Moving Forward

So, while this blog has been focused on Shadows book one, I have been ironing out the other two books as well.  In fact, working on writing book two now.  Chapter Three.  It's such a different end of the spectrum to be working on a first draft again after so many months (literally years) of editing and rewriting.  A bit refreshing and a big daunting at the same time.  The roughness of a first draft has a much different feel to it than a work that is more polished.  Of course, as you can guess, I'm sure.  But it's fun to be writing something fresh and giving Rachel, Leonardo, and the gang to voice something new again.

I've read a lot about not continuing work on the rest of a series before it's clear that the first book is going to be picked up.  It makes sense, of course.  There is SO much work to the entire process.  It would make more sense to spend that time on something fresh to present to someone - just in case.  And it's not that I don't have other ideas rumbling around in the my head - even on paper in the form of other WIPs (first couple of chapters anyway).  But honestly, Rachel's story has to be completed in my mind.  If I can find the time, I may begin working on one of the others at the same time.

For now, though, stay tuned.  Rachel and her friends have A LOT more to tell you about, and some of their surprises are going to shock you :)

Discouragement and well... encouragement...

I'm quickly learning that trying to get a novel to see the light of day is a mixed bag of emotions.  Excitement that you are actually going down this road.  Encouragement when beta readers come back having actual feelings towards the world and characters you've created, and discouragement when the form rejections begin coming in.  It's not an easy thing, trying to get published.  Worth it all in the end, I'm sure.

But it puts a whole new meaning behind the phrase "enjoy the journey, not the destination".

Just my thoughts for the evening.  Be back soon!

The first 200+ words - Revisited

So here are the changes made to the first two hundred and fifty words of Shadows.  The previous first 200 have been moved to a different location in the novel.  See what you think :)

Rachel Brackett once again whisked away the tears which blurred the road signs and white lines that marked Highway 93.  She shook her head with the slightest of motions, weary of the torturing memories.  Relief, pain, sadness, excitement – a concoction of feelings brewed within her.  All the emotions she hoped to sort out and get under control.  Some day.  But not just yet.  She still wanted nothing more than simple avoidance.  She sunk the memories deeper within her consciousness, and then pushed a button on the driver’s side window.  Fresh mountain air wafted through the car.  That was what she needed. Fresh air, time and as much distance from the past as possible.

She glanced out the window, and returned her eyes to the road, thumbs thumping against the steering wheel.  There was no denying how captivating the drive had been since leaving the city.  Winding curves shimmered in the high afternoon sun while they twisted through rich jade broadleaf and evergreen trees. Alongside, rushing rivers snaked through deep gorges and under occasional white stone bridges.  Their shores were decorated by wild flowers, and more than one fisherman stood knee deep in their waters while lines danced in passing wakes. The alpine peaks of the Sapphire Mountains to the west and the Bitterroot Mountains to the east jutted were snow-covered, even in mid-June.  And the further south she traveled, the closer the mountains edged towards the road, their cliffs laced with trees and trickling water.  

Changes

Shadows has undergone some changes in the past week - mostly to the first and second chapters.  It's been a learning experience.  A very frustrating, throw-my-computer-out-the-window kind of learning experience.  Nonetheless, perhaps the manuscript is all the better for it.  And I'm just purely exhausted.  Oh, and along with the changes, my query letter's first line has been changed as well.

So now I'm submitting once again.  That's the real test - if all these changes finally catches the attention of an agent.

Will keep you all posted!

Revisions, revisions, revisions .. now holding my breath

I just completed another set of revisions.  Made some changes to chapter one, another change to the middle of the story, and some cleaning up of typos that I didn't catch the first hundred times I read it through.

So what's next?  Well, I'm ready (as ready as I'll ever be) to start submitting again.  I have a couple of agents picked out that I really like, and am so nervous about submitting to them.  Anyone picking up the book would be an honor. But I researched a couple of agents in particular, and they would be my "dream agents" (as I've heard the term coined over the last week).  If they like Shadows... now that would be ... a dream come true!  LOL!

So I'll keep everyone updated as I continue on this journey.

And in the meantime, it's time to start working more earnestly on Book Two!

Positive review

I recently had a beta reader look at Shadows, and I couldn't believe her response.  It was so positive that it honestly and truly blew me away.  Here are some of her comments:

"Oh my goodness!  I am sitting on the edge of my seat...and now cursing that I have to wait for more!"

"Your characters are very easy to empathize with, feel for.  In my way of thinking, that makes for a great book."

"The story, the way it plays out, is fantastic.  It held my attention, pulled me in emotionally."

She also compared me to Stephen King, which I find absolutely insane (but in a nice way).  I don't read King anymore, though I did when I was younger.  But that's beside the point.  To be compared to someone of his caliber is just ... awesome.  

Of course, there were some suggestions for changes that she made, and I am taking them to heart.  In fact, the next few nights are going to be a frenzy of reading and typing once I get the kids to bed, because there is a something on Thursday that I'm trying to be prepared for and it requires that the entire manuscript be ready to go.  

But to have this kind of feedback (and believe me, I didn't doctor any of the comments above - simply cut and paste), is tremendous.  I only can hope that I can find an agent that will feel the same passion for the characters.  

Will keep you all posted!

A Bit of a Teaser for You - First 200 words

Rachel Brackett raced through the forest; her bare feet sodden with mud and pine needles.  Thick reaching branches blotted out the sun above while fog pinched at her long legs, all obscuring the horizon as she searched for an escape from a maze of trees and shrubbery.  Her pounding heart echoed in her ears, drowning out the crackling leaves and twittering birds.  The smell of pine and death brewed in the air, curdling in her nose and polluting her lungs, as she gasped for breath with each impression her toes dug into the ground. 

 She couldn’t see anyone behind her, or even hear their footsteps. But every instinct fired its own relentless confirmation within her: someone, somewhere, was hunting her. 

 Hunting – the word grasped at her heart, its grip a stranglehold as its meaning seeped through her senses.  Tears rolled down her slim cheeks in fear as the forest closed in around her to protect a hidden presence from view. Suddenly, she heard a loud roar – a growling that seemed to break through every corner of timber.  Its vibration sent pulsating chills down her spine, and she groped through the trees, looking for some way, any way, to escape. 

    An abrupt break in the forest emerged, and Rachel staggered into a clearing.  

Shadows - What it's about (Now entitled "The Amazing Shrinking Query")

Here is the query for Shadows (so that you know what it's about :) )

Newly widowed Rachel Bracket escapes to Montana only to find danger, family secrets and a vicious surprise waiting in her backyard. 

Rachel arrives into Sullivan to settle an unexpected inheritance that will fund a new life with her own antique store, far from the tortuous memories she struggles to put to rest.  But while exploring the beautiful landscape behind her grandmother’s home, Rachel learns the Bitterroot Mountains conceal secrets and creatures from horror stories.  She soon realizes those creatures stalk her in search of revenge for their pain and suffering.  And they know more about her ominous heritage than she does. As she begins learning more about the family she never knew, a bounty hunter searches for Rachel, believing she is the key to a commission he’s only dreamed of. Only the haunting voice of a stranger, Leonardo, offers protection.  Until he unveils himself – a man fused with a lion.  Terrifying, impossible, yet somehow alluring.

Rachel isn't sure who she can trust. But when the interior of her home is ripped apart by an intruder and a friend attacked, it's clear there is no safe haven. All she's certain of is that she is no longer running from her past, but trying to survive to make it to her future.