Tuesday 10 February 2009

The Dark Goddess is DONE!

Woo-hoo! Spent ALL day in a frenzy finishing book 2. The great thing about violent climaxes is that you get so caught up in them you don't want to take a break. So, after smashing out 5,000 words today I finally wrote 'THE END'.

Feeling on a bit of a high.

So, what can I tell you without spoiling the plot..?

The story's been a work in progress since last March, when I knew I needed a sequel to DEVIL'S KISS, so it's been a year, give or take. There's been quite a few interruptions as rewrites on Book 1 have gone back and ofrth but that's to be expected. There was a major bit of reworking after Xmas as there was a sense the story was going a bit off-piste. That's helped enormously and I've realised with deadlines I needed a strong sense of direction. It's been a huge advantage to be on this full time, the amount of work I put in today would have been a full week of evenings otherwise. For you all trying to write with day-jobs and families, you have my sympathy!

The story's bigger than Book 1, and that was pretty big. Likewise the first draft is a bit longer, just knocking on 70,000 words, which seems a natural length to me. It keeps the pace, I hope, fast and furious. What I want to write are pumping page-turners, something you'll blitz through because the stories don't hang around to admire the scenery.

20 comments:

Unknown said...

5,000 words in one day - you're kidding! That's some race to the finish.
Congrats, you must be swinging from the ceiling.

p.s. love the 'ofrth'- it adds to the pace of this post

SarwatC said...

Re: Spelling. Not sure how many of those 5,000 words are spelt correctly either!
Great seeing you last week. Venue was fantastic.

Anonymous said...

Congrats. Can't wait to read the first book and this one sounds awesome too :-) My full is with Julia @ Greenhouse at the mo, fingers and thumbs crossed. Mebbe one day I'll be a Sarwat :-)

SarwatC said...

Right, a box of bound proofs has arrived from the US (way way ahead of schedule).
Who wants one?

johnandsue said...

well done mate.

Unknown said...

may I have one, please Sarwat?

SarwatC said...

Dear Sue,
Yep (do send me your address via Facebook). That's it, all gone!

Gareth said...

Fabulous, fabulous - what a feeling! It's just amazing to lose yourself in the story for such a long time... welcome back to the real world.

Hope the edits aren't too painful.

You can really relax into your half term break now, eh and we can settle into TDK... win win situation!

Megan said...

Wow - a five thousand word rush to the big finish!
Congratulations!!

Jon M said...

A nice feeling Mr C. One day I will write 5000 words in a day. :-)

johnandsue said...

hey Sarwat, I sent you three E-mails over the past few weeks, are they getting through?

Unknown said...

Whoohoo, great going! Don't you just love those days when you can churn out so many words! My record so far is 10 000 - again, caught in the grip of the thing and totally unable to stop writing!
So looking forward to reading the proof of Devil's Kiss!

A Book Seller said...

This is a copy and paste... I posted by accident at the end of an old stream.... So...

Hi there,

I have just finished reading 'Devi's Kiss' and it was fab! You've written a really good book and I bet you're very proud of it.

Good luck with the release and all that stuff... and a note to everyone else: buy this book when it hits the shops! I couldn't put it down (and it was my first young adult book)!

Nicky

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I am very glad that the next book is on it's way! I just finished Devil's Kiss a few hours ago and am already suffering withdrawal symptoms :)

SarwatC said...

Wow,
There's nothing better than coming back from holiday (Turkey, great, but wet) and getting great feedback. Really glad Devil's Kiss is going down well but seriouslu, wiat 'till you get a load of The Dark Goddess. It's turned up to 11...

SarwatC said...

Oh god, there's the bloody spelling all over the shop. Sorry.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Lucky you! I love Turkey :)

Anonymous said...

hey, have i missed my chance for a proof? just got back from snowy week in france! well done you finishing that book!

Unknown said...

aww...even though my first language is not english, I read your 1st book and it's great..I love it..the plot is great
I'm so anxious to read the second book .. <3

RenLikesMoons said...

I have hopes that Kay comes back >__<