After much delay, pain and struggle with characters that had no desire to follow an attractive story arc (seriously, I think only two groups understand the burden of fictional beings that don’t listen to their creators: writers and the insane… I really hope I’m a writer) House of 13 is back on a very optimistic track and progressing toward a wonderful finish. I have decided to stop at the end of the current section and unwind the rest of the night with 51,000 words down on the page.

Next time I sit down, I’ll be writing the epic (and I do like to think it’s epic by its very definition) conclusion to the story that will kick off the series.

I am anticipating the delightful news that the first draft (technically the second, I know, but it’s such a fresh manuscript compared to the first draft that I might as well scrap the old one) is complete and starting the editing process very soon. And when that announcement hits, it’s going to be a cascade of wonderful events following it.

The edits and the rewrites should go very smoothly, as I have learned that I am much better at linear writing (from beginning to end) than I am writing in scenes and segments that will be quilted together later. Also, I’m still very much a pantser (as in one who flies by the seat of…) and not much of a planner. I know that doesn’t sound like much in the way of organized writing, but I promise, it works better for me this way.

On top of that, the book jacket has already been drafted and the cover has been outlined. I’m very excited. It’s really been a big wonderful mess that I will be happy to finish up and send out into the world.

If you are interested in hearing more about it, or maybe you just want to prod me and force me to finish already, you can find me this weekend.

Friday September 19th and Saturday September 20th, I will be in St. Clair Shores at the Made in Michigan market. Come out and support your local authors, local artists, local everybody. I will be entertaining myself (and those foolish enough to visit) with a game I started up at the last event, Bad Sketches by Good Authors… you can see what I got up to at the gallery on my Facebook page.