I’m writing to you all from Australia, where I have come on my writing retreat, which used to be an annual thing until Covid. I have an unfortunately tight deadline, and I’m neck deep into Cast in Atonement, which is not yet done. I hope to be finished before I leave Brisbane. And when I say finished, I mean: finished first draft. After which I will revise for submission, and then submit. Shards of Glass is due out at the end of November, so I’m fielding a few questions about that — but my head is fully entangled in the Cast novel, so Shards feels like it was written years ago (it wasn’t). My toe has improved enough it doesn’t bother me much, but according to X‑rays taken a week before I left, … Continue reading
As those of you who follow my Patreon know, at the beginning of July, I had a drive-by argument with a chair in the living room, and lost. I managed to break not one, but two, toes. I have been off work at the bookstore, but in theory will return on the 10th of August, the day on which I can take off the boot on my foot. Previous toe breakage did not require a boot. But I could stand on the foot in both prior cases. By the end of the day of the 2‑toe breakage, I was reduced to crawling because I couldn’t actually put any weight on the foot at all. Which meant, when we went to the hospital, I went in bare feet; I couldn’t put even a sandal on. … Continue reading
I have the full cover for the new novel, Shards of Glass. I assume most people see the front cover at various retailers, so, as usual, post the cover when I have the full version. The cover design was done by Kathleen Oudit, who I adore. I’ve stopped calling this the Magic School book because it turned left almost immediately. I don’t usually have to start the CAST novels multiple times; I sit down, I start. Maybe I’ll start a second time if the first attempt doesn’t hit the right tone, but the CAST novels have a tone. This book had to be started many times, and the eventual beginning of the book was not the one I’d envisioned on any of the prior attempts. It’s not necessary … Continue reading
First, the good news: Indigo books, our major bookstore chain, is having a summer preorder sale. Shards of Glass is included in that most-anticipated books sale. I wanted to mention it here — the sale goes to July 2nd. *** I have had a trying month. I am still working on glasses, which has been iterative and ongoing since December. I am working on copy-edits for the West novel, and have just received page proofs for the above mentioned Shards of Glass. And I managed, while running to intercept the phone, to break not one, but two, toes — and at the joint below the knuckle in both cases =/. I’ve broken toes before, but never this close to foot and oddly enough, it kind of hurts. I have a boot, which, unlike a cast, … Continue reading
I’m sorry I appear to have missed March >.<. March was revision of Hunter’s Redoubt, which went into April; the rest of April is revision of Shards of Glass, and taxes. I’m still revising Shards of Glass. I don’t have the cover yet, but the (front) cover is now up on various retailer sites. I’ll post the whole cover as usual (front and back) when I do have it. I am collating information for taxes, which are currently in the virtual shoebox of email, DevonThink and a couple of other electronic repositories. While revising. So: there’s a bit of gloom, and given April, there’s also been rain. What we haven’t really had is the annual April snowstorm (yes, I’m knocking wood). Hunter’s Redoubt is with the copy-editor now, so I expect I will soon be … Continue reading