On to the next novel....

Good afternoon and welcome to Wednesday.

Russ was home last weekend and we had a nice time, though it was far too short. We discussed things like on-line stores and invitation-only publishing. We went to De Soto Wildlife Refuge twice and saw all kinds of great things there. He's back in New York now. I'm back in my office.

Draw the Line is very close to finished. I was beginning to wonder if the true ending would ever really appear to me, but it has in the last week and I've worked out my ending notes so that I can do the writing without much more trouble. I'm still writing at the 500 words a day, but as I draw closer to the end, I may end up just going for it.

I have started work on the research for two new novels. Those are going to start getting a lot more attention since I finished the rewrite of Rat Pirates a couple days ago. That was certainly a lot of fun to work my way through. I'm still uncertain what I'll do with the three books -- Vita's Vengeance, Badlands, Rat Pirates. They are an odd group.

But now I'm back to work on something more serious. I'm reworking The Servant Girl so that it includes magic in the story. From the very start, it's turning out to be a more interesting story. It's going to be a long haul on this one, but I think it will be well worth it in the end.


Snippet:

Chapter One
The fever spread from west to east, not deterred by deserts, mountain ranges or rivers. It worked its way from village to village and on to town and city ... and left behind dead in such numbers that some areas fell to ruin with no on left to care for homes, fields or flocks.

The deadly contagion took no notice of age or wealth. Young and old died, rich and poor, peasant and noble ... king and queen.

Of the royal family of Ranas, only Princess Sondra remained, and she a child of barely six. The Council hurriedly placed both the government and the princess in the care of her mother's cousin who became Prince Regent Petrin. Petrin, a military man who had never married, had no idea of how to deal with a child who wept for her lost parents.

Dark times came upon the land. The living buried the dead in mass graves, and the priests locked themselves in their temples and prayed -- and died there, alone and abandoned by man and gods.

Frightened people, looking for an answer to why they had fallen under such ill-times, believed enemies had struck at the ancient kingdom of Ranas with foul magic and a horrible curse. Mages became the scapegoats of the calamity, and those few who survived the mobs, left for safer havens.

The land survived through the first year of calamity. Prince Regent Petrin worked with the Council and together they kept the land in what order they could. He had better luck in council chambers than he had with the child who cried almost constantly for her lost parents. No nurse or plaything could solace her for long and the prince began to fear that the last heir would not live to see the new year.

Quite by accident, he found her a companion and playmate. Riding back from the docks, he spotted a small girl child sitting on a street corner, clutching a blanket, and obviously abandoned.