Author’s Log: August Wrap-Up (& #ROW80)
As a kid growing up in Southern California, and then later as an adult shoveling my way through the snow of the northern Midwest, summer was always my favorite season.
As I got older, however, autumn has more or less supplanted summer in my affections, not the least of which because summers in Florida are more or less one big swamp of general unbearableness. The heat is affecting me more the older I get, so now I actually look forward to summer ending and fall beginning. Then, of course, there’s the clear blue skies and palm trees on Christmas morning to look forward to.
This last week we celebrated our birthday, precious, wherein I was gifted with comic books (Angel Season 6 and Jericho Seasons 3 and 4) and a magificent Tech Monkey (fomerly the Chef Monkey) birthday feast of lobster tail and shrimp scampi, steamed mussels in sherry and cream sauce (an Irish favorite), cheeseboard and pate. I’m still staring part of a cheesecake in the face, and it’s staring back.
I will not be defeated by cheesecake.
At the day job I started the day off with a fire drill–I start a little later than everyone else, so everyone was already gathered in the parking lot when I pull in. Many birthday jokes were made, because nothing harbrings an interesting day like starting a working birthday with a fire drill. I also got permanently pulled from our department’s phone queue due to another reorganization that aligned me into more of a research/accounting role for our special billing platform (geek speak for “I spend my life in reports and spreadsheets making the pretty numbers dance”). This means that for the first time in fifteen years, I am not answering phones.
As you can imagine, this makes me VERY, VERY HAPPY.
I’m now more or less autonomous, and this also makes me happy. *bliss*
So we’ve got one least week in August, and I begin drafting again on Sept 1 (Waking Muse #3). I’ll also be revising Keepers #4, and releasing Waking Muse #2 on Sept 26. At some point, I’m sure, I’ll have to go through edits on Keepers #3.
That being said, here’s what August clean up is going to look like:
1. HEARTH & HOME (Waking Muse #2): POST PRODUCTION
Amazon just started allowing indies to offer Pre-Orders, so I’m getting as much as possible lined up so I can take advantage. I’m hoping to open a pre-order on HEARTH on Sept 1 and schedule one for Waking Muse #3 for the end of December.
Cover Art is now complete, will be revealed next Sunday. I need to finish up front and back matter, and I’ve got my edits back from The Hammer I need to work through. The latter will be my main focus this week, and luckily next weekend is a three-day weekend for me.
2. FALLEN ANGEL (Waking Muse #3): PRE-PRODUCTION
This week, during my lunch hours, I’m going to lay down some story beats based on the plot structure I built. If I Spin Down The Page in plot sections three or four times, I should be able to empty the entire thing down onto the page and therefore out of my brain so I can piece it all together and have a map to draft with. My drafting brain should be good and rested by now, so if I can keep up my previous word counts in September, I should have a viable rough draft without too much trouble. I anticipate being able to release this one the day after Christmas.
3. THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER–ACT II: IN REVISION
I’ve only got a couple of chapters left, but I want to give it one more pass before putting it back in the marination bin. Act IIs are notoriously sloggy, so I need to make sure I cut out all the unneccessary fat and keep the momentum going. I also need to keep an eye out for places I can make scenes do double or even triple duty, and makes sure I have balance between my plot threads.
Okay, guys–your turn. How do you plan to close out the hottest month of the year?
