I’m not very religious or spiritual.  Nonetheless, there is something incredibly satisfying about having good timing regarding just about…everything.  Usually, my timing is terrible, but not so on this occasion.

Back in November of last year (you can read the post here) I offered the hope that I would be done with my latest Corrosive Knights novel, #6, by February.

Alas, this is not to be.

However, I just now finished the 6th Draft of the 6th Novel on the 29th of February of 2016, a February date that only comes around once every four years.

Mind you, I wasn’t “shooting” for finishing this draft on this date.  Indeed, when I start up a new draft of any novel it is impossible to accurately predict how long it will take me to get through it.  There might be unseen circumstances (illness, trips, get-togethers) that may slow me down.  On the other hand, there may be days you’re moving like lightning and accomplish more than you thought you would…on that day.

Considering I was barely aware that this would be a “leap year” and February would have 29 days when I began the 6th draft of my latest novel, it is nonetheless a wonderful bit of timing to get it done on this particular day.

And I couldn’t be happier.

The sixth draft of this book brings me that much closer to finishing the novel, the closest I’ve been yet.

Book #6 (pardon me for keeping the title my own little secret still) runs, at this point, 96,138 words.  There are still some things I have to deal with, particularly one major character reveal, but otherwise it reads pretty damn good and I believe -though I can’t absolutely promise- I might be only three or so drafts away from finishing it up.

Later today I print the book and tomorrow I begin the re-reading.

Draft #7 is officially a go!

Back in November I wrote an update on my work with Book #6 in the Corrosive Knights series (you can read the update here).  Re-reading it today, I urge anyone who has read some/all the books in the series thus far look at what I wrote there as I get into the series’ wonky chronology.

One thing I also said back in that November update was that I was hoping Book #6 would be ready by February.  Well, we’re in early February and I can say without any doubt and with not an inconsiderable amount of frustration that I won’t have it ready this month.

This, however, is not an entirely new thing.  In January I provided another update (you can read that here) and noted my hope was to have the book ready by May.  While I still hope to get it done in and around that date, I will further note I was hoping to finish the current draft I was working on by January but it looks like I’ll be finishing it by next week, ie the middle of February.

Having said all this, despite the frustrations and time spent on the revision process, I’m optimistic I’m very near the point where I switch from rewriting/reworking the book to having all the story elements in place and focusing on grammatical/spelling issues.

This is significant because once I get to that stage, things move very quickly and we’re rapidly approaching the end.  Will it be May?  I really hope so!  I just have to make sure I get all the parts together into a very coherent whole.

Speaking of which…

I hope what I write doesn’t sound like a boast, but my stories/novels tend to be not unlike the pieces of a machine.  If you want a more poetic description, my novels and the stories I tell are not unlike the components of a watch.  When looked at individually, the parts may not seem to come together (at first!) but when all is said and done, they do.  If I’m on top of my game, it is my hope there isn’t a wasted page or event presented and every word and paragraph is necessary to tell the story I’m giving you.

I probably mentioned this before so forgive me if I’m repeating myself:

Back when I was in College I took a Literature course and while I don’t remember much about it, there was one particular lesson regarding author Henry James’ view of a novel that really, really stuck with me.  I’ll let Mr. James’ words speak for themselves:

A novel is a living thing, all one and continuous, like any other organism, and in proportion as it lives will it be found, that in each of the parts there is something of each of the other parts.

Mr. James’ ideas, often referred to as the view that a good/great novel presents an “organic whole”, urges authors to not waste a single word or create any scene(s) within their work that is superfluous and doesn’t contribute to the entirety of the work/story you are telling.

Thus in the “perfect” novel a reader is given a work wherein not even one single word is wasted.  Each and every one of the words and sentences and paragraphs and chapters, etc. move the story forward until it reaches its end.

I took this lesson very much to heart.

