It's been 3.5 years since my last blog entry. I deserve to be spanked.
In that time, I have been s-l-o-w-l-y working on my rewrite of Deja Vu Ascendancy. Rewriting such a monster has been another monster. DVA#2 is shorter than the SOL version, but the months that saved me were lost several times over because the rewrite required a great deal more thoughtfulness than the original version did.
#1 was written to amuse me (and only me),whereas #2 is written to entertain readers. The plot is much the same, but the tone is so different that I don't think there's a single sentence in common between the two versions -- #2 required a LOT of work! The result is a far better story, in my opinion. I'm embarrassed by how badly written the SOL version is. I hope that means my writing skills have risen highly, rather than just lurched sideways.
Two days ago, I finished DVA#2 and danced around my room (you can be thankful that this isn't a video blog). I have started the process of trying to find a literary agent to represent me/DVA#2 to prospective publishers (I don't want to go down the self-publishing road at this time; that's my Plan C). I have no idea when or if I'll get an agent, let alone when that might turn into a publishing deal. Hopefully I'll have some news about that in less than another 3.5 years.
In the ideal world (according to my Plan A), I'll get an agent soon, who'll get a publisher soon, who won't ask for many changes, and the books -- DVA#2 is a five-book series -- will start hitting bookstores about six months later. I'd love to be able to put the first several chapters of Book 1 onto SOL. Meanwhile I will be writing my second story. I have an idea already and have started the research. It'll be a militaristic sci-fi story, working title: "Worms". I like the idea of putting the first draft on SOL, so I hope you might see it in a year or so (I will be strongly resisting my natural inclination to make it another huge monster).
It's possible -- even likely -- that the world won't arrange itself to be ideal for me, so I might not be able to post new material to SOL, and might even have to remove the material that is already there. If anyone reading this is also partway through reading DVA#1, I suggest you read faster or buy an SOL Premium Membership so you can easily download the story.
Most importantly, I want to thank those of you who sent me a donation via PayPal. It was your concrete expressions of appreciation that motivated me to attempt the rewrite. I have enjoyed it and learned a lot, and have my fingers crossed that it'll eventually end up with my book being boastfully waved around by my mother.
Bye for now,
AA