About every six months I remember that I have this webpage and then panic because I haven’t been keeping it updated. Well, in this case, there wasn’t much to update.
We had a tiny bit of family ‘issues’. One of my kids had to move in with his family and the only ‘free’ space was my office. I didn’t realize just how much I depended on this space for everything. I keep all of my important records, bill paying stuff, car keys, etc in my office and when a family of five had to temporarily take it over? I was lost!
I tried moving my writing back to the dining room table but that didn’t work. Moving from a desktop computer with an ergo keyboard and my Lazy Boy office chair to a hard wooden chair, an antiquated laptop with a dead battery that had to be plugged in all the time…yeah, no. So my writing was on hold. However, once the day came that I got my office back? I plunged into Nocturna 6 head first and did my darndest to get it done!
I’m happy to tell you that it survived the first round of edits and is waiting for round two. Jeffrey Kosh stepped up again to create the cover and with any luck it will be out by Thanksgiving.
I wish that was all I had to report. You all know me too well and know that I can’t keep a secret. At all. There may be something else in the works that I’ve tried to keep up my sleeve but the suspense is killing me. I want SO desperately to tell you, but there’s a caveat. I want it released before Christmas so I have to buckle down and put fingers to keyboard to get it hammered out. I have to have it to the editor no later than November 15 and although I was able to pound out one of the Hunter stories in a week, there’s no way I can do that with this one. This is a stand-alone story (though who knows what the future may hold).
I mentioned it to Jeffrey Kosh and at first he laughed and said it sounded like a movie script. Then I sent him the photo that planted the seed in my mind and his tone changed. His words were, “You HAVE to let me do this one!” He then created a series of covers that…well, they were all awesome. But we were able to whittle it down to one and…I REALLY love it.
I really wish I could share it with you, and I will. Eventually. Just not right now. His artwork was enough to spur me into overdrive and I’ve been doing my best to get it hammered out. It’s hard enough to create a story in a world that I’ve already established, but to create a whole new cast of characters in an area that I’m unfamiliar with? Not the easiest thing to do. All of the regular self-doubts are amplified by the fact that I’m treading in unfamiliar waters with all new characters and I start to question if I’m letting the story tell itself or if I’m trying to force it. It’s always seemed that when I let the story tell itself and I just type it, it all goes much more smoothly and it’s better received by the readers. Trying to pen this in such a short amount of time has me stressing over the project a lot more than I normally would.
So, the cat is still in the bag, but at least you know that there IS a cat. In a bag.
Okay, bad metaphor.
Just know that I’m plugging away at a project that I HOPE will be available by Christmas. Once I have it finished and it’s off to the editor, I’ll drop another post on here and share the cover. Hopefully, you won’t laugh at the idea.
Until then, here’s wishing you much love, luck and bacon!
Heath
Heath Stallcup Author 