So whether you like, hate, or are indifferent to any/all of my works, it is my intention to never waste your time as a reader.  I try my best to make sure every element I insert into a novel has a reason for being there and ties into the larger story I’m telling.

And it is indeed a large story and one I couldn’t be prouder of.

I’m reluctant to talk about whatever book/story I’m currently working on until there is something solid to say about it.  In this case, there is something to say and here goes:

I’m currently on what I’ve dubbed the “6th” draft of my current novel, the (coincidentally) sixth book in the Corrosive Knights series.

The first 1/2 to 2/3rds of this book is very near being completed but there are some bits and pieces I still have to deal with regarding the novel’s climax and conclusion and, most especially, the fate of at least one prominent character.

Given where I’m at, I figure I’ll have the 6th draft completed by later this month (January, natch).  I’ve completed the latest read through and have made copious notes on the printed pages regarding things that needed fixing and am now on the computer doing those fix ups.  As I reach the later portions of the novel I hope to deal with the ending and the fate of that character.  Even as I work my way there, ideas are being sifted and will no doubt be added to this latest draft.

The question I’m currently pondering is how close am I from being finished with the work.

As always, it is not an easy question to answer.

After finishing this draft, I suspect I’ll need at least two more full drafts to go over before I feel the story has been “locked down”.  When I get to that point I’ll probably need at least two more drafts to go over which will involve my looking at grammatical/spelling errors that need correcting.  On the plus side, these last two drafts tend to be completed quickly.  On the minus side, I still have the drafts that come before that point and they can take up more time.

If I had to estimate when this novel will be finished and released, I’d say this: Hopefully by no later than May and perhaps earlier though it could also (of course) be later.  It simply depends on how well/quickly these next drafts are finished.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  There most certainly will be a new Corrosive Knights book released in the next few months.

I promise you its another great addition to the series.

Been a while since I posted an update on the latest Corrosive Knights novel, which will be #6 in the series and whose title I’m keeping to myself for a little bit longer.

Writing these books has been a blast even as they’ve also been a mighty struggle.  I’m working with a series I feel is unique in many ways.  To begin, the scope of the story is incredibly large, taking place over the course of some 20,000 plus years.  Readers are offered events in different epochs which, when put together, form a much larger story.

While there have been plenty of stories featuring flashbacks and flash-forwards, I think its safe to say no series -at least none that I’m aware of!- features entire novels that take place in sometimes vastly different times, past and the future, while (hopefully!) logically building up the larger tale.

The five Corrosive Knights books plus the one I’m currently working on have been/will be released -and ideally should be read- in this order:

I say “ideally” but I’m not being entirely honest: The the first three books of the series, Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon could be read in any order.  They feature unique characters and take place in vastly different times and therefore one could read them in any order they choose.

However, by the time you reach Nox, Ghost of the Argus, and the unnamed Book #6, the continuity established in these first three novels kicks in and, while I think the later books could be enjoyed on their own, I HIGHLY recommend you read books 1, 2, and 3 before venturing into the ones that follow.

Now, if I were to tell the Corrosive Knights story in chronological order, i.e. each book’s main story occurring “one after the other” (and ignoring whatever flashback elements are presented within said novels), the story order would go like this:

That’s right: The book I’m currently working on, #6 of the Corrosive Knights series, actually takes place before the events of The Last Flight of the Argus and Ghost of the Argus.  In fact, they take place a few hundred years before those books!  Yet I would absolutely NOT recommend anyone read that book when it is released in a few short months (I’ll get to that in a second) before already reading the rest of the series and, in particular, The Last Flight of the Argus and Ghost of the Argus.

Why?

Because the events of those two books in particular fill in story concepts which have a big payoff in Book #6 and propels the reader into the Corrosive Knights series finale, which will be Book #7.

Fear not, thought.  There will be an epilogue to the series, a Book #8, which will wrap certain things up that weren’t/aren’t wrapped up in Book #7.  Book #8 will also offer what I hope is a great long view of the heroes we’ve followed for so long while focusing on one in particular.  To further screw with your head, I’m already finished with the first draft of Book #8 but only have a chapter or so written (along with a general idea of the story) of Book #7.

