I hear you Kentuckians (and others) are very cold today and expecting to get colder. Funny that my mom was hanging clothes out on the line a couple of weeks ago and it was a warm 64' in the bluegrass state. Here it is foggy and 40 degrees with a bitter wind blowing the chimes outside my window. I'm already looking forward to spring which begins about late May here. Thought I'd give a little book update for those who are interested in the writing life.
The Frontiersman's Daughter is moving right along now that the release date is only a few months away. I heard yesterday that the preview copies were just sent out. One Ky. author emailed me to let me know she received hers and has read the first chapter. She's one of my picks for endorsements on the back cover. Hope she likes the book! Now that the galleys are done, TFD is edited again and sent to proofreaders. Soon I will get the "pages" which will be the actual book in page format just like the one you'll (hopefully) want to hold in your hands. I will read the book yet again (I can quote parts of it now!), and check for errors, etc. This process is so very thorough I'll be surprised if I find any at this stage.
Red River Daughter is finished but needs work after page 240. This is not a sequel to The Frontiersman's Daughter but is another stand-alone novel. However, there is one overlapping character that jumps from the first to the second book, albeit briefly. Sort of a cameo appearance in the opening chapter before he disappears completely. I dearly love this second book. It may be my favorite. It's also taking a great deal of work to make it work. I am sad that I can't spend eons on narrative about the wonders of Kentucky's Red River Gorge area. Readers tend to like lots of dialogue these days. I stuff in as much narrative as I can, otherwise I feel cheated and some readers might too.
And now for The Scrivener's Daughter. I'm up to page 221 and when I read it over I wonder who wrote it! It's that different. My writing has changed so much since TFD! I'm also writing from a his/her perspective for the first time and am really enjoying the change. But I've had to put it away while I work on RRD and I am missing it. Some writers balance multiple books at once but I don't like to do this myself. I may get Lael and Morrow and Roxie mixed up.
So after hours and hours in my chair with my laptop on my lap, it is sometimes a relief to just get up and do the dishes. Happy Friday.
Oh, yeah. You'll still find some errors and typos and such as that in that last copy so read it carefully. Sounds as if the next two books are coming along great. And yes, it's still cold here in Kentucky. If your mom hung out clothes today, they had to freeze dry. I used to freeze-dry diapers on the line all the time back when I had babies. You always had to pull the edges under the clothes pins off the line one corner at a time because it stayed frozen under the pins. I was thrilled to get my first clothes dryer and it lasted thirty years and was still running when I replaced it. The things you find out about people reading blog comments. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll look closely, Ann! You should know after 19 books! Chuckling about your icy diapers:)
ReplyDeleteHi Laura,
ReplyDeleteGood news on all the books! I can't wait to read the first one! It is freezing here! About 15-16 this morning.........we too had warm weather just a few days ago but the last couple of days are record LOW temperatures! We are headed to Greenville, SC this morning to visit my good friend Wanda and her family for the weekend. Kids are out of school here on Monday for MLK day but we will come home Sunday night. Seana comes Monday to do some decorating. We had our foyer, dining room, up the stairs (all my 25 ft. ceilings) painted last week and it is so pretty. Hoping everyone feels good your way and staying warm. Hello to all. Brionne should have some baby pics posted later today when she gets home! :)
Hi Rhonda, Chris did a good job on the icy book photo, huh? Right in line with your and Ann's comments about the bitter weather! Glad you all are having a get-away weekend:) Am thinking of you!!
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