Revision time.

Besides me completing the revision and delivering the manuscript (ms) that is. Needless to say, everything below is firmly predicated on where responsibility for that lies.

Nonetheless, on Monday, I did a “steady-as-she-goes” update for the Great Revision. And noted that I am currently “well into [revision task] #4”—which although “the largest and gnarliest of the 7 [revision] tasks”, still means that the next stage, which is called D&A: Delivery (my part) and Acceptance (publisher), is now visible on the horizon.

Assuming all goes well with the acceptance, a publication date will then be set and we’ll be into the edit, copyedit, proof etc stages of (capital P) production.

Copyedit for The Gathering of the Lost

I do harbour some apprehension, though, that having taken so long to complete the manuscript and lost WALL #4’s place in the publication queue thereby—and also given that Covid, subsequent supply chain issues, and inflation have had adverse effects on the publishing industry along with so much else—that the publication date may be a long way out from D&A.

The chief factor that might influence that scenario positively is a discernible uptick in interest in and enthusiasm for the series and its completion. The series has continued to sell through the intervening period since #3 (Daughter of Blood), which really helps, but the more that continues between now and D&A, the better the chances (imho) of an earlier rather than later publication date.

Proof manuscript for Daughter of Blood

The most telling sign of interest for publishers when setting dates and booksellers for stocking books, is always prior sales. But the primary means of generating the buzz and building the readership that supports sales is what I call the 4 R’s:

• Request: If they’re not in your local bookshop or library, request they get them in
• Read: (Although I’m assuming most who visit here have already done that. 😀 )
• Review: Leaving reviews on retail, library, and other reading and book sites is a great way to keep a book and/or series before other potential readers. They don’t have to be long—I believe “Impec” is Daughter of Blood’s shortest review but nonetheless conveys the reader’s impression.
• Recommend: If you love the series yourself, recommend the books to others and where appropriate encourage them to request, read, review in their turn. This can be via word-of-mouth, reviews as above, or contribution to lists, and on on, should the opportunity arise.

The “where opportunity arises” applies to all of the above, I hasten to add. 😀

Nothing beats a recommendation.

And of course “Tis The Season” (ahem)—but bearing the WALL series in mind for gifts generally is always appreciated in terms of the ever vital bottom line.

Gifts – Photo credit: Marisa Taylor

Hence my thinking that with D&A discernible ahead, it’s worth mentioning what may help get an earlier rather than later publication date—and although the delivery part rests with me, any and all help with building a buzz is always greatly appreciated.

Avante! It’s update time!

First of all, apologies because I know my “I’ll be back in three months” has turned into four. Largely because I’ve been striving to push through a gnarly piece of revision before updating, although end-of-year and a sprained thumb tendon have played their part: O-o!

Still, more than time, especially with the holiday season looming. That’s another “Uh-oh,” but I know I’m not alone in that at this time of year.

As the title promises, this is a steady-as-she-goes update—which those who have seen the recent posts titled Kicking For Touch — With Added Writing Quote Goodness and  last Thursday’s Characters Behaving Badly Reprised will doubtless have gleaned. 😉

Looking back to the last update, I mentioned having identified seven (7) main revision tasks and having completed #1 and #2. I was moving onto the Great Read-Through, aka “…reading the whole shebang through, warts and all, from go to whoa.”

The GR-T was quite a ride, but mostly in a good way (hurrah!), and absolutely spot-on, timing-wise, in terms of getting a refresh on the big picture before I started Changing Anything.

Now much thumbed, annotated & written over.

As also mentioned last time, once done I then leapt into Changing Everything— No, no, just joking (honest!), revision tasks #3 and #4 were what I promised, which effectively comprise the first half of the book.

Task #3 is now a wrap and I’m currently well into #4, albeit with the Reviser’s* Advisory that it comprises what is, by all the signs and auguries, the largest and gnarliest of the 7 tasks. (Although I have a weather eye on #6 where I suspect Thanir of still behaving badly despite earlier optimism on that point.)

