The Countdown Timer Ticks…

The countdown timer ticks…

Looking back, I find it astounding that The Crown Conspiracy hit shelves only a year ago, but the rush of Avempartha is still with me. Now I am back in the countdown again, but I haven’t seen the book in weeks. Nyphron Rising went off to the editors in August like a kid on his first day of school. Since returning, Robin has had it. Being one of those detail-oriented people, she volunteered to compile all the changes from the various editors and proofreaders for me. I’ve purposely stayed away from the book. Reading it too many times can make you blind to the words.

I will receive it Tuesday—like starting a new year at school.

I’ll have exactly one week to read it over, proof it, and make any changes necessary before it has to fly to the printers in order to make it on shelves by October 1. The book was in good condition when last I saw it so I’m not too worried. I just have to make certain the editors didn’t change something important thinking it was an error when it wasn’t.

So far all who have read it like it. Robin is my most reliable critic. She loves the books, but she also isn’t shy about being honest. Like Avempartha, she began unsure about this latest release, but now, after the polishing, she says she likes it best. She always likes best the last book she’s read in the series. Hopefully you will too.

That is the goal of course, to make each book just a little better than the one before. As a reader, that’s what I’d want. Some mysteries explained, more introduced, greater excitement as the stakes rise steadily, all the while learning more and more about the characters and watching them grow. The hard part is restraint in the early books while still managing to make them good enough to pull in an audience. Give away too little and no one is interested—too much and there’s no place to go.

The countdown timer ticks…