It's ALIVE!!

Okay, maybe A Cup of Conflict is not shambling across the countryside and terrorizing the villagers. But damn it! It is finally done and edited!

That's the good news.

The bad news is I'm going to push the release back another week. In updating the Glossary many of you have requested, it's now 25 pages all on it's own. So, I will spend tomorrow paring it down to the relevant information for this particular novel.

Why? This book in paperback will be roughly 400+ pages all by its lonesome without any of the front or back matter. I'm not adding another 25 pages because some of us already suffer from arthritis, and I'm not causing further pain to anyone who prefers the paperback version. And that doesn't even get into the paperback costs!

Seriously, the heft of a massive book is why I love having the ebook edition of The Lord of the Rings.

So a copy has been sent to my alpha reader. I'll spend this morning paring down the Glossary, and I'll send the appropriate files to my formatter this afternoon.

We're getting there, my readers! We're getting there!

A Justice Update

I didn't put up any pre-orders for A Cup of Conflict yet because I'm still editing. Damn, this is a long book!

I wish I could blame my slowness on Genius Kid being home on leave, but I can't. However, I can blame part of it on Darling Husband and the puppies because as soon as I put in my earbuds, one of them wants something.

At least the hubby doesn't need to be walked, though it's good to wear him out so he's not too rambunctious.

Anyway, this books may not have a pre-order after all, but I will have it uploaded to retailers by August 29th. 

First Draft Is Done!

Yes, that's right! I finished the first draft of A Cup of Conflict Saturday afternoon while my Cincinnati chili quietly bubbled in the crock pot.

I should have finished it on Friday. GK got home from his deployment a little after two p.m., but with the jet lag, he was curled up in bed by four p.m. after consuming a couple of slices of leftover homemade pizza.

Instead of joining him, the Grandpuppy curled up on the living room couch and napped. The Attack Tribble did the same on my lap at I sat on my recliner. And DH headed out to the high school soccer stadium. (The season had started the night before.)

I thought, "Awesome, I can finish the book while it's quiet!"

It must have been too quiet though. I fell asleep as I was reading through the chapters I'd written on Thursday. Apparently, between getting up early for the last three weeks to get this book completed and the Friday morning hot yoga class, my poor old body said, "Enough!" I was out cold until DH came home.

But I made up for it on Saturday and finished the first draft. The initial version came in at 117K+-words. But the time edits are done, it will probably be over 120K.

Yesterday, I diddled a bit with A Barrel of Vintner. (Please don't ask me when it'll be released!) But today and until further notice, edits will happen.

I hope to have a bit of time to start setting up pre-orders later this evening.

All-in-all, I've relaxed a bit with the first draft completion. The rest as they say is a piece of cake.

The official release date is AUGUST 29,2025!