So it has been over a month since I last updated here, which means it is past time for another. This time I have more than just talk about my progress on By Duty Bound(although I have some of that too!), so buckle up.
By Duty Bound
Lets get this out-of-the-way first. I am about half-finished editing chapter 14 of By Duty Bound. Considering that the book has 25 chapters, I realize that sounds like I am just over 50% finished, however when you consider the work involved it is actually probably closer to 70% or more. Part of what has slowed me down is that I keep finding sections that would be much improved by rewriting them, mostly because of changes I am making elsewhere in the book. Not all of these are too major, but they do force me to slow down and think about how to handle the scene.
That said I only have one more major rewrite (along with several smaller ones), before I get to move on to the next phases. At my current rate of progress my hope is to have that done sometime before the end of September. Now that said, I am also strongly beginning to look at pushing back the release of the book until Spring 2018 (I was hoping for by the end of the year, but events that transpired during the spring may have made that unfeasible). My concern isn’t so much that I cannot get the book out before the end of the year, but rather that attempting to do so will not do the story justice.
So with that sobering thought, lets leave this point off on a high note. Cover art has been commissioned for By Duty Bound, provided by Johanna Tarkela (aka Johis). This is the same artist who did my last cover for In Honor’s Shadow and it is a real treat that I was able to get her again. I am not ready to show the cover (largely because it is not finished yet), however until then take a look at the concept sketch:
Coming Short Story
I am well aware that I have neglected this blog while I fight to get my book into shape, so yesterday I sat my butt down and wrote out a short fiction based on an experience I had in a video game. It is effectively a dramatized retelling of what happened. It certainly isn’t the best piece of fiction, but I think it is an amusing story from the perspective of how a player might enter a game with one motive, and then have events ultimately take them in a completely different direction.
Holiday Plans
Obviously these are subject to changes given that it is so early in the year, however I wanted to lay them out. Thanksgiving will involve visiting my paternal grandmother, so I am not sure how much work I shall be able to do during that visit (which will likely last 4 or 5 days, travel included). Naturally I will attempt to do what I can, however depending on the situation that may not be possible.
Christmas will be spent at home for the first time in 3 or 4 years. This is something I am very much looking forward to because as much as I enjoy spending it with relatives it would be very nice to just have that time to myself for once. New Years is a similar situation, and I am hoping that no new family emergencies spring up to take me away from this.
