The Next Step

This morning I began writing the final scene of the book. It's the final showdown that also serves to propel things forward into the next book, setting the stage for Book 2 in which the stakes are raised for everyone.

I'm giving myself two weeks because I want to make sure I nail the scene, but hopefully I can be done before then. I have already begun the next step. I'm now looking for a copy editor to go over the whole thing with a fresh perspective to eliminate contradictions and errors.

While it's in the editor's hands, I'll be working on an interior map illustration and searching for a cover artist. I have thrown together a mock-up of the cover design I want using my drawings. But I'd rather move away from my cartoony look and see it rendered in a finer painted style. The trick, of course, is to find someone good and affordable. Wish me luck.

I don't know how quickly or slowly things will progress once I hand over my finished draft, but I'm hopeful to have a book in my hand by the middle of March. Even if, at that point, it's only an advance rush copy without the final cover art.

It appears that the book will land somewhere between 90,000 and 100,000 words. A little longer than I anticipated when I first started writing, but not what would be considered a long novel in today's publishing world.