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.
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!
To celebrate ALMOST completing A Cup of Conflict, the tenth novel in the Justice series, the previous nine novels are half-price at the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale. Just remember to apply the code (on the book page) at checkout!
If you like epic fantasy, kickass heroines, and a lot of action and adventure, and you haven't checked these books out, go see what you're missing. SALE ENDS JULY 31st!
In the meantime, I'll be editing and setting up pre-orders for the latest book!
Yes, GK is alive. Yes, we spoke with him yesterday by video call. Yes, he's getting a combat badge for his uniform.
But I don't have to like it.
Anymore than DH likes talking to a coworker in Kyiv and hearing shelling in the background.
DH: Coworker, do you need to get to a shelter?
Coworker: Let me check. *short pause while he steps out on his balcony* No, the shelling is five miles away. We can finish this call.
Anyway...
Needless to say, A Cup of Conflict is not done yet, though I'm on the downhill race to the end. Which is the only reason I've managed to get words in over the last three weeks. So, no, it will not be released next week as I had hoped.
When will it be done? I don't know yet. But it may not be until GK is safely back in the States on August 9th. Sometimes, being a parent sucks.
I knew this was going to be a complicated story. Even though she's acting as Issura's ambassador by escorting Quan Po home for his coronation, Anthea's caught in the middle of differing factions in the Jing Empire. Most of whom have no desire for Quan to continue breathing, much less ascend to the Dragon Throne.
But I'm also almost through what is essentially the Second Act, if this were a play. Which means this will be a 90-100K novel.
Therefore, I'm moving the release date for A Cup of Conflict to July 15, 2025.
I don't like the fact that I lost almost three weeks of writing time dealing with the Selket-damned basement, but that's essentially the 30K words I'm missing. *sigh*
However, I did promise I'd get this series done before I die, and I'm damn well going to do it!
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