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EPIC Indie Summer Sale
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This is my first time participating, and I've lowered the price on a few of my books:
The Unusual Clients (Free), BackTracker ($0.99), and AGROTHARN ($0.99).
New Release: The Interdimensionals Trilogy Concludes
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July Reading Deals
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Laugh & Shake Your Head KU Mysteries First in Series Fade to Black
Mayhem & Motives Cozy Mystery Cravings Worlds Unbound SFF Series Sale
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Sale SFF Book Bazaar Exclusive Deals Dystopian Reads
YA Fantasy More YA Fantasy Endless Escapes Post-Apocalyptic Reads
Echoes of the End SF Series KU Sci-Fi RomComs Mystery Bundle
Listen to This YA Sci-Fi Adventures Time Travel Fantastic Fantasy KU Promo
SFF Series Sale Sci-Fi Audiobooks KU SFF Reads Crimes in the Moonlight
Books 4 Everyone Summer Celebration Cozy Mystery Book Fair KU Mysteries
Mysteries & Thrillers Support Indie Authors Plot Twists & Unexpected Endings
KU Crime & Mystery Box Sets Kobo Plus Fantasy Box Sets Mysteries Done Right
Summer Scares Terrifying Tales Bestselling Fantasy Thrillers for Life
SFF Freebies Free SF&F Fantastic Realms Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Free SFF Reads SFF Adventures Crime Stories Thriller Freebies
Edits are Done
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Even after working in education for 26 years, summer break has yet to lose its thrill. I didn't get into teaching for the summers, but they're a great motivator to keep me in the field for another twenty years or so. I've worked on a lot of projects around the house the past few summers, but this year I decided to buckle down and pretend I'm a full-time writer. So far, that's meant spending a week wrapping up the first draft of Angels & Androids and devoting the last two weeks to revisediting. I made a habit of tightening up the manuscript as I went along over the past year, so the final round of edits really wasn't too arduous. I cut a couple thousand words and added another thousand, so it ended up being about 91K. A little longer than the other two installments in this trilogy, but not by much. And, as promised, the ending is a satisfying one.
Writing two trilogies in the same world with many of the same characters is something I haven't done before, so it's a mixed bag to say goodbye. On the one hand, I'm relieved I was able to pull it off, I'm pleased with how everything turned out, and I'm ready to move on. But I'd still like to stick around for a while and see what happens next. Probably because I've been invested in these decades-spanning tales for so long, I can't help feeling like they're part of me. What a journey!
Next up: formatting the eBook, the paperback, and the box set. Time to put on my publisher hat.
Novel #24
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Friday Freebie
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Book Review: The Silmarillion
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The Interdimensionals Trilogy Continues...
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8K to Go
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I'm up to 82,000 words in my current novel, Angels & Androids, and I'm closing in on the home stretch. Whenever I write a trilogy, I always try to make the final installment a real hoot and a half. I figure if readers have stuck with me for three books, there should be a major payoff for them at the end. There are few things I hate more as a reader than to get to the last book in a series only to find that the author has lost steam. Or lost interest. Or both. That's why I aim for a grand finale. A satisfying finish. And while it dumps a load of self-imposed pressure onto my shoulders, it's usually worth it in the end.
I had ideas for a couple of novellas in this series, which were going to be Mutants & Madmen and Zombies & Zealots, but I decided to cram everything into one action-packed novel instead. And so far, it's made for a very rewarding (and complicated) drafting experience. It's also been one of my more time-consuming projects to date. Usually, I can crank out a first draft in about four months. By the time I wrap this one up, it'll have been in the works for an entire year.
But I have to give myself some grace here. After four years of subbing, I'm teaching part-time now, which has required a readjustment to lesson-planning, grading, and attending meetings like old times. So my head space is a bit more crowded these days. Meanwhile, things with the in-laws aren't getting any easier. Dementia is a real monster; it takes your loved ones a piece at a time and leaves you feeling like a failure. Because no matter what you do, you can't make things right. You can only bring comfort and care, whether or not your efforts are remembered five minutes later.
Keep on keepin' on. Never give up, never surrender!