I Am Editing

If you are like me, you probably enjoy the act of creating new work more than the act of polishing it. I know there are people out there who LOVE editing their writing more than the actual writing itself. I do like the polishing, but with all the ideas in my head fighting to get out, the writing is still more enjoyable.

But…unless the polishing happens, there can be no publication of stories. If there is no publication, then I’m not sharing my work with people and that is ultimately what I want to do.

So, with two books at the editing stage, I am now hunkering down to get the polishing done.

The current book I’m working on is Jack Kane and the Kaiser. This is the sequel to Jack Kane and the Statue of Liberty. Both books are being written by myself and JR Murdock.

This particular book has been a long time coming. Not because it is bad or difficult to write. Quite the contrary. What has delayed it is life. JR and myself have been experiencing a LOT of life in the past two years, most of it distracting and not at all fun. It has meant we’ve been able to have brief spurts of creativity followed by long periods of activity while we deal with life. Sometimes it has hit JR and other times it has struck me down.

The fantastic thing about having a writing partner is, there is someone who can support you emotionally. JR and I have been going through a lot of the same things. We understand what the other is going through. That has been absolutely crucial for me and I cannot tell him how much his support has meant to me (I have also been blessed with the support of many good friends and family).

The problem with taking a long time to write a book is, you sometimes lose track of where you’ve been in comparison to where you currently are. That’s what makes this editing pass so important. When I’m done, I will be passing the book over to JR who will do the same thing. Then we will send it on to our lovely publisher at Champagne Books.

This is another fun one and I am eager to share it with you. Steampunk, superhero, comedy. What isn’t to love?

I will be following up with edits to Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Masters. I wrote this book (the third and final instalment in this Scouts of the Apocalypse trilogy) in a real hurry. Quite a contrast to Jack Kane and the Kaiser. As such I know it had some continuity problems and a few plot threads that weren’t wrapped up as cleanly as I would have liked.

Ordinarily I would have done a full edit pass on the book, by my editor (Jeffrey Hite) insisted I send it to him right away. Between you and me, I think he was just eager to know how the trilogy ends. 🙂

He pointed out the areas I expected him to and I will begin my edits on that one as soon as I’m done with Jack Kane.

When will these books be available?

Well, since we haven’t yet submitted Jack Kane to the publisher we don’t know where it will end up on their schedule. It hasn’t yet been contracted but they have asked us (with increasing urgency) when we will be sending it to them so I expect it will eventually be published. Perhaps late this year,/early to mid next.

Scouts is already on the publishing schedule for Evil Alter Ego Press. The expected release date is October prior to Halloween. That means I can’t sit on my laurels with it.

Once I have those done, I will be moving on to the fourth book in my Mik Murdoch: Boy Superhero series. I already have a solid plot outlined for the book and I have fans waiting for it so I’ve got to get moving.

I should also be wrapping up book 2 of GalaxyBillies. Those are currently exclusive to Wattpad and are free to read. You can find them here.