Not only is my series presented in a quirky temporal way, so too it would appear is my creative output!

Now, getting back to Book #6:

I’ve been working on that book for many months now and have a great opening half and a great conclusion but I spent a lot of time filling in what happens between.  I’ve written bits and pieces (amounting to some 30,000 words!) of material for that section but I knew it wasn’t quite coming together.

As I mentioned in previous blogs, writing for me is like a form of OCD.  You spend almost every waking hour at one moment or another thinking about your current work and going through the possibilities of what may/may not work.

Then, about two weeks ago, I awoke at 2 in the morning (not an unusual thing for me) and my mind was racing.  I was thinking about book #6 and that missing section and suddenly I had it.  One scene after the other flowed through my mind all the way to the very end.  Instead of going back to sleep, I headed to my desk and pulled out a yellow notepad and began writing what my fevered mind was giving me.

When I was done, I had five full pages of handwritten notes laid out detailing the second act of the novel leading up to the conclusion.  I was so damn excited yet also so damn exhausted that I stumbled back to bed and crashed.

In the morning, I was so happy I wrote down all my thoughts because while I had a general idea of what I was going to do, some of the details were lost in my near dream state.

On Halloween night, while my wife was occupied with giving kids treats, I had another burst of nervous energy and wrote most of the book’s conclusion.  Two days later, on November 2nd (this past Monday), I finished the whole thing and printed it out.  I still want to go over those 30,000 words of material I wrote and see if they’re at all usable in the novel but the fact of the matter is that the first full draft is finally done and I can now move on to the editing phase.

All my novels, when reaching this phase, feel different.  There have been books I’ve finished the first full draft that I know need a lot of work to be finalized.  That doesn’t feel like the case here.  I suspect I’ll need to go over this book a few times, at least three and possibly as many as six, but I have a feeling the editing process this time around won’t require as much work as with some other novels and therefore I feel (and hope!) this book will be ready to go perhaps as early as February.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

For those who have followed the Corrosive Knights series so far, I think you’ll find Book #6 another great addition to the series.

I’ll offer updates when the book is near ready!

A few days back I wrote about where I was with various new writing projects and how, creatively, my mind basically exploded with new story ideas following finishing off Ghost of the Argus. (available now!)

So much so that I suddenly had four novels in the works simultaneously, three of which were new and one of which I wanted to finally get “done”.

As of last Friday, October 24, I finished the first draft of that later novel, a story that is effectively the conclusion/postscript to the whole Corrosive Knights saga.  I had a “rough draft” of this story done years beforehand in the form of a graphic novel/comic book but felt since the other Corrosive Knights stories were presented as novels, I might as well make this story a novel as well.  Earlier this year I began converting the graphic novel into an actual novel.

So last Friday I finally got the first draft of this novel done.  It’s a little on the skinny size, clocking in at a mere 50 pages, single spaced (in comparison, my other Corrosive Knights novels run about 170-200 pages).  This is obviously a bare bones work at this moment and there’s much more work to be done with it.  I suspect when I’m properly done with the novel, it will be closer in size to the other Corrosive Knights novels.

The big question, therefore, is: When will this novel be ready and released?

That question is a tricky one to answer.  Now that I have this first draft done, I intend to put it on the back burner and work on it with whatever spare time I have while focusing more exclusively on Corrosive Knights books #6 and 7 and my standalone novel expanding on a short story in my Shadows at Dawn book.

The fact is that this “final” Corrosive Knights story is just that and I want to have it completed but I don’t feel it appropriate to release it until the other Corrosive Knights stories are out.

