Update: Several steps forward, sudden step back

You know what’s annoying? If you write the penultimate chapter and then change your mind about something fairly trivial, but also somewhat fiddly to change.

So I’m fiddling.

However, I’m going to do something different: I’m going to cut the manuscript into two parts: The big part that constitutes 85% of the story and the little part that constitutes 15% of the story. Then I’m going to send the big part to the the earliest readers, on the theory that before they get to the mildish cliffhanger at the end of chapter 27, I’ll be sending them the rest of the novel. That is, I think I will be ready to do that no later than the end of this week.

I’ve had early readers whip through a long book in one day before, but still, I’d like to get moving because as soon as I get feedback from the earliest readers, I’ll be able to estimate release dates and put the book up for preorder, and I REALLY want to do that.

In the meantime, it’s raining AGAIN, and while I like a cool spring, this is kinda ridiculous. However, it really is spring:

My favorite Calycanthus. I think this is Aphrodite. Google, show me pictures of Calycanthus Aphrodite … Yes, this is definitely Aphrodite. I highly recommend this variety of Carolina Allspice / Carolina Sweetshrub / whatever other common name. It’s Calycanthus florida ‘Aphrodite’ if you want to ask for it properly at a nursery. I do appreciate authors doing Latin names properly in novels, too, because generally speaking, they don’t. Genus name capitalized, species name lower case, both italicized, single quotes for a variety name, that’s the correct form.

Aphrodite is, I will add, a giant shrub, eight feet tall and wide, say. Much bigger than the wild type, and much more showy in flower.

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