I know it’s been a while since I posted an update on Old Mill Road, but I’m happy to announce I just passed the halfway point on the first draft of the manuscript! Things kind of got away from me during the holidays – like they always seem to do.
Things derailed a bit because I wanted to get a new short story on the market at the beginning of the year, so I took some time to write “Last Call“. I wanted to write a little something that was completely different from what I’ve been writing, yet it would focus on my love of Tiki culture and retro pin-ups. So far I’ve been getting great feedback from everybody, so I’m guessing I did I good job.
I was about to start back on Old Mill Road when I was invited to write something for a super-secret project. That project took a bit longer than I wanted because my word count exploded, then I had to spend a number of edits carving out needless details and streamlining the plot. I can’t say much about the project right now, other than I’m calling it “Black Sun Bound” and I’ve posted a few peeks on Twitter. I should have more details about it later this summer. If you enjoyed Terminal Affair, then you’re going to love this as well.
So now, I’m back to my twisted tale of ghosts and serial murderers. I’m technically about 57% done with the first draft at this point, but I’m not sure where the final word count is going to go anymore. I just want to get this first draft done from beginning to end, then I need to go back and start plugging some holes I know are burning through the plot.
Things are progressing well with my character development, and the layering of plot points. The tricky part has been working in the flashbacks and dream sequences originally included in the script, and still make the story flow. I’ve combined some elements and shuffled others around. I think I know what I’m doing, but I know my alpha and beta readers will have some questions – at least I hope they will, or I need to get some new readers.
If everything continues at this pace, I may be done with this first draft by the end of June. If not, the story will be delayed a bit more because there are two new short story projects I’ve committed to which will need to be started on around then.
Wish me luck. Looks like I’m going to be busy weaving a lot of words for you to enjoy.