While tempted to pat myself on the back because of my ability to get something done and save its release for another day, I’m certainly not the first author to do something like that.  During the London bombings of World War II, mystery author Agatha Christie wrote Curtain, the final Hercule Poirot novel, because she feared she -and England!- might not survive this war and she wanted to have a final story for her beloved sleuth.  The war ended and Ms. Christie kept that novel in a safe until the 1970’s, when she was very old and knew she would be unable to write any other books.  It was then that Curtain was released.

I’m hoping my final Corrosive Knights novel won’t stay hidden quite that long…

We’ll see.

I don’t often post about “upcoming” projects because they have a way taking on a life of their own while unfolding in slow motion.  What I say at one point might well be invalidated by what happens a week, a month, or even several months down the line.

Similarly, it is difficult, especially in the early goings of writing whatever is my latest novel, to predict a time when said work will be “done”.  For Ghost of the Argus, the fifth and concluding chapter to the initial “larger” Corrosive Knights saga, I figured going in the novel would take around a year to write, revise, and release, which was approximately the time it took me to write my previous novels.

That initial assessment wound up being overly optimistic as the novel took twice as long, two years, to finish up.

The reason?  Unlike the other books in the series, I wanted this one to give the readers a lot more.  It had to have a great conclusion to that initial Corrosive Knights story line while featuring new and familiar characters all doing interesting things and not simply standing around.

It is perhaps because of the intensity and length of time involved in writing that book that, shortly before putting the very final touches on it and while driving home one day, the next book in the Corrosive Knights series came to me almost completely.  Bear in mind, up until that moment I had absolutely no idea where I would take this series following Ghost of the Argus.  Further, whenever ideas come to me for books, I usually start with a beginning and end and have to figure out the middle the hard way.  Here, the novel’s near entirety had appeared to me like a fever dream.

But it didn’t stop there.  A couple of weeks later, after beginning that novel, I had the idea for a novel that should precede it.  In this case, a more typical creative process occurred.  I had my start and ending and needed to write the middle.  However, it was clear to me this book would appear as Corrosive Knights #6 while my fever dream novel would be #7.

Which meant I was now writing two novels instead of one.

But there’s more!

Previously I mentioned that I had the concluding Corrosive Knights novel in a rough/framework format and wanted to get that one done -at least have a solid first draft- as well.  So I have three novels in the works.

A week ago, another thought came to mind.  There is a story in my short story collection Shadows at Dawn that I’ve always felt needed to be expanded into a full novel.  Once completed, this novel would stand alone and be unrelated to the Corrosive Knights series.  Frankly, after writing five Corrosive Knights books and having #’s 6, 7, and (a potential) 8 in the works, I longed to write something unrelated to that series.  So strong were my ideas that I rushed to the computer and started writing.  Next thing I knew, I had four potential books in the works.

I can’t help but think that the intensity and focus of work on Ghost of the Argus was so all consuming that once that novel was done and my mind was freed up, the story ideas roared out.

So that’s where I am, working on four different novels at the same time.  My plan, subject to change, is as follows: I’m going to write a strong first draft of each of these books, alternating my time each day to focus on them and not get “locked in” on any one.  Once I have the first drafts done, we’ll see which of the four books I decide to polish up and finish off (my guess at this point is it will either be the stand alone story or what will be Corrosive Knights book #6).  If I really get moving, there might be several novels available a lot quicker than they were before.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the case!

A few days ago (you can read it here) I made my last update regarding the fifth book in the Corrosive Knights series.

I’m proud to say that over the weekend I finished work on it, doing a few more revisions to a couple of sections but felt, as of Sunday, that the book was about as good as it was going to get.  So here, the announcement I’ve been dying to make for a very, very long time:

Ghost of the Argus, the fifth book in the Corrosive Knights series, is available via Amazon!  (Click on the picture to get to the Amazon website and order it!)

Now, some background information.

