What We Keep From Places That Didn't Keep Us
Happy New Year, everyone. This will be a year of change, dedication, and discipline. I committed these past few months to these ideas in my everyday life and have come up with cherries. No reason to stop now while the table is hot.
An 11:34 Update
One year ago, I completed 11:34, its query letter, and began to peddle my novel to literary agents. That was also when I broke ground on its sequel. A couple of months later, I entered a James Patterson contest for a chance to work with a master and fulfill my dream of publishing 11:34. Though the contest didn't pan out as I had hoped, the dream stayed alive while I waited to hear back from literary agencies. 200 pages into the sequel and many months later, I received 2 rejection letters. Though I was excited that someone took the time to read my work, I knew I had to make changes. The novel did not flow well into the sequel. I took time to read the ending and did not find it as cunning as I had first thought. Over the past 2 months, I worked on making improvements. I am pleased to announce that the first novel and its edited query letter are ready to peddle once more!
11:34, Book 2
As mentioned, the draft is over 200 pages in length, putting the project at 2/3 done. In the days ahead, I will begin research and write a new short story featuring an infamous figure from London's past: Jack the Ripper. As with all iconic figures, I'll pay close attention to detail, especially when adding those little-known nuggets of fact to sprinkle into the story. The Test of Mettle story involving Theodore Roosevelt took 3 weeks to research — hundreds of pages were read, and many pages of notes were taken. I anticipate the research for this story to be similar. The Ripper story will take place around 1888. With a demon prowling after the Ripper and the Ripper prowling after a potential victim, the stakes grow more dangerous by the minute. Who will prevail?
