TZC is FINISHED!
Yesterday after a last giant push in where I sat down and wrote nearly 6000 words, I am pleased to say that the manuscript for The Zombie Chronicles – Volume One: Escape is now FINISHED! It clocks in at just under 80,000 words and as it stands right now, is 313 pages.
It was a hell of a ride and before I get to what happens next there’s just a couple of people I would like to thank who helped me through it all. First, all my friends who kept asking me, “Is it done yet? Is it done yet?” I got so sick and tired of saying, “Almost,” that I just had to finish it. You guys helped inspire me to get it done. Second, all my tweets on Twitter, who throughout the February Writing Challenge I started, kept me going on a steady pace of 1000 words a day that helped to finish it ahead of schedule. Most notably, author E.G. Talbot who has been a great friend and a hell of an inspiration. I hope I can pay you back one day, E.G.
Third and yes, she really does deserve her own paragraph, is friend and fellow writer Mur Lafferty. I cannot say enough good things about this woman. She has been an inspiration to me from the get-go and Mur, your late night chat sessions kept me grounded and made me see just what I was accomplishing here, helping me to look at the bigger picture and, “Finish the damn novel.” I couldn’t have done it without you. Well, okay, I could have but it would have taken a whole lot longer and wouldn’t have been as fun!
Last and certainly not least is YOU, the fans and listeners of TZC. Your emails, voice mails, tweets, wall posts – all of it, helped to inspire me to get this novel done so that you can hold it in your hands because really, this isn’t about me. It’s about all of you and your support of TZC because I know damn well that none of this would be happening without you. I love all of you and appreciate your continued support and well wishes.
So, what DOES happen next?
Well right now the manuscript for The Zombie Chronicles is sitting comfortably in a locked drawer. It’s breathing, settling down, out of sight. It needs time to relax and so do I. In about 4 weeks I’ll go back to it with my red pen, we’ll sit down together and I’ll hack it to pieces! Killing as many darlings as I can to make it the best damn novel it can be. From there it will go to Permuted Press and they’ll read it (probably asking me to kill just a few more darlings) and then we will start to prepare it for publication. Picking a cover, a release date, all that good stuff.
It won’t be long now folks. I promise and when the time comes, I’ll be asking all of you for some special favors to help ensure the success of TZC. I hope you’ll oblidge.
Thanks again for everything you have all done for me. You continuously impress and inspire me and this is an occassion for all of us. Get out your glass, fill it with whatever you please and raise it high. It’s your moment just as much as it is mine!
CHEERS!
