Even though I’m under no obligation to do so as an indie, I like to set
goals and—even more importantly, from my point of view—deadlines for my work. It’s
something that not only keeps me sane, but also keeps me focused on the
writing.
With the Summer of Edit finally in the rear view mirror, it’s time to
take a look at the projects I’m working on over the course of the next twelve months
or so. Be careful: your eyes may spin by this somewhat absurd, breakneck pace. Keep in mind, these dates are all tentative, and are subject to change without notice. Publishing dates, though... we'll do our best to hit those.
Mid-August to Oct. 1—Beach Blanket Bloodshed: An Alex Bourque
Mystery.
I haven’t decided if this will be a novel or a novella; I'm kind of writing this one from the seat of my pants. I
have some ideas of how this story will go, but no idea as to the length. Much
like Cold Altar and Voir Dire, I will tell it in first person. The hope is that
I can have a full first draft done by Oct. 1; if it’s a novella or a short novel,
then that date is no problem. Anything longer than 60,000 words may push it,
but we’ll see.
In addition, I’ll brainstorm a project later in the fall, as
well as the subplot for Chemical Agent.
Oct. 1 to Oct. 21 or so—Final read of The Obloeron Saga.
This will be the final time I ever read this series before I re-upload it. I’ll read it on my Kindle, and my hope is that if there is anything
wrong—misspelled words, passive voice—that the change in font will point it out
to me for correction. Then I’ll format and get it ready for publishing.
Oct. 22 to Oct. 27—First read/edit of Chemical
Agent: A Thriller.
Oct. 19 will mark four months since I completed the first
draft of the seventh Jaclyn Johnson novel, so I’m hoping that I’m fully free of
the story by then. That way, I’ll see any problems and correct them. In
addition, I’m going to add a few thousand words to the existing story as I work
on the subplot.
Immediately after that until the end of January—Working on
the first draft of a project I don’t believe I’m allowed to speak of just yet.
I’ve been invited into a shared world, and that’s about all I can say on this
for now.
Nov. 2—Publishing The Obloeron Saga.
Self-explanatory. A reminder that the entire saga includes
the as-yet unreleased third book of the prequels, Krampel's Revenge, along with never-before-seen prose..
Christmas Week—Second read of Chemical Agent.
It would have been about two months or so since I had
finished the first round of edits by the week of Christmas. I’ll look at it again at about this time,
changing the font on the manuscript to see if anything sticks out. Then, the
hope is to send it off for a proofing by Christmas morning. That is if
everything goes well. Cross your fingers.
End of January—Final read-through of Chemical Agent, start
brainstorming the eighth Jaclyn novel, first read-through/edit of Beach Blanket Bloodshed.
Feb. 1-May 3—Working on the first draft of a D.L. Boyd
romance novel/novella involving a sportswriter.
End of February-early March—Publishing Chemical Agent.
End of March--Second read/edit of Beach Blanket Bloodshed, send to editor.
May 4—First read-through of secret project? Then start the
first draft of JJ8, which should take me up through the end of July.
Memorial Day—Publishing Beach Blanket Bloodshed. Timely.
Early August—First read-through of the D.L. Boyd romance, then start brainstorming Cedar Junction, a standalone thriller that I will write in the fall of 2016. The romance will be published around Thanksgiving, maybe Christmas.
The hope is that I'll stick to the schedule. Of course, if I finish
anything early, I’ll get to work on the next thing right away. Lather, rinse, repeat. And again, everything is tentative, and I reserve the right to make changes if necessary.
Stay tuned. It's going to be a great year.
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