The First Read

The second draft of Acorn Canyon was finished in the middle of last month. I passed it over to my husband, who always gets to do the first read. Not only is he widely read in SF and Fantasy, with a valuable perspective. He’s also very supportive and encourages me, rather than, say, suggesting that I might do the dusting more often.

It’s been interesting to get his reactions. He is one of those readers who always wants to predict what will happen, who the bad guys are, and so forth. His predictions are often quite accurate. That helps me know when I need more layers or a twist of some kind.

But with Acorn Canyon, he’s way off and it’s hilarious. Partly, I think, it’s because this is a middle grade book and he hardly ever reads in that age group. It’s also a cozy fantasy, which he doesn’t read as much, either. So he’s generally looking for more adult plot turns. He’s labeled a character as “evil” when nobody in a cozy fantasy is evil.

In addition, I moved a lot of boundaries in the world building. This is the story where there are no kings/nobility, no permanent warrior class, most of the locations don’t use money, and so forth. The plot structure also is quite different, since it is part 1 of 2. He can tell something is different, but I don’t think he’s sussed it all out yet.

It’s been really interesting to get his reactions. When he finishes, I look forward to hashing it all out with him.

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