Another Novel, Peeps

I sent out a few queries for The Klown Kroo. That means a cover letter, synopsis and three sample chapters. We'll see if anyone bites. In the meantime, I have begun another, yes another, novel. In 2001, while living in Colonial Arms Inn, newly married and in close proximity to a Fendley, I wrote a novel called Deep Water. It was almost, and I mean almost, bought by a Canadian publishing house, but they ultimately sent it back. I no longer have a copy of the completed manuscript, but I remember the story well, and it could be much, much better.

I am going to write that much, much better version of Deep Water. Tonight, I wrote the first 1000 words. It's a fantasy novel with a jacked-up premise that unfolds with ever increasing bleakness. All will love it.

The Clown Who Falls Down

Completed another revision of The Klown Kroo. Lots of trims here and there to make chunky prose read more smoothly. But I also added a couple of scenes, which pushed the overall length of the novel to 123,760 words. Specifically, Karl aka Touches got a new poignant scene, and Vern got a new disturbing scene. I want to go back and reread the first few pages, though. I still think the opening paragraphs need work. The rest of it is pretty good, though.

Another Novel, Completed!

Finished the first draft of Mary of Shadows. Think of it, that means I've written two full novels this year. That's a record. Two novels in one year. And, yes, a whole heck of a lot of rewriting is now in store for me.

Anyway, Mary of Shadows came in at 99,500 words, nineteen chapters and an epilogue. It will probably grow in the rewrite. That is my prediction. First I will go through the manuscript looking for typos and major gaffes and then print a copy for Lisa to enjoy. She always gets to enjoy the mess and glory of the first drafts.

Dagnab!

Dagnab, I had to post this. After my last post, I went back (for no particular reason) and read the very first post I ever made on The Special Blog of Reginald McNard. Actually, I came across the second post, where I tell this convoluted story about how I wrote and published a short story called "Stick Boys" once upon a time.

Well, suffice it to say, in the course of telling that long-winded story, I mention that I was starting to work on a Stick Boys novel. Reading that made me curious, so I went digging through my hard drive to find that uncompleted novel. I did not find it, although I'm sure it's there somewhere, buried in a folder within a folder within a folder. Instead, I came across a novel I wrote in 2006 called Dreaming of Shadows. It is a completed novel, though it needs a heck of a lot of rewriting and word-love to make it acceptable.

However, what astonished me was how mind-numbingly long the novel is. 196,284 words, to be exact. Let's assume in paperback form I get 300 words per page. That would put the novel at 654 pages. That's a pretty big book for little ol' me. It might've even gotten published if I hadn't given up on the rewrite from absolute burn-out.

Interesting. I shall have to spend some time on this novel when I get done with Mary of Shadows. I already have some ideas on how I might fix the ever-loving stipple out of it.

Shall We Update?

I guess a bit of an update is in order. Still haven't heard back from the publisher about The Klown Kroo. When I get done with my current project, I will probably go back to the klowns and do some more rewriting and polishing. As for Mary of the Aether, the publication date is quite a ways off, so I haven't had any editorial work to do yet. I did join the private forum for Whiskey Creek authors. Not much else to report on that end.

I have been working a bit here and there on the sequel to Mary of the Aether. I'm thinking about changing the title of the sequel to Mary of Shadows. I am 86,000 words into it, approaching the climax. Chapters fifteen, sixteen and seventeen are basically one long chase scene through the town of Chesset. It was arduous to write. I hope it works. I just got to chapter eighteen, where sudden, surprising things happen, and then we'll build toward the final showdown and the end. I expect the book to come in at about the same length at the first book, possibly a little longer.

Latest chapter titles, for no particular reason:

Chapter Sixteen - Closing In
Chapter Seventeen - All Roads Lead to Chesset
Chapter Eighteen - Complications

I think my idea in this prolonged chase scene is for the town itself to become a kind of character in the story. We'll see if I pulled it off when I get around to the first read-through.

Anywho, that's all for now.