Procrastination Multiplied

It only appears that I have been lazy. I really haven't been as idle as it might seem. Yes, it has been almost a year-and-a-half between my second blog and this one. As I mentioned in that earlier effort, I had just finished a fifth rewrite of Hathaway. Now, I have finished a sixth that includes breaking the original down from one long novel into three shorter ones. The "new" book is drawn from the first 200 pages of the initial effort, and focuses on the first mystery in that novel. With a bit of expansion it reads at 249 pages and 104,000 words. One of the nice things is that I now 50% of a second novel finished and about 80% of a third completed. Also, I have a fourth idea for Hathaway rolling around in my clouded brain.

I was told by several people, including my mysterious agent (more on that in a later blog) and a reader she hired, that the original Hathaway was too long for a first novel. I had been having the same thoughts for some time. Ergo, I set to work to turn one novel into three. It was more of an effort than I anticipated. As most of you realize, you don't just cut a book into three equal or easy parts. Events take place in the first story that are referred to or not even resolved until later in the original longer version. Those all had to be cleaned up. Other circumstances needed to be expanded and, in a couple of cases, shortened. Anyway, that endeavor is now complete.

That does not mean that I am finished. I have hired an editor out of Asheville, North Carolina to go through the manuscript and work with me on making it even more appealing to publishers and readers. She has a strong reputation and an excellent track record, so we shall see if Hathaway makes the elusive journey from personal manuscript to published novel.

Stay tuned for the results...and thanks for reading.