins is recovering from what happened near the end of In the Shadows. How inactive has he been? How long can he stay that way? What's his brother like?

If you recall, Lamont's crew had a mission for In the Shadows that they didn't get to fulfill: investigate the new wormhole. This time around, they're going to take a look ... and there will be some unexpected results. What is on the other side?

You'll see a little more of Gwen Radcliffe and pay a return visit to T.J.'s Bar. And you might want to review Another Shot before you read this one, although it isn't necessary.

I think that's all I'm willing to divulge for now. I hope it's enough to keep you interested while I try to finish the novel. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks, as always, for reading my blog. Feel free to leave a comment.

Escape

I had an interesting vision the other day while I was sitting at work, wishing I could be at home working on The Other Side. I pictured my purple three-ring binder, which holds that tale, on the table next to the computer. Then, unexpectedly, I saw the binder flip open and my characters start to climb out.

It was kind of fun, a bit of whimsy to break up the workday. It also reminded me of two important facts:

1. My characters do not only live in that binder. They live in my head, in the novels published so far, in novels yet to come and in the heads of my readers. (It means a lot to me that they live in someone else's head now, too.) I need to keep in mind that they're "real" characters and they need to be portrayed as such, not as cardboard cutouts. I need to stay true to each of them.

2. What is in that binder is a story, not just a lot of words that I have to shepherd into place. I might write the greatest scene ever, but if it doesn't belong in the story, out it goes. Once I've made sure I have everything worded the way I want, I need to double-check to make sure I still have a story that's fun to read and worth the time.

All of that from one little fantasy! That's one of the fun things about being a writer: you can have crazy little random thoughts ... and then you get to interpret them so you can make something out of them.

The Other Side Update

I haven't given you much in the way of updates lately for The Other Side, have I? I am working on it, but things are a little slow in that department. Here's why:

When I started on my novels, I wrote Outsider first (no surprise there) and then I slowly wrote four other novels. In between writing, I would go back and edit/rewrite on previous novels. After a while, I realized that the third novel was too short, so I combined it with the second to create Another Shot. What started as the fourth novel was now the third, and I was having some real trouble with it: I couldn't come up with an ending that worked. I rewrote and rewrote, but it never ended to my satisfaction. Finally, with more than a little regret, I realized that the novel would never work as it was and I discarded it. (Believe me when I say that was not an easy thing to do.) The final novel was now referring to things that had never happened!

I wasn't happy with only three novels, so I resolved to write one to go between Another Shot and the final novel. As it turned out, I managed to fit two novels in there, In the Shadows and The Other Side. This means the final novel also neglects to mention big things that happened in those two novels! As you can tell, that last novel is going to need a lot of work.

In the meantime, however, I have to deal with The Other Side. Since it was technically written last (even though it isn't the last novel in the series; how confusing is that?), it has had the least work. Some of the original writing came as late as 2008 or after, so I haven't been through it as many times as the other novels. Since I don't write things perfectly the first time (or even the second or third time), I'm having to do a lot of rewriting. I've also been adding scenes that should have been in there but somehow weren't.

All of this means I'm doing more work on this one than I even did on In the Shadows. (You might remember how much work I did on that late in 2014.) The good news is that I'm doing this work over the summer instead of over the fall, so I've given myself some more time. I'm still aiming for a release date of January, although that isn't set in stone.

Meanwhile, just to make things "interesting" for myself, I'm trying to create a video for In the Shadows. Sometimes it gets confusing and I have to remember which plot line I'm working with, but it means that things don't get boring!

That's the latest update. I appreciate your patience and I thank you for reading my blog (and my novels).

Independence Day Update

Happy Independence Day!

I have a few updates. First of all, on Monday I got the official Certificate of Registration for In the Shadows from the U.S. Copyright Office. That's always cause for celebration! It's a lot of fun to pull the paper out of the envelope and unfold it to see my name and the novel's title there on the official certificate. I have three of them now, and I'd like to collect more in the future.

To that end, I'm working on the fourth novel, The Other Side, this weekend. Chapter 15 is causing me no end of trouble because it's one of those chapters that's particularly difficult to write. It's more introspective than action-packed, which I sometimes struggle to get right. I'm going to keep working on it, though.

I've also been working on some other things. I added a sample of Outsider to the iAuthor site (you can see it here: Outsider on iAuthor). I also signed up for Ask the Author on goodreads.com, so people can ask me questions about my novels and writing (you can see my profile and my first answer here: Diane on Goodreads). I've been trying to post interesting things on Facebook and I got a good response to my post there about the copyright registration (here's my page: Diane's FB Page).

I'm also writing a piece of fiction for this blog (Closet Spaceship) and I've opened a file for a possible sixth novel in the series. (Don't get too excited about that last one because I don't know if it will go anywhere, but at least it's a start, right?)

So that's what I've been up to this weekend! Three-day weekends are the best.

Happy summer!

On My Own ... For Now

I came home from work this past week to find a message on my answering machine. Before we get to the message: yes, I have an answering machine! No, I don't have a smartphone yet. (Insert amazed gasp from the audience here.)

