Big news on Book 5

It’s Sikarra … and Failean

A great big thank-you to everyone who made a choice in my poll to decide who to bring back in The White-Silver House, the fifth and final book of the series The Day Magic Died. Timbal was a surprise to me in third place, and Nana finally got one vote.

But tied for the lead – and both certainly coming back – are Sikarra, the lively, talkative 6-year-old from the farm north of the village, and Failean, Karia’s mom.

I’ve already figured out what I think is a great way to bring Sikarra back into the story – it advances the plot and fits her character just right. In fact, I’ve drafted those chapters.

I’ve also drafted the chapters in which Failean makes a reappearance. I am not as satisfied with those, or with how well they fit into the storyline, so I’ll reexamine that later.

Even Timbal is sneaking back in, it seems …

Connecting chapters written

In addition to writing those chapters about Sikarra and Failean, I’ve drafted the six “connecting” chapters that I needed to take The White-Silver House where it needs to go.

In fact, I was able to use Sikarra’s reappearance as one of those connectors.

Outline reviewed

I’ve reviewed my outline for The White-Silver House, and I think it’s good to go. I’ll most certainly adjust it as I revise the book, but it’s what I need to get me started.

And it’s started

I’ve begun the process of revising The White-Silver House. So far, I’ve finished the first two chapters.

Out of an anticipated 125 chapters.

Hey, it’s a start!

Now that I’ve gotten to this point, I need to set a goal for finishing the revisions – a date when it’s ready for the next step. And from there, I’ll be able to estimate when it will be available in paperback and for Kindle.

Still to come

So here is what I still need to do before The White-Silver House will be ready for release:

• Revise the remaining 123 chapters (Oh, is that all?)
• Deliver the semi-final draft to my team of critical readers for proofreading, editing and review
• Revise the draft based on the team’s input
• Perform one more round of proofreading and editing

Now that I’ve gotten this far, I should be able to make good progress. So if you know someone who hasn’t started the series yet, this is a good time to point them to the first book, The House in the Old Wood

Tags: books, fiction, Kindle, paperback, The House in the Old Wood, The White Silver House, writing