A Reprieve

The Governor has called in a last-minute reprieve for me.
Sunday night, I managed to finish up the last of the First Pass edits for Dawnbreaker with the expectation that I would be receiving my revision letter for Book 4 today. However, my editor emailed earlier today to tell me that it's not quite ready yet. Actually, it won't be arriving until the end of the week.

I know her little game. She's trying to get me to take some time off and relax. But I've outsmarted her. (Insert evil maniacal laugh) Oh yes! I've started outlining Book 5, which should take me pretty much until the end of the week to get worked out. So, ha! I've found some work to do.

Yeah, I know. I'm not exactly playing with a full deck any longer. But, as I've stated before, writing is a disease. Or at the very lease, an addiction. If I'm not working on something, then I go a little nuts. Sure, I take some time off for video games and movies on occasion, but most of my nights need to be filled with the insanity that is swirling around in my head and is pouring onto my page. I like spending my nights cuddled up with Mira and Danaus as they fight big baddies and each other.

Anyways.... the outlining of Book 5 is slow going. I've got a broad idea of what happens and why it happens. It's more of the how it happens and who is there when it happens that I need to work out. By the close of Book 4, I've realized that the pantheon of characters in this series is getting rather large and somewhat unwieldy. My goal with Book 5 is to bring back a number of familiar faces and let them develop some more or meet a ghastly end so I can tighten up the character list just a little bit. Will I succeed? (shrug) Who knows? It's still early.

Book 5 also starts a new story arc, but needs to tie up a few loose ends that I've left dangling. Dawnbreaker ties up the story arc of the first three books, but leaves new problems dangling in the wind that I will get to in later books. (I just can't help myself) Book 4 ties up one big question and leads into the new story arc that blossoms in Book 5 and will carry for several books, I believe. However, the main goal of Book 5 is to tidy up some things that I've been wondering about since Dayhunter. You got all that? Me neither. Actually, I've got it all locked up in my brain. I just haven't gotten to the point of putting it all on paper. (And this would be where my editor and agent shake their heads in disgust and fear.)

Okay, dark secret time. I hate to put my plans down on paper ahead of time. I feel like once they are on paper, then the plans are locked in and unchangeable. If they stay in my head, then things are still fluid and can be easily changed as the story demands.

There, I feel better for having gotten that off my chest.

Now it's time for me to get back to work for a little while.