I guess it's ironic that I write science fiction, which involves changes in technology that I haven't always embraced myself. My characters fly in a spaceship and I'm still using an answering machine. I never said I always make sense!

Anyway, the message was rather hard to understand but it appeared to be a publishing company. This gave me an instant rush of excitement: this was my big break! Next stop, New York Times Bestseller List! Fortunately, I do have some common sense, so I looked up the company online. I then realized it was not a publishing company, but a publishing service. They want me to pay them to format, design and market my book. (I'm not going to name the company since I decided not to go with them.) Thanks, but no thanks.

It made me think, though. If an actual publishing company called, would I go with them? At first, I thought, "Heck, yes!" But then I thought more about it. It's true that my marketing attempts are feeble and would be wildly improved by a national publisher, but that's one of the few benefits they could offer. Right now, I control my future and my novels. No one else has told me how to format the next novel or when to release it. No one else has told me what to blog about or what I need to put on my Facebook page. No one else has told me what my next story should involve. Those are the advantages of self-publishing.

I'm definitely not saying I wouldn't change my mind. If anyone at Tor is reading this, for example, I'd love to hear from you! But you'd better have a very good offer. The one thing a big publisher could do for me is this: they could spread the word and interest a whole new group of readers. I'd like that.

For now, I'm on my own. And that's okay.

For those of you who have been asking, I'm hoping to release the next novel in January. Thanks for your continued patience!

P.S. Happy Flag Day!

100th Blog and 4th Title

Believe it or not, this is my 100th blog post! I don't think I quite believed I'd get to this point when I first started blogging, almost two years ago, but here I am. And I want to thank those of you who regularly read these little batches of words.

Here are a few of my favorite posts: Late Bloomers  How to Write a Novel  Taking Flight

Here are some little-known facts about my first novel: Part 1  Part 2

Here's my first Closet Spaceship post: CS Part 1

I intend to keep writing this blog, at least until I publish the fifth novel. Sometimes that thought is a little scary because I can't imagine what I'll have to say for that many posts, but that's what I thought after the first post ... and I'm still going. (Put me in a pink suit, hand me some sunglasses and a drum, and turn me loose!)

Now, as your reward for bearing with me while I indulged in a little nostalgia, I'm going to reveal the title of the upcoming fourth novel. Are you ready?
Here it is: The Other Side

I hope that will pique your interest. None of my novels is the same, but this one is going to be a little different than the others, a little more "out there," I guess you could say.
I tried to stretch myself a bit. Time (and my readers) will tell if I did it successfully.

Thanks again for reading!

Distractions

I've been trying to work on the fourth novel but there have been a few distractions.
I finally got over my virus, only to be struck by monstrous allergies, which are threatening to rob me of my voice again! Argh. (See last week's blog about my voice.)

I also spent some time finishing up my second video, this one about my second novel, Another Shot. If you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to do so here: Another Shot video  Let me know in the comments what you think. It was fun to make, although this one seemed a little harder than the first one. I think I was trying too hard this time around because I wanted it to be better than the first. I don't know if I succeeded or not, but at least it's out there.

I've also been spending entirely too much time on Facebook lately. I "blame" it on my good friend Bill Zahren (we met at Morningside College), who keeps posting updates on his first two novels. He's hoping to get the first one published this year and I wish him every success. He has a page where you can follow his progress here: Bill Zahren-author FB Page

Despite all this, I am getting some work done on the fourth novel. I'm pleased with the first seven chapters (although they could always use a little tweaking), but now I need to move on to the rest and make them better. In a few weeks, I'll let you know the title of the novel, but I'm still swirling it around in my head to see if I think it works.

The local bookstore, Spellbound, is planning some type of event for local authors in Pittsburg, KS, next weekend and I'm hoping to take part in it. I don't have any details yet, but I will post them on Facebook, Google+, my Amazon author page and my Goodreads author page as soon as I get them. Stay tuned!

And that's the latest! Thanks again for your support.

Voice

I took an unintentional vacation from writing recently when a virus took root in my throat like some evil alien weed. I felt like a character in a horror movie, although some people probably thought it was a bit of a comedy when I lost my voice and could only blink apologetically at people. My co-worker suggested "interpretive dance," but I made do with sign language and occasional notes on scraps of paper.

It's amazing how much you miss the ability to talk when you lose your voice! I, like many people, completely take my voice for granted until it's not there anymore. Not that I have the most important things to say, but I did miss the ability to express my indignation/joy/irritation/relief/various other emotions when they occurred. Whether anyone else missed it is another matter entirely.

And thus I gained at least some understanding of the fascination for Facebook, Twitter, etc. Typing those little epiphanies and sending them out into the world is a way of expressing ourselves, letting others know that we're here and we have something to say. I know that most of the stuff I post on Facebook is probably ignored, but I post it anyway because it's my way of declaring my existence: I'm Diane and I'm here!
(Did you hear me, Horton?)

