It is May, which means that summer is just around the corner. *peers at the weather prognosis*  Hopefully.  Today has been glorious, but most of May have felt like the weather thinks it is late Mars. Burrr.  I bought a thin down jacket, just because of the weather.  (That, and it is handy when travelling.)

I also have a dishwasher saga, that went from “replace the dishwasher” to “replace the electricity.” Yeah, Ow. I have hired an electrician, though we haven’t set a date.  I had planned to call and ask today, but I forgot. 

Anyway. The second draft of The Shifter’s Justice is progressing nicely. As in, I’m about to start revising chapter 4 and I have added 7000 words to the book already.  Oh and the projected wordcount is 35 000 words. I am pretty sure it will be longer than that. 

I am having fun writing this draft, and I can see how much I have grown as writer since I wrote it.  It also makes me want to go back to Vanished, though hopefully Vanished will be pretty solid.  Though to be fair,  The Shifter’s Justice is pretty solid.  I think.  Maybe.  (I always think my books are pretty solid, until I discover that they isn’t. LOL)

I am also hoping that this revision will not take me 4 months, since I have figured out that if I use  Scrivener’s fullscreen mode, I write a lot more than if I don’t.  That in combination with revising the chapters backwards (which I haven’t done yet. Ahem) should ensure that the draft goes smoothly.  (I know, I know. I probably jinxed it now.)

Oh! I am going to be at Åcon at the end of May.  If you are there, come and say hi. 

So in September, or was it October, I decided to commission covers from Covers by Combs for Portal Justicar series, including Daughter of the Dark.  I loved the old cover, but roughly at the same time as I commissioned the covers, I  realised that it might be a better fit for Vanished, than Daughter of the Dark.  Ooops.

Yesterday was finally the day when Daqri, the talented cover artist that I picked, designed the covers. And they are gorgeous, totally worth being up until like 1:30 am. 🙂 (In the future, I’m picking a Thursday or Friday, though, so that I don’t have to wake up at 5:30 the next morning.)   

Isn’t the cover gorgeous? It fits the book perfectly!  <3 The updated book, and proofread, should go live over the weekend at the various retailers.

It took much, much longer than expected, though to fair I also moved, with all the entails, but I am finally done with rewriting  the Bonedragon’s Curse.  

The draft  started at 30 900 words and ended at 46 600 words. o-o.   Maybe there is a reason why it took…*checks* 6 months to rewrite.  (I guess I did it again. sigh.) I did learn a lot about my process, and it should probably go faster the next time.  The only reason I didn’t do the “revise the chapters backwards” in the end was because i knew the end would need a lot of work.  Which turned out to be correct, since the end has a lot of more words now. 

Which means, I’ll have another round of edits later on, but not now.  Now I am going to spend the rest of the week reading books other people wrote. And going to Gothenburg to see a show. 

And probably finish unpacking my apartment. 

But first I am going to bed. 

So I have been fiddling with things all day, from cleaning  the apartment, to doing the dishes, to fiddling with the webpage.  It might be because I am procrastinating on the writing.  Or maybe I am just restless. 

I do like the theme I selected ( even if I am probably going to replace the header soonish), and the apartment is cleaner  and the story is going well. Slowly, but well.   I am definitely in the last scene, though. So yay.

 Here is a tiny snippet:

”That is a relief to hear. The thought of leaving ground is… unsettling.”
<It is unsettling for anyone that is born without wings,>The gryphon assured her.

Anyway, I hope you have a lovely weekend! I am going to spend it… not writing. Since I am off to the cottage tomorrow. 

I am still working on The Bone Dragon’s Curse, which is now 14 000 (!) words longer than the first draft. I am working on the end, maybe even the final scene, and I’m still not sure I have the right story. It is almost there, but I feel that there are some things that need to click in my brain, if that makes sense. The only way to fix it is a distance from the book, and probably some hard poking at the worldbuilding. 

I like the characters, and the plot. I do like the story, but it is probably that I can’t see the story clearly right now.  And it is good that I like the characters, since there will be sequel, featuring the same characters.   And gryphons. Lots of gryphons.

Before I write the sequel, I’m going to revise this one again.  And then again, since my editor will probably hand me a shredded manuscript back.. .erm… I mean an editor letter telling me what needs to be fixed.  (I love you, Laura Anne. You are fabulous and experienced and awesome. I am glad I have you.)

First I have to finish, though. I had an ambitious plan to finish by tomorrow, which… will not happen. I *might* be done on Friday, but probably not. I should be done next week, though. Which will be a relief. 🙂

Then I celebrate by going to Gothenburg and seeing a show. *hopes everything goes smoothly since the train arrives 90 minutes before the show starts.*

Enough rambling. I am going to make dinner now.  Tasty Cajun salmon pasta. (I hope it is tasty. The recipe calls for chicken, but I want fish, so.)

I am busy with life and moving and day job. So my attempt to blog more regularly, isn’t exactly working. Hopefully February will be better, since then I will have moved fully into my new apartment. Anyway! Have a tiny snippet. It is a bit rough, since I just finished writing the scene. But it is non-spoilery! 🙂 (And the book is over 42 000 words, which means I have added 12 000 words to the book. o-o. It is a good reminder that the second draft is a rewrite. Not from scratch, but it is extensive.)

Aldis stopped and stared at the ancient oak that dominated the meadow. She slowly turned and looked around, searching for the cluster of trees that should surround it. Tension coiled within her when she couldn’t see it.
Maybe that explains why the tree feels… dormant, she thought. If an Elder lost their grove, the shock would send them into their tree. Unless it killed it immediately. Aldis looked at the tree, wincing when she saw the door cut into it.

This week has been a bit frustrating, since I realised that it would be better if the next part of the scene was told by another character. The problem was that I am 2/3rds into the draft and he hasn’t bad any POV scenes before. Yeah. But I figured out a way that will strengthen the opening, and add some tension to it, so yay!

Anyway.  Here is a snippet.

Dread coiled around him. There was only one reason for someone to come this early. The thought galvanized him. He pushed aside the blanket and hurried toward the door. He pulled on his cloak, slipped the bag he had packed over his shoulder, grabbed his staff.
He took a deep breath, and opened the door. He stared at the wolf standing in the dawn light. For a moment, his brain blanked on the wolf’s name. They had been introduced last night.. .Steady Paws, he remembered.

I have a quiet New Year’s Eve, this year.  With dad, my oldest nephew, and my youngest brother and his girlfriend*pauses* Maybe not quiet, since me and dad is babysitting my nephew. Who is a bit sick, and clingy. But he enjoyed the vegetarian tex mex we fed him. <3

It was nice, though, even if we aren’t going to watch any firelights. It is nice, though.  Even if it makes me wonder if I should do something different next year.

It is a long time until then, though. So Happy New Year, and I hope you have nice evening.