First draft done!

I finished the first draft of Certified Public Assassin. I’ve set it aside while I work on other projects–like the next installment of The Liquid Diet Chronicles. Book 3 is (currently) titled Whine in a Box, and the general shape of the plot is pretty clear.

Unfortunately, Meg’s still kinda sputtering in indignant offense about Molly the assassin telling her to sit down, shut up, and wait her turn–or else.

So I’m working on some short stories. Which will come out…when I’ve got them done, polished up, and collected. Like I did with the dragon stories. Current collection title is Faerie Gifts.

The kids are back to school, today, and I’ve been working, both on the short stories and on LDC 3. And I need to get back to it, because I’ve got less than an hour left.

…almost…there…

I am within spitting distance of finishing Certified Public Assassin. As this is Spring Break, I normally couldn’t guarantee being able to finish up this week; however, this year, my mother-in-law will be taking the kids Tuesday morning, and I’ll have all of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to write.

And that’s ignoring what I’m able to get done when the kids are busy doing other things.

I am not kidding about how close to done the first draft is. I have probably three or four chapters left to write, tops. So, maybe another six or eight thousand words (it’s sitting at 68K now).

Then I’ll set it aside, because Meg’s starting to get noisy again, and I can probably write her book in a month or two. Because I think I know what’s going on (yeah, I know what’s going on–she won’t stop bitching about it even with an assassin threatening her to try to get her to wait her flippin’ turn).

It’s bad enough that I already have the opening for Whine in a Box written…

The Schrodinger Paradox is…done. I am going to do a staggered release with it: Cataclysm is due out in May (in Kindle only); Heisenberg’s Point of Observation is due out in June, also on Kindle; and Entanglement will be out in July. August will see an omnibus edition released in Kindle, and a hardback.

I…had set it up. I’d ordered a proof. And…Amazon and the files had an argument, and the proof turned out not looking at all like I wanted it to. Gotta admit, I cried a little from sheer frustration. So, now…I’m redoing the whole mess. I’m just thankful it didn’t let me set a publication date–I’d just left it as a draft, with plans to send it to publication a day before I’d planned on it coming out.

Oh, ugh. I just realized. I have to write the back cover descriptions for the pieces I’ll be releasing individually… Damn it. I hate that part…

Eventful fortnight (or so)

So, The Dragon’s in the Details went live on 3/1. It’s doing well (I credit the cover art for grabbing people’s attention–it’s damn cute). I have The Schrodinger Paradox finished. I’ve ordered a proof copy of the hardback, and will work on cycling through the paperback for a proof probably by the end of the week. I’m still planning on splitting it in thirds and publishing as novellas because it really is three novellas in one novel. I’ll be putting those out in May, June, July, and the omnibus edition (as Kindle and as hard copy) in August.

I’ve got a very helpful setup, now. Yes, I’m still in my recliner for writing, but the laptop sits on a TV tray and I’ve got a USB keyboard and mouse, both of which are the quiet varieties (both courtesy of my mother-in-law who gave me a gift card that covered both). Basically, I have a desk. Of sorts. And it’s mine.

I work better at a desk. I’m more productive, and focus better. This is mostly used for my writing setup, to keep it from becoming routine. End of the day (or after my brain’s fried), I set the laptop in my lap and turn the keyboard and mouse off. This time of day, though, especially on a school day, is work time. Blog is work (sort of).

And plot is gelling, and characters are discussing things in my head. Yes, it sounds like I’m crazy, but I’m not. I’m a writer, and y’all enjoy it.

Current projects being actively worked on are Certified Public Assassin, and (yeah, I know, but she wouldn’t shut up) Liquid Diet Chronicles: Whine in a Box.

My mom and sister got me the specific CD that CPA writes best to. Immediately after that, word count jumped. And…two of the characters I’d been writing…decided to do something I hadn’t planned for. The bastards didn’t tell the author everything about why they were doing what they were doing, and they’ve gone from bad guys to pawns. They do not want to be pawns, and we still haven’t seen the bad guys.

Currently, CPA is at 56K words. At the rate I’m going, I might be finished with the first draft by the end of the month, and be able to get Meg’s next story written.

Assuming I don’t get ambushed by more short stories. I’ve got two or three ready for another themed collection, and ideas for a couple more.