I haven’t been updating this blog nearly as much of late, because, well, I don’t think I’ve had much to say.  But now, finally, I think I have something to say.  Not much, but something.

Today I finished the draft of a new novel, A Dream Apart, which I started in October but put on hold for several months while busily polishing up The Redemption of Mr. Sturlubok for it’s April 30th release (which, in retrospect, was probably a little too rushed.  I’m happy with the end result for Sturlubok, but it was too much work with everything else going on).  After The Redemption of Mr. Sturlubok was released, I went back to what I’d written of this new novel, unsure if I was going to be able to finish it.  I’m not sure how other authors work, but when I’m working on something remotely dramatic, I am always unsure about whether I’ll be able to finish it, whether or not it will work, whether or not I’ll like it in a few months.  I’ve had many false starts in the last ten years, and even a few completed drafts that upon typing that last sentence, I knew it wasn’t going to go beyond that.
With this, right now, I feel pretty good.  Sometimes I think it’s great.  Sometimes I think I should keep it to myself.  Finishing a draft is always a wonderful, but also slightly anti-climactic day for me.  There is a great sense of accomplishment upon hitting SAVE and sitting back.  But that’s it.  I hit save and then sit back.  And then what?

A Dream Apart is right now about 65 000 words.  It’s about a man who’s living two parts of his own life at the same time, and falls for two women at the same time.  I guess that describes it, at least in a single sentence.  Compared to The Year We Finally Solved Everything, it’s a little more character drive, personal and compassionate, with a greater emphasis on dialogue.  At least right now.  A lot can change int he revision stage.  The Year We Finally Solved Everything was once twice the length it ended up being, but I don’t want this new book to have the same tone.  I want it to be a little less formal and more loose.  I’ll see.

I hope to have it released by the end of the year, which should be very doable as long as I still like it by the end of the year.