“Still not king”…

So there it is: a steady-as-she-goes update but still very much going in the right direction: forward, forward, always forward!

… Excelsior!

Although that holiday season is looming like a juggernaut… #JustSayin’

*Reviser or revisor, I pondered--but Merriam Webster put -er first, with -or as a variant, 
so reviser it is.

~*~

Speaking of holiday seasons (i.e. time to read stuff, maybe?!) & ICYMI Group Haarth has finished Part 1 of The Wall Of Night readalong and the convenor’s report is here.

I’ll also have a wee related post to both holiday seasons and m’books on Thursday, so please do check back for that. 🙂

It’s that time of year — Christmas & summer!

Firstly, I promised a Great Revision update for either today or next Monday, and owing to a series of events it shall be Monday.

Some but not all of the events were unexpected — although I guess it’s the time of year for events and some of them are going to be surprises, like unanticipated visitors. 😀

In this case, one event (neither expected nor unexpected) was Malian behaving badly when it came to cooperating with the revision process. I know I’ve talked about Characters Behaving Badly on at least one prior occasion, but I wonder if I have ever shared that Kalan is, by and large, easy to write, while Malian is far more tricky?

Yup, can be tricky…

What fascinates me about this, from an “inside the writing life” perspective, is how it reflects their characters. Yet while I think it’s true that Kalan is a far easier-to-know personality (you may recall that Faro reflects, at the end of Daughter of Blood that he “…is always bright, like the sun”) I don’t believe the correlation between easy-to-know and easy-to-write always applies.

For example, the Earl of Night, like his daughter, is always at the difficult-to-write end of the spectrum — but Asantir, who is an equally complex character, has always leapt from pen to page.

Pen to, er, screen page. 🙂

Returning to Malian, and as with Thanir in the original Characters Behaving Badly post, this last week she has proven particularly opaque when it comes to ensuring her actions and reactions remain “in tune” with both who she was and has become through the series. Probably because, citing Faro again, she is “…full of cleverness and secrets…and twisty…”

All of which adds up to a Monday progress update. And the author working a whole lot harder — situation normal, in other words. 😀

Introduction:

Away awa’ back in August (oh my — feels like a Middle Earth Age distant!) I blew a ta-ran-ta-ra & tooted a vuvuzela for (FB) Group Haarth and the Great “Wall Of Night” Series (Re) Read-Along.

For those who’re new here, and otherwise by way of a reminder, Group Haarth “…was formed by and for readers who want to hang out together and talk all-things, you know, Haarth.” 😀

Rosie Wadman

As the readalong coordinator, Rosie Wadman, shared in August, the purpose is to revisit the WALL story with fellow readers on a chapter by chapter basis, with a keen eye for “…a multitude of details, from individual characters and their relationships, to the beginning of narrative arcs, world building, and of course the joy of any re-read… all the foreshadowing!”

It was also mentioned that there might be progress reports — and now Rosie has let me know that the read-along for Part One of The Heir Of Night (The Wall Of Night, Book One) is complete. So without further ado, here’s Rosie’s report:
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The Great ReRead & Read-Along Overview: The Heir Of Night, Part One

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Conclusion:

OK, I am blushing a little, but in an entirely good way. 😀

If any of you would like to add your own reflections on anything Rosie has said, or ask her a question, then I’m very happy for you to do so here. And if you also inhabit the Great Plains of FB, you can always rock on over to Group Haarth and knock on the door — it’s a private group, but very welcoming of all Haarthlings — and communicate directly.

Do you recall I mentioned that FB Group Haarth have embarked on a Wall series readalong, first on August 17, with a reminder on September 14?

What I didn’t mention was that the readalong coordinator, Rosie, also proposed writing regular Read-Along updates from time to time. So I’ll be posting the first one next Monday. 😀

Revision printouts

Which is timely, since I’m also aware that I’m overdue a revision update, so I’ll post that either the following Thursday or Monday, depending on how the week rolls.