I'm not sure I feel the same way about my novels, though. I didn't release them to let everyone know that Diane McCallum exists. I think I released them to let everyone know that Sean Foster, Ben Lamont, Reggie Hawkins and several others exist. The characters had a story to tell and I wanted to share that.

So I'm their voice (even when I'm mute), and as long as they have stories to tell, I plan to pass those along.

Work on the fourth novel continues!

Spring Forward

Now that I have In the Shadows done, I can just sit back and put my feet up, right?

Not exactly.

For one thing, I'm still trying to drum up interest in it through this blog, Facebook, word of mouth, etc. And I'm working on another video to possibly catch the eye of people who might not otherwise have heard of the Penumbra series.

Then there's the fourth novel. Oh, yes, there's another one ... and I've learned my lesson with In the Shadows: this time I won't be waiting until September to start working on it. That was my fault and caused me all sorts of problems last year, so I'm going to try to avoid it this time. I'm working on a particularly difficult scene today (sorry, no hints yet!).

Does this mean I spend all of my time on the novels? Certainly not (although sometimes I wish I could spend at least a little more time on them). I have this thing called a job and it takes up quite a bit of time. Until some rich person feels like paying me to write, I'll be going there on weekdays.

But I do other fun things, too. I'll be joining my Audubon group tomorrow to trek into the country and look for short-eared owls. Trooping across a muddy field is well worth it when you get to see such amazing creatures (I'll let you decide if I'm talking about the owls or my fellow Auduboners).

So life goes on. I'm just glad it's going on while the temperature is starting to go up again! Longer days, too!

Thanks again for your support. Please keep spreading the word.

Proofing is Done

Believe it or not, I finally finished proofreading In the Shadows. Of course, I could have continued to go over it forever, but I decided it's time to stop that and let go. Unfortunately, I still have to put it through CreateSpace's review process, so it won't be released in January after all.

But I was close!

This novel proved to be a bit of a challenge in more ways than one, but it taught me a few things. One of them is this: don't put it off until near the end of the year! If I'd worked on the novel more during 2014, I wouldn't have found myself releasing it in February instead of January. Lesson learned and let's hope the fourth one will be ready a little sooner.

No time to worry about the fourth one, however. I'm going to submit In the Shadows to CreateSpace. If all goes well, I might be able to approve it tomorrow and then it should be up on amazon.com by Monday or Tuesday!

If you follow me on Facebook, I'll post there when the book is available. Otherwise, you can either check amazon or tune in to this blog next weekend.

Thanks for your patience and support!

It's Here

Happy New Year! 2015 has arrived and we are now responsible for making it the best we can.

The proof copy of In the Shadows has also arrived! I almost missed it because we'd already brought in the mail when the carrier apparently made an extra trip to deliver it. My husband happened to be going next door and stumbled on the package tucked in our box. Thank goodness!

The first thing I noticed is that it seems small! When I hold it up to Outsider or Another Shot, it's a little smaller because it's a little shorter. This one is 291 pages (Outsider is 359). I guess you don't have to worry about me getting too wordy this time around.

Since I got it late in the afternoon and I'm working on the fourth novel today, I had to make myself put down the proof copy so I can look at it tomorrow. Once I start, I'll probably be studying it non-stop, so I need some unbroken time. I keep looking over my shoulder at it, though.

Meanwhile, work on the fourth novel continues. I think I have a title, but I need a little time to mull it over and decide whether it will work. The novel has chapters, though! That's never easy because some chapter breaks are obvious but others are hard to shoehorn in there. There were times I thought I'd have a 20-page chapter because I couldn't decide where to break the action. Let's hope it will work the way I have it.

Don't worry, though: I will start checking the proof copy of In the Shadows tomorrow. I want to get that part done so I can keep my promise of publishing it this month. It shouldn't be a problem, but I'll feel better when it's done. Then will come the scary part: seeing if anyone will 1) buy it, 2) read it, and 3) like it. That part is out of my hands (which is probably why it's scary).

Stay tuned!

Another In The Shadows Update

Good news! I finally finished the blurb for In the Shadows, which means I was able to submit the whole book to CreateSpace.com for review. After waiting 24 hours, I got the word: it's good to go!

I've now ordered a proof copy that's supposed to arrive around January 5. (It's hard to wait!) Then I'll finally be able to hold my latest novel in my hands. What a feeling that is. (And it lasts until I start proofreading and find the inevitable mistake. Oh, well, that's part of the process.) I'll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, believe it or not, I've starting working on the next one! (It already has a rough draft.) This one will need A LOT of work: it doesn't have a title and it isn't even broken into chapters yet! (I think I have a good title in mind, though. I'll give it some thought and let you know once I'm sure.)

Remember to tell all of your friends and family members about the first two novels. They'd better hurry and read them before the third one is out, right?

I hope you had a peaceful holiday and will have a wonderful New Year. Look for the beauty that's around you, sometimes where you least expect it.


From Photography Workshop, November 2014

Thanks, as always, for your support.