Final Review

The Oracle is finished and submitted for its final review. This review process is typically very fast and I hope to be able to say that it will be approved in the morning, but we'll see. I'm a tiny bit concerned about some sizing on the cover, but if there is a problem with that, I should be able to get it ironed out within a day. Either way, I HOPE that it will be available for sale by the end of the weekend.

I just have to say that the completion of this project at the end here has been so totally exhausting. This week has been filled with many sleepless nights, and I've been struggling with migraines and an ulcer (heh, go figure) for the past two weeks. It's almost painful to be this close to the end and simply sitting and waiting for the review to go through, but waiting is part of the process as well. Next year when I am getting out book 3: The White Thread I'm going to try to manage my time more efficiently so that I don't feel this way around this same time a year from now. If somebody were to ask me if it is all worth it, however, I would of course say yes. I know that writing is in my blood, and it gives me a euphoric rush like nothing else on earth. To steal from Chariots of Fire, "When I [write], I feel God's pleasure!" I wish that I could come up with something more profound than that right now, but it is almost 3:30 in the morning and I have been working on finishing up the final revisions for 8 hours (following an 8 hour work day teaching, of course). I think that it is time to go to bed.

Meet the New Narks

Well, I had promised a few sneak peeks before The Oracle is officially published, and I realized that I had only posted one so far! So, I thought that I would introduce you all to two new narks that show up in book 2.

Wal Wyn ... was the fairest day nark she had ever seen. His eyes were so pale that they were almost clear, and his hair was not just blond, but white blond. Borna Fero, by comparison, was much darker as a day nark (his hair could almost be called light brown), and he was unusually thick and stocky. He wore his hair in a myriad of tiny braids, and the expression on his face looked a little crazed. He stood now swinging a large knife over and over between his hands, and when he'd introduced himself to Darcy that morning, he had told her that he had been raised by bears.
I had a lot of fun writing these two characters, and I hope that you enjoy reading about them in The Oracle. Speaking of which, I have the proof copy in my hand and I hope to be able to say that it is available for sale by the end of this week!

The Six is Back

Just a quick note: Book 1: The Six is once again up for sale. It has it's new cover, and I've updated the thumbnail here.

Oracle Update

I decided to go ahead and answer the question posed in the comments to my last post via a new blog post (btw, thanks to paranormal fantasies for alerting me to the fact that the new cover for The Six is already up on Amazon! I will update the thumbnail hyperlink on here as soon as I can). The question was whether or not I have any update on the release date of The Oracle. The answer to that is yes and no. I have a tentative release date of two to three weeks from now. Unfortunately, publishing with createspace does not allow me the opportunity of knowing exactly when it will go up for sale, but here's where I am in the process: My artists and I are working out a few kinks in the cover art for The Oracle (resizing). As soon as I get that final artwork, I will order a proof copy. Then I have one final read-through to complete, the final proof to order, and it will be done! It really could go very quickly, assuming that nothing untoward happens. I am MORE than ready to have it finished, and I am so excited to start getting feedback. One of my great friends and benefactors is reading the draft this weekend, so we'll see what she says. My student reader read it straight through three times in a week and said that she cried at the end. Yes! I made somebody emote.

Anyhow, check out the Amazon link if you would like to see the new cover art for The Six, which will go back up for sale as soon as I can approve the proof with the new artwork (hopefully in a couple days). Thanks to everybody for all your support!

TITLE ON HOLD

Just a quick note: Book 1: The Six will NOT be available for sale for (hopefully) just a couple days. I have placed the title on hold so as to put the new cover on the book. I will post when it is once again available for sale.

Passage Sneak Peek!

Okay, in the rundown to publication (now that we are roughly a month out according to my optimistic schedule) I want to post from time to time little sneak peaks from the text of The Oracle. Here is one of my favorite passages from Chapter 19: The Unwilling Participant:

It was then that she noticed the large raft that served as the ferry. An ancient man was clinging to a long, gnarled pole as though it was an extension of his arm, staring at them; one eye was completely obscured by cataracts. He looks like Charon, Darcy thought with a shiver, ferryman of the dead! She hoped that she wasn’t being prophetic.

I worked several hours on revisions today. I hope to be ready to order my proof by the first of October!

The Slow Drag

Right about now is the time that I realize how much of a slow drag the revision process actually is. I'm arguably about halfway through, and the end is not nearly as close as I would like it to be. If I did not have a full-time job, I would certainly be done with revisions by now, but I DO have a full-time job (and it is a job that I love) that requires my time and attention. I have a student reader all lined up to do a revision for me once I get my first proof copy put together, but I have to finish my end first. She keeps bugging me for the book and I feel badly because I keep putting her off. But it's all good; it will come together in the end. My release date of late October should still be achievable. Here's what I have completed thus far:
-My first complete read-through/revision.
-My rough draft has been edited for grammar and content by two experts.
-Half of the above-mentioned edits written in to my paper rough draft.
Here's what I have yet to complete:
-Finish entering the last half of edits to paper rough draft.
-Enter all revisions into the computer draft.
-Submit revised/edited draft to receive proof copy.
-Give proof copy to student reader.
-Make changes suggested by student reader.
-Submit and receive second proof copy.
-Perform another read-through revision.
-Make all necessary changes.
-Submit and receive third proof and okay for publication.

Okay... so maybe I'm not quite halfway through. What can I say, I'm an optimist at heart!