The Corrosive Knights series, at this moment in time, consists of five books which, taken together, form one “large” story that concludes –with a couple of cliffhangers!–in Ghost of the Argus.  Please note, just because Ghost of the Argus concludes the first major Corrosive Knights story, it does not mean the series itself is over.  In fact, I already have the skeleton framework for the next Corrosive Knights novel written out.  That novel begins almost immediately after the conclusion of Ghost of the Argus and, if all works out, should be one hell of a ride.  I also have the actual, final Corrosive Knights book in my hard drive in a very rough form!

So with Ghost of the Argus we reach the conclusion to my original larger Corrosive Knights story line, the one that came to me all those years before when I started working on Chameleon (book #3 in the series).  For those who have read the previous four Corrosive Knights books, it should come as no surprise when I say that Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon, the first three books in the series, can be read in any order.  None of them requires you to read the previous book to understand just what the heck is going on.

When I wrote Mechanic and The Last Flight of the Argus, I set the works in the same “universe” but during far different epochs.  Mechanic takes place in a dystopian Earth some three hundred or so years into our future while The Last Flight of the Argus was set in a much, much farther space opera future.

Though these original two books were linked by that shared universe and certain terminologies, it was only when I began writing Chameleon, which takes place roughly in our “present” time, that I realized there was a larger story to be made incorporating all three of these books into it.  So, for those keeping track, it wasn’t until I reached book three in this series that I realized I was actually writing a series!

When Chameleon was done, I got to work on Nox, a novel that is a direct sequel to Mechanic but whose story is also intricately tied into the events of Chameleon.  This, the fourth book in the Corrosive Knights series, was the first one that began putting the larger story pieces together.

As I was writing Nox, I was also working out elements of what became Ghost of the Argus.  I had a general idea of where I wanted to go, but as with all stories the devil is in the details.  Because this novel was a conclusion to the first “big” Corrosive Knights story line, in my mind it had to be bigger and better than all the books that preceded it while delivering on the promise of concluding this first major story line in a rousing manner.  With that goal set and after finishing Nox, I went to work.

Did I accomplish what I wanted?

I sure hope so.

I’ve given Ghost of the Argus more attention and spent more hours working on it than I have any of my previous novels.  It usually takes me about a year to write a novel and approximately six or seven drafts before I’m satisfied all is well.  For Ghost of the Argus, its taken two years to get her done.  I’ve gone through thirteen full drafts and at least ten or more “partial” drafts.  I’ve started, I’ve stopped, I’ve changed directions and deleted dead ends or misfires, I’ve streamlined, I’ve expanded.  In the end, I have twelve pounds of paper to show for it.

In sum, Ghost of the Argus just about killed me!

And you know what?  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sure, I would love for the novel to have come together all at once and with minimal effort.  But that just isn’t the way these things work.  Contrary to what is often shown on TV or in the movies, writing is not some leisurely activity one does after an eventful day traipsing around the countryside and finding the love of your life or after solving mysteries while accompanied by your very hot partner, one that you are secretly in love with.

No, writing is hard work that requires many, many hours of intense -solitary!- concentration.  At times it can be agony.

But the pleasure you feel when the work is “done” and you hold your novel in your two hands…that’s pure bliss.

I couldn’t be happier with the Corrosive Knights series.  I feel that I’ve accomplished what I’ve wanted to and delivered a group of books that should satisfy anyone looking for good, suspenseful, action packed sci-fi.

And more than anything else, I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed getting it done!

Now, off to book #6!

This will be short n’ sweet:

It’s been ten days since my last update (you can read it here) for the fifth book of the Corrosive Knights series.

The very good news is that I’m done with the full drafts of the novel.  Approximately 80% of the book required very minor edits and I think those parts are now good to go.

The not so good news is that there remains about 20% of the book, approximately 40 pages spread out through three or four sections, that I’d like to go over at least once more, to make sure they’re just as good as the rest.

I will be done reading the material today.  I should be done editing it by tomorrow or Saturday.

The book will be available via Kindle and barring any other problems by sometime next week.