Otherwise, I’m mindful that I haven’t yet reported back on all the books on my TBR table that I mentioned at the beginning of the year (or thereabouts.) So I hope to rectify that over the next few weeks.

That’s it — but I think it’s enough to be going on with. 😉

1 December has rolled around, which means I’ve just posted the last instalment of my 2023 theme on the band-of-brothers trope in Fantasy fiction — and the spotlight’s on Daughter of Blood.

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If you’re pondering whether there are bands of brothers in Daughter, the answer is yes, there definitely are! And at least one bromance — imho, anyway. 😀

To find out moar, you know the drill: click on the following link and rock on over to Supernatural Underground:

Bromance and the Band of Brothers in Daughter Of Blood

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And, of course, if you feel I’ve omitted the best example, let me know with a comment, either here or over thar. 😀

On Monday, in my Kicking For Touch post, I only supplied half (the most-apposite-to-the-post half) of the quote.

The full text is this:

Read as much and as widely as you can.
Make writing a part of your daily routine.
Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.
Have courage in both your writing and your life.
~ Kate Forsyth,

In do heart this quote in terms of capturing a flavour of the writing life, but in terms of how I actually live up to it… Let’s go line-by-line for the scorecard!

Read as much and as widely as you can.

Yep, totally there re the “as much.” I definitely strive for widely, too, although sometimes feel it’s a “could try harder” on the scorecard for that.

Books galore…

Make writing a part of your daily routine.

Although I consider this essential, it’s something I still struggle to really make sacrosanct. Chiefly because life, the universe, and everything is so good at intruding. And when the writing gets tough, as it does, the temptation to “tidy the yard” (or like distractions) can become very strong. Writers with immaculate yards… Methinks it hath the ring of an interwebs meme!

Daily routines

Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.

Absolutely 100% + to the story. In myself, to deliver what the story demands and merits? Sometimes, especially when the going gets tough (as above), that can also be a work in progress. But overall, yes: I don’t think I could have kept going this long if I didna back myself and the book.

Photo credit: Andi Buchanan

Have courage in both your writing and your life.

I do strive for both — but suspect the scorecard on both the writing and the life will only be in once they’re done. 😀 Nonetheless, I believe (again 100%) that the courage to embark on a book at all, and to keep faith with the muses (no matter how cantankerous they may be) is a vital ingredient of the writing life. And if I aim for that star and fall short, I hope to land on the top of the tallest tree. 😀

Sometimes, you even get to catch a morning star … 😉

That w.i.p is go-go-go

Yep, I am kicking for touch today, dear readers. That’s because I have two separate parts of the w.i.p. on the go at once!

How did that happen? you may ponder. Welp, it goes like this: there’s the part I’m currently working on, which is straight-out revision involving much careful unravelling and restitching to make the zig and zag of story into a cohesive narrative route: O-o!

Then there’s the other part, where I pop out for a walk to clear the authorial mind and a completely different section of the narrative leaps into the gap. In this case, one of the completely new sections that needs to be written to support the way the end section came together.

I’ve been mulling over it in the background, along the lines of how to come up with the best entry trajectory and deliver the required narrative in a lean, fighting-fit way (i.e. I don’t think even the most awesome of editors, the redoubtable Kate, would countenance a sudden breakout into Wheel of Time territory with its fourteen books, or even a leap into Dorne with new characters, storylines, and back stories, Game Of Thrones style.)

Anyway, there I was, trucking around the ‘hood at a fair clip when the story sprang into life. Think Athena from the brain of Zeus, dear readers — not that I have pretensions to being Zeus but am sure you get the drift. 😀 So, of course, I wasna going to anything but stay with it and write while the ideas were flowing.

Gotta get those good words down!

1.5 hours and a 1000 words later I definitely felt like I had made the right decision, but now I have to stay with both while they’re fresh and wrap them up. In which spirit, I feel this quote from Kate Forsyth is very apt:

Be steadfast and unshakeable in both yourself and your story.
Have courage in both your writing and your life.
~ Kate Forsyth,

The About The Characters post series focuses on the minor characters in The Wall Of Night series, in large part because:

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that “makes” a story, creating texture around the main points of view.”

