Tired writer's thoughts at the end of the day

I think I'm largely finished with the editing of the fifth and final version of the manuscript of 'Stand Against The Storm'.

One beta reader has already come back with a thumbs-up for the final version, and I'm waiting for another opinion before starting to format it for publication.  With luck, it'll be available on Amazon within a week to ten days.

It's strange to be almost at the end of the creative process for this book.  I wrote about the problems I've had with it earlier this week over at Mad Genius Club.  If you're interested in how one overcomes constant creative deadlock and frustration, you might enjoy that article;  if not, don't worry about it.  Suffice it to say that this has taken me far longer than I expected, and cost me an awful lot of late nights and skull-sweat.  I'm pleased it's almost over, but I'm also pleased with the finished product.  There were times I wanted to abandon it and go on to something more mentally rewarding, where I was actually getting somewhere;  but now I'm glad I stuck it out and persevered.  I hope you'll find it worth the wait.

I've already begun work on the second volume of the Laredo Trilogy, 'Forge A New Blade', the sequel to 'War To The Knife'.

This promises to be interesting from a creative point of view, because Steve Maxwell has a lot to do in that book as well:  the two series (Laredo and Maxwell) will actually meet in a sort of 'fusion volume'.  It's going to be fun.

It's frigidly cold here in central Tennessee, with temperatures outside currently in the teens (Fahrenheit, for my readers living outside the USA).  The wind chill is forecast to be well below zero by early morning.  I'm going to have to go out in the cold to start the car, so it can warm up before anyone gets into it.  Brrrrr!  Tomorrow evening there's a winter storm watch.  It's a good time to stay snug in a warm house with plenty of hot soup, tea and coffee, and write books.

Peter