Things are hopping around here. I received another offer for volunteer work with a genealogy society, and turned it down with much regret. I'm juggling too much right now!

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The first draft of A Higher Purpose is d-u-n done. Barring any unforeseen problems or acts of God (which are always unforeseen, unless you're a prophet), it will be released on or before 7 April 2014, right on schedule. Look for more news here or through my mailing list.

What surprised me most about writing AHP is the plot twists that arose to explain some of the details. My writing process is such that I don't begin writing the story with a firm idea of who the characters are as individuals. Mostly, I'm just following really vague plot points (e.g. "first kiss"). So when I'm writing, sometimes unexpected things happen, things that have me sitting back and going, Whoa, Nelly! That happened with this story. It was a lot of fun to uncover those surprises, and I hope you enjoy discovering them, too.

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Now that AHP is nearly ready (still have revisions and editing!), it's time to focus on the next project: The Enemy Within, the third book in the Daughters of the People series. I began nailing down plot points last night, and should begin working on the first draft within the next few days. TEW is tentatively scheduled for release in October 2014.

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So, a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to Richard and told him that I'd had the sudden urge to write an epic fantasy. After looking at my tentative writing schedule for the next two years, I realized there's no room for me to create a new world, develop the ton of characters needed for it, and write that kind of work in a reasonable amount of time. Bummer!

Funny, that. My teen-aged son came to me recently and told me this idea he had for an epic fantasy. We discussed possible rules for the world, possible characters and story structure, and I ended up agreeing to help him with the project if he would do all the development and plotting. I would do the writing, and then we would work together on revisions. Now, don't get excited. It's likely he'll drop the project once he realizes exactly how much work is involved (read: how much time it will take away from computers and game development), and even if he doesn't, I still have to make room in my writing schedule. But, there could be an epic(ish) work of fantasy in my future. Yay!