When I finished chapter 16, I thought I was sort of “over the hump” — I considered it to be the most difficult chapter in the novel thus far, and expected many chapters thereafter to come easily.

This, of course, was not the case.  When I took a look at my original (very sketchy) plans for chapter 17, I realized that they wouldn’t hold water.  After a discussion with my editor and much thought on my part, I introduced a new subplot into the novel to make a central plot device far more workable.

Adding this subplot is probably the biggest change I’ve made to the plan to date; it changed the plans for many subsequent chapters, but actually resulted in a much more exciting and engaging storyline.  Chapters that would have once been rather dull are now much more lively.

Chapter 17 itself is fairly short, but I suspect it’s going to need a good deal of editing.  Those who read it will probably notice problems with tenses switching back and forth; I am aware of these but feel an ever-increasing need to press forward with less and less editing of what is already written.  Tenses can be easily sorted out later.

So I am already thinking hard on chapter 18, and I really DO hope to have chapters 18 and 19 completed in the next couple of weeks.  Chapter 20 is the next big action scene, and after that I anticipate that the plot is going to keep on picking up speed and momentum through to the end.  Well, that’s how it is supposed to work, anyway.

Happy reading!

Well, I’m back from my vacation on the beach, which was a wonderful, relaxing time where I mostly bummed around, picked up rocks and starfish and what-not on the beach, and watched movies and the Simpsons with my husband.

Yesterday morning, however, held quite a surprise for me. I sat down for the first time this week to make a few quick notes on the novel, and before I knew it I was hammering out chapter 16!  A day and a half of solid work later, I had finished 35 pages of what I hope is heart-pounding action with plenty of twists and witty repartee. (Download the latest version of the draft here.)
This chapter would not have been possible without the amazing duel choreography of Douglas Buchanan Bailey… please take the time to read more about him in the Project Advisors section of the site.

If you’d like to get a feel for the novel without going to the trouble of requesting a password, an excerpt is now available for all. Bear in mind that this is a very early draft, so it’s likely to change considerably.

My hard-working husband and I are taking an unexpected and delightful 7-night vacation at the beach to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary… we found a deal that was practically miraculous at the last minute on eBay and right now I feel like the luckiest woman in the world! I’m working hard to get as much of the site online as possible before I leave tonight. While I cannot promise that I will write, the novel will be on my mind and I will have a laptop in case inspiration strikes. I may not have access to the Internet, however… so if you message me and don’t hear back, that’s why.

Explore the forbidding City of Darkness as well as the soul of its master in this most recent chapter, The Heart of the Dark. You can, as always, download a the latest PDF copy of the Goddess of Illusions draft on the Drafts page if you have a password.

I finally made improvements and additions to the web site that I’ve been planning for quite some time; feel free to explore the new Concept Art Gallery among many other brand new pages. I’ll be graphically integrating the news, gallery and bulletin board sections more fully in future revisions.