"I could barely write a 3 page essay in high school!"
"I don't know how you do that..."
"When do you find the time?"
Those are just a few things I hear when I talk about my writing, especially during the summer months. It's a blessing and a curse, this writing thing. Most of the time it makes me feel small, like I can't get my head out of my own ass, but every so often, I'll come across a moment of clarity - one that supercharges the images in my brain into words wrapping across a computer screen. Those are the moments I live for and, honestly, I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't worth it.
So...where to next?
If you've kept up with me recently, you know I've spent most of my time talking about The Edge of a New Beginning (Book 1) and preparing Darkness Beneath the Dying Light (Book 2) for publication. It's been a crazy year editing the crap out of that thing, considering it has ballooned into something extraordinary. I can't wait to share it with you.
So in celebration of Book 1's continuing growth and Book 2's impending arrival, I would like to offer you a bit of where we are headed.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be offering you behind-the-scenes glimpses into how I've worked through this series so far - things like where the Series is heading, how I structure 12 years of writing, and why the genre of FANTASY is bullshit.
I have also synced my blog with my GOODREADS page, so if you find GOODREADS to be a bit more user-friendly, head over there and read away!
I hope you enjoy.
Here are a couple nuggets of knowledge to hold you over until the next installment:
The Edge of a New Beginning finished around 78,000 words. It was a short novel, but I think it needed to be. Lider and Tae are arguably the most influential and important characters in the series. You will get plenty more from them as their narratives intertwine with the others' throughout every novel. They are the continuing pieces of an otherwise independent set of novels for book 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Darkness Beneath the Dying Light is unlike anything I have ever written. Editors and advanced readers have the novel in their hands as we speak and, if all goes well, the novel should be available for pre-order on or around Black Friday. This one, in the editing phase, has hit the 106,000 word mark. It's long. It's packed. And it breaks the mold of the other R.T. Donlon novels you've read.
And for good reason.
Talk soon, readers.