Keep those fingers crossed! 😉

In my last Corrosive Knights update of 7/10/14, I stated the following:

Having finished draft 11c (of the fifth book in the Corrosive Knights series) just a few minutes ago, I am very, very optimistic about the novel now being just about done.  So much so that I intend to print the whole thing out later today and give it one more complete read through.  If all looks good, draft 12 will be the novel’s last draft.

Estimated time to get it done?  Another week to a week and a half.

Keep your fingers crossed.  You know I will!

Ok, first the bad news: Draft #12 is not the final draft, though as I predicted it took me a little less than a week and a half to finish it up (a blazing speed, considering that when the novel was in its early and very rough stages it would take me a couple of months to do a draft).

The good news?  Draft #13 (lucky number!) will be the final draft.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  When I went over Draft 12, I found exactly three things that needed to be fixed post-draft, and they all involved roughly one-two pages each of fixing.  The first involved explaining a certain technology.  The second involved cutting down on one of the characters explaining something that had previously been shown (repetition is my mortal enemy!).  The third involved changing some dialogue as it “fit” another character saying it much better than the one I had saying the lines.

So Saturday the 19th I finished the draft and went back and fixed those three items.  Out of an abundance of caution, I made the decision that I should print the whole thing out and give it one more read-through, just to be absolutely sure everything was good.

Last night, Sunday, while sleeping, the realization of how close I was to finishing this book finally hit me.  I woke up some time between 2-4 in the morning (I didn’t check my clock) and felt…giddy.

Happy.

Ecstatic!

Trust me, it was very hard to get back to sleep and I’m feeling a bit of a lag as I type this out.  Still, those good feelings remain.  For me writing is an at times very difficult process which requires a great deal of effort to get the work completed in a way that satisfies/pleases me.  This book, the fifth in the Corrosive Knights series, has probably taken the most effort out of me of all my previous books.  And it rightfully should have.  This book is, after all, the culmination of the first Corrosive Knights story and ties everything, and I do mean everything, together.

If you were wondering how Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon, three novels that can be read as “stand alone” actually fit together, after reading this new book, you will wonder no more (I already had two of the books come together with Nox, the fourth book of the Corrosive Knights series).

So, if all goes well, I will be finish this new novel by later next week.  Then I’ll prepare it for release and it could well be available for everyone else to read by this time two weeks from now.

Meanwhile, here’s the cover of the book.  I’ve blurred the book’s actual title because I still want to keep it my little secret.  Nonetheless, if you look hard enough, you may just “get” it:

Its been exactly one month since my last Corrosive Knights update.

First off, in that previous update I was guilty of being overly optimistic when I stated that I was about one draft away from finishing the fifth book in the Corrosive Knights saga.

Sometimes, writing a novel is like preparing a meal.  Every time you go over your work, its like a taste test.  Continuing on that metaphor, in my eyes I could feel the book’s second and climactic half was missing an ingredient.

The frustrating thing was that I wasn’t sure what that ingredient was.

I finished the 8 1/2 draft -really draft #9- and went into draft 10.  I finished that up just before going on a trip to England.  I left on my trip annoyed (you could even say pissed) that the book wasn’t finished, but that frustration about flying off for eight days turned out to be Godsend.

In brief, with my mind no longer focused nearly 24/7 on the book and able to relax and unwind, a few days passed before, out of left field, I had a brainstorm.  I discovered the novel’s “missing ingredient” and, in my head, the book’s climax finally came together in totto.

When I returned home, I quickly got to work and in short order produced drafts 11a, 11b, and 11c.  These drafts involved chapters 52 through 60 of the novel (the book runs 64 chapters followed by two epilogues), which constitutes much of the novel’s reveals/explanations.

Having finished draft 11c just a few minutes ago, I am very, very optimistic about the novel now being just about done.  So much so that I intend to print the whole thing out later today and give it one more complete read through.  If all looks good, draft 12 will be the novel’s last draft.

Estimated time to get it done?  Another week to a week and a half.

Keep your fingers crossed.  You know I will!