Hammerblog

After a couple of solid weeks of work, I’m almost finished with the first editorial pass at PRODIGAL. Only have one more chapter and a short epilogue to go–which ain’t too shabby, considering that this is the holiday season. Not to worry, though. I stayed off the beer while I was slicing and dicing. I still have no idea how guys like Hemingway and Wilde (and Stephen King, for that matter) wrote while they were on the sauce. A couple sips of Belgian and I’m no damned good.

While the process has been a bit more painful this time around, it’s also been illuminating. Second novels are tougher in some ways than the first–especially living up to expectations. Toward that end, my editor has been tough as nails. She pulled absolutely no punches with the ol’ red pen, which I consider to be a compliment. It sends the message, “You’re a professional–you can take it.” Besides, she’s dead-on right almost all the time, which is both amazing and infuriating.

After this, it’s another read-through and then the manuscript goes back to New York. Then I get to chew my fingernails and see if we’re ready to head into production. An excerpt should be appearing in the new Spectra Sampler, so keep an eye out for that if you happen to hit a convention or two.