Cycle-

then and again...

Think a sunny Sunday afternoon after four straight days of clouds and rain, while the cranberry cinnamon loaves are in the oven, I’m typing onto a screen all the words I’ve marked on paper over the previous week. That takes place several days before you read this but since it is a repeating cycle, something very like this will happen again several days after. So, read in any tense that appeals to you.

In this process of transcription and editing, some words get unwritten and some words added. The cycle will repeat many times before a book begins to emerge. That will occur sometime after more words are unwritten than added. This may be my favorite stage in the evolution of a new novel. It’s when I get my first clear inkling as to whether there might be a story for somebody beside me to enjoy reading.

Gather the Fallen is threatening to become somewhat Dickensian in its plethora of characters, each with their own intertwining and intriguing history. The amorphous evil lurking in the center of the tale appears to be serving mostly as an excuse to gather this brave band of stalwart eccentrics. Past editors have tended to recoil from my group protagonists but one who came across a novel of mine recently seemed to get the collective. With some luck, I might be able to get a manuscript on her desk while I am still breathing.

The short version of all this is that I’m beginning to have some confidence you beta readers out there will have a new tale to critique come fall.

Writing in hope-

-henry