So the first draft of the next book is done!
It currently clocks in at 91,437 words, which makes it longer than any of my Afterblight books. But as it goes through my editing process, then my agent’s, then my editor’s, that number will change many times.
It’s been the most difficult book that I’ve written, and has gone through the most revisions during the writing process – I wrote one chapter four times until I had it right, which is something I never did during the Abaddon years.
Why so difficult? Well, unlike my School’s Out trilogy, the first two of which were written to be stand-alones that could spawn a sequel if one was requested, the new book is very definitely the first of a series – hopefully satisfying in its own right, but not by any means wrapping everything up in a bow by the end.
It’s the added complexity that has slowed me down, as I had to keep stopping to work out the timelines of various characters – there are many colour-coded flowcharts – but that’s what you get when you decide to make your book insanely timey-wimey.
The title, publisher, release date and all that jazz will be announced soon, and then I start gearing up for the launch, the publicity etc. After a year where I’ve kept a relatively low profile, I’ll be all over the internet like a rash soon.
It’s been a very interesting year, and next year’s looking even better – I can’t wait to tell you about it 🙂
If you can’t wait either, I may be persuaded to spill some beans on 30 September, when I’m taking part in a panel at the Windsor Fringe Festival, with the brilliant Essie Fox, Julie Cohen and Kate Mayfield.