Reflections:

I know I talked a little bit last week about not just meeting my deadline but actually getting to it a day ahead, but I really do want to reflect on it all a bit more now, if you will ‘bear with me.’:)

In the first instance, coming in on schedule was just great because having had earlier goals “quaked” as a result of February 22nd, it just felt really good to have achieved something. Not least because the first half of this year has otherwise felt very much, whole-of-life wise, like continually sliding back to square one in a particularly virulent game of snakes and ladders. So a goal achieved is just a really nice feeling.

I also really wanted to “make” 1 July as that means that The Gathering of the Lost will be published in March 2012 in the US. This is important to me for several reasons. The first is that I feel that 18 months is toward the farthest end of what it is reasonable to ask readers to wait for a next-in-series—part of that unwritten contract that I feel exists between authors and readers, when doing a series like The Wall of Night. The second—and to me, at least, this is almost as important as the first—is that in many ways Gathering is a springtime book. It is set in a different part of the Haarth world to the Wall of Night, where the cultures are more colourful and diverse—and there are not only festivals, chivalry and tourneys, but also songs of springtime love … So I think the “energy” for the book will be “right”, coming in with the spring and the sunshine.

When I blogged on the Supernatural Underground on Friday 1, here, I also talked about the importance to me of “writing the story I wanted to write.”  At one level you may say: “Duh, obvious. Why else would you write?” Why, indeed?! But I feel that there are two levels of writing—just getting the fundamental story out there, then the second level that is all about depth, detail and nuance. So rather than having a sketch in greytone, admittedly one with all the basic characters and action present, you bring in both the flesh tones and the jewel bright accent colours, as well as the fine strokes that delineate muscle and denote character, expression and action. In short, you have a painting, not just a sketch.

The work that I have been doing on Gathering over these past few months has been all about making sure that every part of the book is a painting and not a sketch. For me, that is part of the faith that I have to keep as an author, not just with readers in terms of offering quality, but also with the story itself—to do my best to do justice to all that it can be. I feel that in this case I really have given it my all, a feeling that definitely adds to the sense of completion: I truy have done all that I can do—and the rest, from this point, in terms of the book and the world, really is completely outside my control.

The ‘Oscar Acceptance Speech’, aka Many Thank Yous:

In my Supernatural Underground post, I also mentioned some of the wonderful people without whom I would almost certainly not have made 1 July. What I talked about under “More Earthquakes” was the second 6.3 earthquake (technically, apparently, an ‘aftershock’ of the February 22nd 6.3 ‘quake—rolls eyes) that resulted in further liquefaction and need for digging out of a sea of sludge/mud around our property—and the wonderful friends who pitched in and helped do this so I could keep working on the book. You can read the long version on the Supernatural Underground post, but basically I named and thanked them there and intend to do it again right now:

Andrew, Joffre; Dave; Caroline; Susi; Peter; Fitz; Ram; Shane; and Chris: without your help post June 13, I would not have met my 1 July deadline for the book so my very sincere thank to you all. You definitely rock—not least because I know we’re all so tired of doing this, over and over again.

Another person who also gets a long overdue acknowledgment and huge thanks for ‘services to the cause of meeting book deadline’ is Mary Victoria. For 3 weeks in late April/May, Mary and her husband Frank gave me the use of their beautiful home in Wellington for a dedicated writing retreat away from more or less continual aftershocks, mud, dust, portaloos, streets like old river beds with potholes large enough to swallow cars etc—ie a peaceful haven which, without the struggle of day-to-day just managing, really enabled me to get traction on the book.

So Mary, Frank: again with the big thank you. You have definitely been part of the solution.

Another huge vote of thanks goes to my editor, Kate, at HarperVoyager, for her patience, understanding and encouragement under very trying circumstances, as well as to the UK team at Orbit who have also been consistent in their concern and support. And the same to my agent, Robin, and her assistant, Beth, who have always been there as required to keep the path as smooth as possible (despite those riverbed roads!)  and solution focused.

And last, but never least, to my partner Andrew for his unfailing encouragement and support, as always. Good times, bad times—what more can you say?

Other than “I’ll be back”, in this case on Wednesday—because tomorrow is Tuesday Poem day, & yes, I do have another new one for you!—with what’s coming up for “life after deadline.”  (If you read yesterday’s post you’ll already know I’ve been luxuriating in a spot of reading over the weekend.) And for Thursday,  I don’t know for sure, but I’ve been thinking it really is time I started talking about those Six Great Heroes of SFF, to go with the heroines posts in May (here and here) …