I had an editing client who couldn’t send in a manuscript, so I took a week off. Saw Dune! My WIP is with the beta readers and I have other work to do, but I’m just chipping away at a little of it. Wednesday I fly to Montreal for World Fantasy. I’ll get back on the horse after that.
Extension on deadline
Got an extension from my beta readers to finish the final read through of my novel, and it’s a good thing: I’ve cut 7k and found some inconsistencies–and it’s best I take care of that sort of thing before they read it.
I Won The Aurora for 2020!
Good progress on the WIP: finished the back-and-forthing! YAY! I exported it from Scrivener so I can look at it with a different eye (and also to give to my beta readers in Word on Wednesday). I want to do one more full read-through before I give it to them, but I simply don’t have time. I’ll re-do the blurb, and get through as much of a final pass as I can before my deadline. Besides, I have short story selection for an antho, editing for a client, and a revision of Book 3 of my series are all looming, so it will be good to get the WIP off to my readers. I’ve picked a title (at least, for now): The Shadow Spy’s Wife.
The big news, though, is: I won Canada’s Aurora Award for Best YA Novel of 2020 for Flights of Marigold! I was amazed–I didn’t think Book 2 of a series would have a hope! But I’m not turning it down!
Horse trip was a nice break–back at it!
Four day horse trip (with practice saddling and bridling, as well as hobbling and belling) gave me a bit more solid experience in my “you-never-know-when-you’ll-need-it” research.
Now I’m back at the revisions and it’s going well but SLOW! Too many interruptions (like answering all my emails from being away for 4 days). My goal is to finish the back-and-forthing AND do another read through by the 20th, so…hopefully I will be done on time to send it to my beta readers.
List of revisions complete
I finished compiling all my notes and chapter 1 critiques for The Shadow Spy’s Wife and began the first revision–managed to do my “back-and-forthing” rewrites for the first two chapters.