~ from my Legend Award Finalist’s Interview, 2013

Initially, the series focused exclusively on characters from The Heir of Night, but now I’m continuing on with minor characters from both The Gathering Of The Lost and Daughter of Blood — in alphabetical order, by name, of course!

Currently we’re traversing “N”, and today’s character, Nherenor, is another of those whose page time may be “minor”, but is outweighed by his influence within the story — which makes me wonder whether I should have had a Between category as well. In the interests of simplicity, however, I shall continue to allow “minor” broad boundaries and include Nherenor here today. 😀

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Nherenor: Ilkerineth’s son, a Swarm envoy to Emer

The air around the dark watcher bent, the shadows billowing outward again—and a human form emerged, stepping away from the smoky swirl of darkness and folding what looked like a cloak across his arm. Nherenor, Malian thought, recognizing him from the audience with the Duke—and could have laughed out loud for the sheer surprise of the shadow cloak. They were in all the stories, but until you saw the transformation take place … And it explained how Nherenor had blended into the light as he passed the torch above the castle courtyard.

~ from © The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall Of Night Book Two – Chapter 37, Adept

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Malian frowned, recalling that misty dawn in Caer Argent and the Sworn youth laughing as he leapt to confront her. “Did you know Nherenor was Ilkerineth’s son?”

Raven nodded. “Nindorith’s presence in Caer Argent, and before that outside Tenneward Lodge, meant Ilkerineth had a hand in the game. When I saw the Lightning knights with their young lord at the tourney ground, I guessed the rest.”

Malian tilted her face to the sun, still thinking of Nherenor as she had last seen him…

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three – Chapter 18, The Wayhouse

Yep, it’s a two-for-one Monday, with a “Just Arrived” shoutout for Nod Ghosh’s The Two-Tailed Snake (Fairlight Books), plus a quick mention of the latest post on Supernatural Underground.

Just Arrived: The Two-Tailed Snake by Nod Ghosh

Although I am sometimes slow to the reading party, this arrival is hot off the press as the launch was only last Tuesday (at the University Bookshop on a glorious summer evening.)

I haven’t been to a book launch for a considerable period, so I enjoyed the vibrancy of this one, including Nod and four other writers reading from their work.

Nod Ghosh is a fellow Canterbury author, already well-known for her flash fiction, short stories, and novellas. (For her official bio, click here.) The Two-Tailed Snake is Nod’s first novel. I always enjoy the wit and humour that characterizes her writing, and her overall way with words, so (unsurprisingly) I am very much looking forward to reading it.

As is my wont, I include the backcover synopsis for those who wish to know more:

“North-east India, 1945. Tensions are rising, but fourteen-year-old Joya doesn’t pay much attention to ‘political business’ – she is more concerned with doing well at school and having fun with her best friends. Yet when her father disappears without a trace, Joya’s life falls apart.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It! (An Additional Supernatural Underground Post)

So why an extra post? Welp, that’s because a fellow Supernatural Underground author, Kim Falconer (who also writes as AK Wilder) is currently recuperating after a hospital visit, so asked if I could cover her spot. (Kim always posts on 16th of the month.)

Naturally, I said “yes” — and could think of no better topic than:

Three Fabulous Reasons To Love Kim Falconer’s Books

I had fun writing it, too, covering the gamut of Kim’s books from her first Quantum Enchantment (Sci-Fantasy) series, through the standalone The Blood In The Beginning (paranormal urban fantasy), and right up to her current Amassia trilogy.

If you haven’t read Kim’s books yet, do check the post out! If you have and would like to give Kim and her work a boost, then please consider undertaking one or all of the Four Actions of the Reading Apocalypse: Buy, Request, Review, and Recommend. 😀 (New readers can do this, too, of course. 😉 )