That's A Wrap - Almost

Well, I've done it. Today I wrote the final line in the final chapter of the first draft  of "The Changeling Kill," sequel to "The Dreamer Gambit."

Not that it's anywhere close to being publisher ready. Ahead there are many more readings, proofing, editing, revising (hopefully not too much of that) and around and around until it feels right. Usually, this means thinking of something I could change, tweak a little, and then realizing that I cannot do better than what's already on the page.

It's been a long time since I completed a brand-new manuscript. A mixture of feelings comes with it: satisfaction, a touch of melancholy, and the kind of fatigue that comes when you realize how much more work lies ahead until it's really done.

Before I get into the editing and polishing, I will probably let it rest a bit and work on something else. Then I can start reading what I've create with fresh eyes. The something else will probably be polishing up one of my older manuscripts. I've got my eye on a particular one with the working title of "Dabblers." It's a mystery wrapped up with psychic ability and pagan religions and the notion of magic and spells. It's written in first person POV which makes it a bit more straightforward. There's no deciding who should be in control of each scene or whether to include another POV at all. Hopefully, it will pass muster with my publisher and become book number 4.

Stay tuned for "The Changeling Kill."

Updates

Two posts in one day! A first for me I think. But the post before this one, i.e., the music from "Two Faces, Two Faced", kind of demanded being in a piece by itself.

Today on the Fictionwise site, the list of best sellers for ebooksonthe.net had my two novels as #4 and #5.

"Faces" is getting more attention on Goodreads--10 people have put it on their lists, and one of them gave it a 4-star rating. (Thanks, Livy!) Interest is picking up on the "Dreamer" ad as well; it's getting some clicks. I'm thinking about changing the ad copy to mention the sequel.

Working on the final chapter of "The Changeling Kill", but the wrap-up is sometimes the hardest part. Gotta tie up all those loose ends. At some point, though, I'll hit upon what the final sentence is. I know it when I hear the movie music come up in the background as the credits begin to roll. I'm not quite there yet, but it's coming.

Chicagoland is in the midst of a winter storm. It took me an hour to drive 9 miles this afternoon, and it is still snowing. But the fridge is full of food and there's nowhere we really need to go this weekend. It'll be a good time to work on those chapbooks for "Faces" to hand out at Love Is Murder.

"Two Faces, Two Faced" - The Music

This book was not nearly as music-oriented as "Dreamer," but there are a few songs mentioned in it:

I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash: Tracy sings this at a point when she thinks her problems are over, although they're just starting.

Misty - by Erroll Garner: An old classic played at Club Raoul.

Girl From Ipanema - Antonio Carlos Jobim: Another one of the Club Raoul tunes.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat - ????: Tracy sings this to herself while . . . rowing.

A couple of more songs were in my head while I worked on "Faces" but they are not mentioned in the book:

Living Daylights - Aha: This was the title piece from the James Bond movie of the same name. It's a favorite Bond flick for me. The song's opening line seemed to fit some of Tracy's situations . . . "Hey, driver, where we goin'?"

Crockett's Theme - Jan Hammer: From the old "Miami Vice" TV series, natch. I heard it as sort of a love theme for Tracy and Alex--soft and a little melancholy.

Authors Den Update

Now that I am a paying member of Authors Den, I get more space to post stuff on the site. I added my short story "Squatters" which was my first entry into the Writers of the Future contest a ways back and which achieved an Honorable Mention. Here is the link to my Authors Den page: Kathryn Flatt at Authors Den .

There was another entry I had been working on for Writers of the Future, but things got busy with my books and I never got the chance to finish it. Sometimes I feel torn between pursuing an even higher standing with another entry or finding out that I've sold so many books I am no longer considered eligible.

Still working on "The Changeling Kill." Last night, as I considered what ground needed to be covered in the final, wrap-up chapter, I had an interesting idea for one of the characters. Of course, it will require going back to early chapters and sewing the seeds for it.

Three weeks to go until Love Is Murder conference:

The Latest News

My shipment of paperback copies of "The Dreamer Gambit" arrived the other day, and they will be sold on consignment at Love Is Murder.

I purchased a color printer for making chapbooks of "Two Faces, Two Faced" to take along too, as well as long-reach stapler. Still fiddling around with the cover for this, but once I get it all looking good, I can become my own mini print shop. I also want to make labels to apply to the business cards I had made up for "Dreamer" to announce that the sequel will be coming soon. The chapbooks and cards will be distributed free at LIM any way I can manage it.

Regarding the "Dreamer" sequel, "The Changeling Kill," the first draft is past the big, climactic scenes and is winding down to the conclusion. By all means, that does not mean the writing is done. I'll go back over it a number of times for typos, punctuation, and formatting. Also for continuity checking and addition of descriptive stuff where needed. Then I'll use the tool I've noted before which counts the number of occurrences of each word and how far apart they are to see if any are overused or could be removed or improved. Editing is hard, hard, hard work.

And then what? Someone who read "Faces" asked me if I planned to do a sequel for it. I hadn't thought about it up to that point, but her question got me to thinking and voila the beginnings of a plot concept were born. Alternatively, there are six other manuscripts in various stages of completion (enumerated in an earlier posting called "The Writer Between Projects") which could turn into my next project.

Stay tuned.

At Last! A Review!

Just received a very nice review of "Two Faces, Two Faced" on amazon.com, to wit:

"I was glued to Kathryn Flatt's "Two Faces;Two-Faced" from start to finish. I'm not usually a fan of mystery novels, so I was a little skeptical at first, but the story heated up very quickly with one exciting adventure after another. I LOVED IT!!! Tracy, the heroine, started off a bit naive, but developed into a bold, tenacious and funny woman that readers will care about. Her character becomes entwined with many shady characters and has to outwit them to stay alive. The scenes were so vivid I feel as through I just watched a great thriller movie. I highly recommend this emotional ride through betrayal, greed, danger and murder. I eagerly look for more from this author."
What a feeling!

Shocker!

Just visited my publisher's blog -- http://writewordsarline.blogspot.com/ -- and saw "Two Faces Two Faced" was #5 on the Best Sellers List!

Don't know how many actual sales that translates to, but to be on a Best Sellers List at all is just an amazing feeling!

Happy New Year to all!

(Oh, dear. I just realized that I used an exclamation point after every sentence above. Guess I'm just that excited.)