Just because I found it curious:

The first full draft of the latest (5th) Corrosive Knights book runs 115,531 words, of which 26,779 of these words were bits and pieces shunted outside the main section of the book and may wind up being cut entirely and/or modified and reused in this book or a future work.  In effect, these scenes/pages/paragraphs are similar to “deleted scenes” found in the special features section of movie DVDs.

Thus, the word count of this first draft of the story, minus the potentially to-be-cut material, runs 88,752 words long.  My usual first drafts of novels run around 70-75,000 words, so this is a pretty long first draft.

If history repeats itself, this book will eventually gain another 10-20,000 words before it is completed.  While it is possible to “pare down” some material (and I’ve done that before with at least one of my novels), more often than not the first draft is often more “bare bones” than I’m happy with and requires additional material to smooth over some parts and/or better explain events that happen within the work.  So, if all goes as before, this book should wind up being among my longer works.

As mentioned before, this book represents the conclusion to the first major Corrosive Knights story line.  By that I mean that if you read all the previous books and then read this one, you will finally see exactly how they relate to each other.  As I’ve mentioned many times before, one can read the first three Corrosive Knights books, Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon, in any order at all without getting confused about characters or story.  With Nox, the fourth book in the series, I began to show the relationship between both Mechanic and Chameleon.

With this upcoming book, readers will see the interrelationship between all four previous Corrosive Knights books.  But more to the point: I think its a great story and if you enjoyed the previous books in the series, you should like this one.

I’m very excited and will work really hard to get this out as quickly as possible.

I can’t wait to see what you guys and gals out there think about it.

Been a while since I’ve written about, well, my writing, so here goes:

As of yesterday, Valentine’s Day, I finished the first full draft of book #5 of my Corrosive Knights series.  This book follows Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, Chameleon, and Nox, all available through Amazon.com (Click here for the Amazon link)

The latest book in the series is, effectively, the conclusion to the first major Corrosive Knights story line.

That’s not to say, however, that the upcoming book represents the last of the Corrosive Knights series.

Like all books I write, this one involved many many hours of very hard work and, given I’m “only” at the end of first draft stage, there’s still plenty of hard work to come.  To give you an idea of how much more I’ve got to do, I’m usually comfortable enough with my books to release them after doing at least five full revisions/drafts.  In the case of the upcoming book (note that I’m keeping the title to myself at the moment), I suspect it too will take roughly that amount of full revisions.

Still, the biggest hurdle is getting that first full draft done.  It represents a “complete” road map of the story I’m trying to tell.  In turn, the second full draft, which I began working on today, represents the second biggest step forward in getting the novel out there.  My focus on the second draft is to get all major and minor plot points clarified and/or “punched up” for maximum impact.  Subsequent book drafts (ie 3 through 5) tend to focus more on smoothing whatever verbal imperfections or grammatical errors I can find and, therefore, tend to be completed quicker.

I’ll be working very hard for the next few months on this, the latest book in the Corrosive Knights series.  I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished so far and I think those who have read the first four books in the series will get a huge kick out of this, the fifth one.

I’ll be moving very fast -but not recklessly fast- on these revisions.

Trust me, I can’t wait to get this book out there.

The day after Memorial Day, at least for the past decade or so, always feels like a time I can finally exhale.

These past few years I’ve been knee deep in whatever my latest novel is, tweaking this and re-writing that, and this year is no exception.  Other issues always crop up, of course, from school and helping the kids with their homework to other work related issues.

It all simmers and boils and reaches its apex on the Memorial Day weekend.  Then, just like that, most of the pressures fade.

My latest novel, the fourth book in the Corrosive Knights series, is just about done.  Today I should finish the fourth draft.  I’m estimating going over the book at least two more times before feeling comfortable enough to finally release it, but the worst seems to be over.  Like all my books, this one has its share of twists and turns.  To make those myriad twists and turns “work” within the context of the book, I have to make sure they follow a logical path, thus the need to go over the material several times.

I can’t wait to release the book.  I think it’ll provide plenty of enjoyment to those who have read the other three books in this series, Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon.

On that topic, thanks for the kind reviews and emails sent from people who have read the books.  As a relatively “new” author, I often wonder if the work I put into these books is something that others can appreciate.  Based on the growing sales and those already mentioned comments, it appears the books have struck a chord with some.

Again, thank you very much.  I’ll try to get the next one out as soon as I can!