Where Am I and What Am I Doing?

People have been inquiring via email and Facebook as to how book three is coming. Rather than respond individually to each one (which I always do) with the same answer, I decided to post an update.

I’m almost done.

Aaaaaannnnd, there you go. Thanks for stopping by.

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Now for the legitimate update:

Current word count is 240k with 6 chapters left to write. It’s turning out longer than I wanted, so I’ve started to identify sections I can cut. I’ve already removed an early chapter that I plan to turn into a short story and release for free on my website at some point. I don’t want to just toss it as I like what happens in it, but it’s not needed for the novel’s story. Hint: it involves a character from the Terrene Chronicles: Family collection of short stories.

70% of the book already has one editing pass on it, 25% has two. I write and edit in waves. It helps me keep evolving storylines straight as I go.

I had hoped to have the final first draft done by the end of April, but as some of you know, my father was ill. Well, on April 13th, he passed away and I’ve had a tough time focusing.

Once I do get a complete manuscript, I foresee heavy edits in my future but I hope to have it ready for my alpha readers by end of May. They’ll read it, point out any confusing plot points, disconnects, etc. and I’ll course correct. Once that’s done, my beta readers get their chance to proofread as I am awful at it.

In other news, in case you missed it, I signed with an agent back in February and things are progressing well regarding finding a traditional publisher for Progeny. A couple things are happening there which have me crossing my fingers.

This summer, I’ll have stories published in two different anthologies, both of which are a departure for me as they’re superhero themed. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

I’m attending Origins again this year and perhaps GenCon. I would like to beef up my convention schedule, but as I still have a day job, I can’t.

Something nifty about Origins this year: Patrick Rothfuss will be there.
Something niftier about Origins this year: I’m on a panel with him.

That’s it for now.

Good days ahead.

--R.T.

P.S. – I did an interview at SFFWorld.com not long ago. Check it out. Paul Weimer did a nice job with it.

P.P.S. – Shameless plea time: if you’ve read Progeny or Prophecy and enjoyed it/them, I would appreciate a quick review both here (Progeny (The Children of the White Lions, #1), Prophecy) and at Amazon (Progeny, Prophecy). They really do help in the long run.