It’s been a pretty productive month for me on the writing front. The funny thing is that I’m actually really far behind in my plan for writing. So, I’m doing a lot, but getting further and further behind, somehow. Then, suddenly, I find out that I’m somehow ahead. Perhaps I’m actually being lapped. Let me explain.

First, I have finally finished my first draft of Casualty of Silence, which is book 5 of the Blake Heira series. I was hoping to get this done by the end of December, then I had it for the end of January. But, here it is the end of March, and I got it done! Several months late, but hey, it’s there!

Second, I completed by beta read revisions for Corruption of Blood, which is book 3 of the Blake Heira series. I had planned to get this done by the end of January, but I had a multitude of formatting issues, had to resend it several times, and ultimately had a terrible time getting the book to the wonderful people who said they’d read and critique my book. By the time I got that all figured out, multiple people sent me their reviews. I decided that it made the most sense to finish my first draft of Casualty of Silence before I did my editing based on that feedback. Which I got done in record time! Now it’s at my editor, who is hoping to get it back to me in the next couple weeks.

Third, I’ve been posting my work creating Shildaria, which I’m planning to continue until the end of May. This was in preparation for beginning a new series. Originally, the plan was to write the first draft of that book this November. But, I joined another critique group in the Des Moines Writer’s Workshop in order to get feedback on that series. I had thought that this would start next year. Instead we have our first meeting next week. This means I get to start this book now instead of in November. The working title for this book is Calling of the Sun. We’ll see if that sticks. I’ve been prepping to do my drafting starting in May with the goal to get it done by the end of June. That’s six months earlier than originally planned.

As of right now, I plan on publishing Corruption of Blood in July. That will give me a chance to do the rewrites from my editor, format it, and get my cover done.

Next week, I’ll keep going on my Creating Shildaria series. See you Thursday!