I always feel a bit lost the day after I finish writing the last book in a series. The day I finish, I feel so excited and want to celebrate. But the next day, the day when I don’t need to pick up the keyboard and when I don’t have long known characters whispering their stories to me… I just feel lost.
I thought that having another WIP not only waiting to go, but already at the halfway point would alleviate that feeling. Surprisingly, nope.
Just like when you finish reading a great book, the sudden loss of that world and characters feels… nearly tragic. You can start reading again, but there is nothing new.
You have barely been introduced to the characters and the story that comprise Friends of my Enemy. But for whatever reason, this series snags my psyche more than any other I’ve written. Its been that way since I the first beginnings of an idea came to me way, way back… in 2010, I think? And now that it is finished, at least the writing part, it is a bit of a shock.
But I know I’ll get over it as I delve into Spark of Defiance. Now I can give it my focus while working on edits on the books to Friends of my Enemies. And there are some edits left! Book 2 has gone beyond the BIG changes of filling in plot holes. Now I just need to go over every word a few dozen times to see if it belongs in the novel. 🙂 But I already have a list of changes needed for book 3 even though I haven’t even been done with it a week. I missed a big opportunity to really make the end challenging (You should pity those poor characters that I just expressed my undying love for!). I may have one more chapter to write actually, and lots of tweaking of the plot to do before I begin serious edits.
So this week begins a return to an epic fantasy series as being my primary WIP! And for the immediate future, possibly until the fall, I’ll just keep one WIP going. Because, I like having more free time in the summer! For hiking, motorcycling, camping, canoeing… oh and building those kitchen cabinets at long last! Not to mention all the work required to publish the entire series of Friends of my Enemy AND, hopefully, book 1 of this new epic fantasy series. Add to that a marketing class and it is still going to be a busy, busy year.
Lift a glass with me to celebrate finishing the writing of my second series just as the first book is on pre-order and to say a very fond farewell (on my end – introduction on your end!) to a bunch of great characters!
Have a great week,
A