Bonus story extract at the end of this post…
As the title would suggest, this novel is still in the editing stages. There are 29 chapters currently, and I’m working on chapter four. There were a lot of changes toward the start of the book to improve interaction between the characters and improve the pace of the plot.
Sometimes I think I need some sort of countdown to mark off each chapter as they’re done! I can see now how some writers struggle to let go of their work; it can be easy to nitpick at a piece long after you’ve read it through for the sixth time.
However, I’m not going to let The Riftkeeper Series series sit on my computer. I’m digging on through the lines of editing and list of comments my brilliant editor made and I can see the piece improving with each read and each few lines of work.
My original vision of the story can be seen clearly and the characters are live, vivacious people, nagging at me that they don’t talk like that they talk like this. Still, I wouldn’t change any of that. It’s a blessing to know my characters that well.
I’m focusing on looking through the eyes of Annie and Arthur, as well as the minor characters like Farah and Brent, in order to bring the five or six senses of their world to life on the page, and for the reader.
I’ll be keeping you updated for the major milestones and, in the mean time, I’ll leave you with a word from Arthur:
''I'll do that.' I tried to keep my expression concerned, aiming for dutiful citizen. It wasn't a role I really liked to play but I had done a lot of bending at the knee before. Politics was not a place for egos, not unless you were on the pedestal with all your minions looking to break it down. I preferred to live in a less precarious spot, somewhere real life is possible rather than a constant game of masks.'
P.S. Those also interested in horror and sci-fi may like to check out my recent blog post on The Russian Sleep Experiment, my other project on the go. A summary can be found on the Upcoming page.