I’m on the final edit of Astrid Maxxim and by the time you read this, I might very well have it completely done and ready for publishing. Keep an eye out for it. The other afternoon at work, I got so tired of the paperwork I had to do, that I started writing and came up with a draft of page one of the next Astrid Maxxim book. Book 2 will be Astrid Maxxim and her Deep Sea Dome or maybe her Undersea Dome, you get the idea.
I just finished the revision of Astrid Maxxim and will start the editing process tomorrow. This usually doesn’t take too long, especially with such a short book. You should expect to see it out in less than two weeks. I’ll keep you informed. I’ve also got to start thinking about a summary or blurb as I like to call it.
Seems like about once every two months, I’m saying that I’m putting The Young Sorceress on hold as I do something else. It really seems to be a hard book to finish. I’ve actually considered scrapping it entirely and just making Senta and the Steel Dragon a 4 1/2 book series. But now that I’ve got almost seven chapters done, I wouldn’t do that. I am however, setting it aside as I do something else….
I need to get the revision and editing done for Astrid Maxxim. I want it to be out and available for Christmas, for all those young people who get Kindles, Nooks, and iPads under their trees. This book is aimed at 10-14 year olds, but hopefully others will like it as well. It shouldn’t take too long to revise and edit, as it is a relatively short book. I’ll let you know.
Late last night, I finished the first draft of Astrid Maxxim. It was about as close to the original outline as any book I’ve ever written. It was plotted at 30,000 words and came out at 30,284. As always, things change when I start to rewrite, but I’m setting it aside for a bit before revising. Now back to Senta and the Steel Dragon Book 4: The Young Sorceress.
I am in the middle of Chapter 17 right now, so the first draft of Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike should be done within the week. It’s originally plotted at 20 chapters (30,000 words) and it may run slightly over that.
When I finish the draft, I’ll probably set it aside for a week or two. That usually works best for me. It gives me a little perspective before I start the revision process. That way when I come back, I can actually read the words without skipping over them when I remember what I wrote.
I should be able to do the revision and then the editing within a few weeks. This is a short book– about the same size as the Tom Swift Jr. books which inspired me.
In the meantime, I’ll get back to work on Senta and the Steel Dragon 4: The Young Sorceress.
Despite the quite frankly enormous demands on my time from my day job, Astrid Maxxim and Her Amazing Hoverbike is coming along. I just finished chapter 12 of 20. This is of course the first draft, so much of the work comes after the book is written, but I’m still hoping for a November release.
Astrid Maxxim is on the way and here is a good look at the cover. This is the first book for which I hired a professional to do the cover. The work was done by Matthew Riggenbach at Shaed Studios www.shaedstudios.com. I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. I’ll tell you more about Astrid and her story in the coming days and weeks.
Next up, Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike. I’m just about at the halfway point in the first draft. This is my first kid’s book, aimed directly at middle school students. It’s about a girl inventor and her friends, and it is very much my interpretation of a modern Tom Swift book. I’ve written before about how much I loved Tom Swift and His Robot Wife is dedicated to Tom.
I actually made enough royalties last quarter that I was able to set aside a few buck to get my first professional help. I was able to hire Shaed Studios to design the cover for me and this is the result. I’ll show you the flat version later. Matthew Riggenbach was great to work with and I’m really excited about the book and its cover. If you’re an author and want to check Shaed amd Matthew out, here’s the address: http://shaedstudios.com/.
I’m still working on the revision of Blood Trade so I’m still looking at a November release. What’s coming up after that?
– Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike
This is my first book aimed at younger readers. Hopefully older readers will enjoy it too. There is a possibility that this might be done by the end of the year.
– The Young Sorceress
The long awaited book 4 of Senta and the Steel Dragon. This is a book with a complicated plot, making it difficult to write. I love the characters and the story though, and can’t wait to get back to it.
-The Two Dragons
The fifth and final book of Senta and the Steel Dragon. This book has been essentially done for almost four years now. All it needs is a bit of revision and editing, but it can’t come out till book 4 does. Look for it about a month after The Young Sorceress.
Women of Power is done; at least the first draft is done. In fact, as I write this, I’m about a third of the way through the first revision. It’s going quickly for reasons I’ve mentioned before. This will definitely be out before the end of August. After that I can work on revising Blood Trade– a much bigger job, both because it’s longer and because it’s rougher.
In the meantime, I’m about a quarter way through the first draft of Astrid Maxxim and her Amazing Hoverbike. More details to follow.
City of Amathar 