Current Thoughts, Book 3 Update, & Thanks

Birds are chirping a colorful and lively song. Are they cardinals? Blue jays? I don’t know, but I love the cheery notes as they carry from beak to beak and then to the innards of my ear. The warmth of the summer wind billows around me. There’s a sense that if I move out into the open, I’ll burn, but I can’t fight the notion that this very hot and humid air is exactly what I need.

Right now, as I’m writing this, I’m sitting in a lawn chair on my front porch. There’s nothing but blue sunny skies and green vegetation as far as my eye can see. You can taste the flavor of the steadfast pines which dot the horizon. It’s as if there’s a dull, almost tangy syrup wafting alongside the scorching, paradoxical breeze.

There’s a dog to my left, panting. She’s too out-of-shape to be lumbering around in this temperature. I might have to put her inside, whereupon I’ll curse myself for not being able to put up with those lonely, brown, bulging eyes. Then she’ll be back here with me, panting, tired, but content.

What’s the point of this post? There isn’t one, really. I just thought I’d share my thoughts, describe a few things, see if I can get the juices flowing. I want to return to my novel writing, I really do, but I cannot force myself back into the mix. That paralysis, while not what it was, still lurks as a vampire (or a blood-sucking lawyer) hunched over my flank.

It’s not that I can’t write or progress the story. I’m sure that I can. But what form will it take? Is where I’ve left the narrative the proper direction for the story unfolding? Could it be that I’ve gotten off on the wrong foot to begin with? Perhaps, indeed, this third book is a story worth telling, but not in its present condition…

Look, it’s no secret that I’m having trouble with this thing. I’ve been very vocal about it in recent months. Creative burnout, writer’s block, stress, and what I believe to be depression have all played a role in the delay of this third novel in my series. To some, this admittance might come across as a plea to look away. You might think I’m telling you to walk off and forget this book series ever existed.

But that’s not what I’m saying. I’m telling you the truth because that’s what you deserve to hear. You deserve to have your trust rewarded. Thus, I will not lie and pretend that there has been progress where there’s none. The book is still in development. It remains in my scopes. It is my one and only large writing project for the foreseeable future. I want to finish this book and I want it to be a quality effort.

You who’ve read my work seem to enjoy what I’ve offered. 4.5 stars on Amazon for The Shadow Over Lone Oak after 20+ reviews isn’t bad. You’ve offered fair criticism and I’ve also taken that into consideration! And when you find an error, I fix it for both our sakes. So I don’t want to just rush to market with Book 3. I don’t want to give you a dime store novel that I crapped out in a hurry (which I’ve never done as I’m sure you know) in order to meet a self-imposed deadline.

I wanted Book 3 out this year. I really did. Perhaps it still might make the cut. But late 2018 is no longer, in my opinion, the most viable target release. And with Kindle Scout gone the way of the dodo, there are obvious differences in how the book must be delivered and developed. It’s freeing, in a way, but it also means envisioning a new method of getting the word out to my prospective readers. I’ll have to think about that as I work.

I hope and pray that the Lord will grant me the flash of inspiration and drive I need to complete this book in a logical, concise, and thrilling manner. I did have a small spark of creativity the other day, actually. The title of the book has shifted a few times since I started, and I hope this is the one that sticks.

As an insight to my writing process and a way to gauge your reactions, I’ll give you the progression of Book 3’s working (and possibly final) title:

1st Iteration: “The Dead Spring”

2nd Iteration: “The Lost and the Dead”

3rd Iteration: “The Darkest Valley”

Current Iteration: “The Sons of Darkness”

What do you think? Does the title intrigue you? Knowing nothing about the plot, what does that rendition make you believe about the particulars of the story? These are interesting questions and I hope that this makes you excited for the novel’s release – whenever that may be.

So as the shadows dim around me and the air cools a bit, I’ll be thinking about how to proceed. What lies ahead for me? What evils await the characters in my book? Well, that’s a story, as they say, for another day.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me through all of this. Whether you’re here for my evangelistic/scriptural posts, the stuff I write about pop culture and media, or are simply a fan of my books, I want you to know that I love and value you for your time, opinions, and input. God bless you and may you have a good weekend ahead.