Well, after far too long, the hiatus is over. I’m back to working on Explorer (passed 12K words today), and finally got the editor’s comments back on Trekker. It’ll take a few days to wade through them, make the corrections, and add some stuff she thinks would help the story (then back to her for a quick review on the additions).
So, the short story is that Trekker should be available by the end of August (as long as I can get the artist on board, too).
So, on top of preparing to attend the Outdoor Retailer Show in two weeks and having been at the Northwest Overland Rally last week, I managed to sneak in a couple of movies (along with a couple of thousand words in Explorer while awaiting my editor’s comments for Trekker).
Last night I saw the acclaimed La La Land starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. While okay, it wasn’t anything to shout about. I actually thought Gosling’s role/acting was better than Stone’s, but, what the hey, what do I know? She won the Academy Award, and he didn’t. Good story, good dance scenes, but they killed the dog (reference Turner and Hooch if you don’t understand what I’m talking about).
Tonight’s cinematic adventure was Loving, the story about the inter-racial marriage that made its way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Having been a cop in Virginia, all I can say is, “boy, is that accurate!” I still remember my academy days where they talked about sodomy being a felony. I know, no comparison, but it just goes to show how much some people like to butt into other people’s business with no just cause. Anyhow, Loving is a great movie – one I highly recommend watching. Especially as it gives you a sense of what others have gone through just to live life. I thought it was far better than La La Land (despite Stone and Gosling). Great story and fantastic performances.
Changing topic. While at the Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA, I met a former Marine (is there such a thing?) who told me about a great video he made while finishing up a tour in Iraq. If you’ve ever seen Office Space (starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston, with John C. McGinley doing an awesome job), you’ll love Office Space Ramadi.
Well, thanks to all my beta readers, Trekker is now on it’s cyber way to the editor for the final leg of it’s journey before going through formatting and cover art. Not much is changing – probably because I think the story line is about as good as it’s gonna get (unless I throw in some Blue Meanies, and that ain’t gonna happen). Bit more action than Surveyor, but still, it’s a trek, so what you gonna do?
So, back to Explorer. This will be the sequel to the sequel to Surveyor. And, yes, I’m still a jerk about how I wrap up the story.
So, not much writing going on – very little internet access. Why, you wonder? Simple – I’m helping my wife fulfill one of her goals since a traumatic car accident that almost killed her just before Christmas, 2015. In mid-April, 2016, when she finally came home, she saw the movie “The Way” and decided that she wanted to walk the Camino. For those not in the know, that’s the Camino de Santiago – a Pilgrimage that starts in France and ends in Santiago de Compastle, Spain (use Google Maps for this).
Now, for a woman with 19 broken bones, several of them still not healed, and one being the big bone in the ankle that supports all your weight, to make this decision, means a lot. So, I did the manly thing – “Yes, dear.”
For the next two years she progressed from wheelchair to hiking shoes. During that time she also went through numerous surgeries to repair bones that weren’t healing (in total, 13 surgeries). Finally, we reached the point where she could walk 5 miles with a pack. Quite the accomplishment.
Fast forward to now. She hike across the Pyrenees!
Think about that for a minute. Two-and-a-half years ago she was in a coma. A bit over two years ago she was in a wheelchair.
Of course, the trip hasn’t been a stroll in the park. The first two days were a real struggle. She was carrying a bit more weight than she had trained with, and covered more ground and elevation. The first day out her ankle (remember, the one with the shattered talus and six screws?) swelled up like a softball. The second day, it took her 9 hours to cover 13 kilometers and about 750 meters of elevation gain – something an otherwise healthy adult would probably cover in four to six hour. But she did it!
I won’t mention my role – I think sag-wagon and Sherpa are now my official titles.
So, what I’m getting at is, I’m not writing much until this pilgrimage is done.
See you next month.
Buen Camino!
Well, so much for getting much writing done while on the road. Even with a 9 hour flight from Washington to England, then a 5 hour delay waiting for the flight to Dublin, I barely got any writing done. This is mainly because Norwegian Air flights are so packed that typing on my small keyboard was physically painful 😦 So, unfortunately, not much progress to report on Explorer, the third book in the Corps of Discovery Series.
On another note, Trekker is out to the beta-readers, and so far the comments are mainly positive.
Well, since I’m in Dublin, did you expect me to sit at a computer all day writing? BTW, if touring the Guinness facilities, get your tickets online and go early. Even Sunday morning it took 45 minutes to finally get in (plus side, a beer is included with your ticket purchase).
Well, it’s official. The first draft of Trekker is complete, at a bit over 86K words (which, according to my wonderful software, is between 1 and 477 pages long). Realistically, it’s probably around 300 pages long right now – less than Surveyor, but there’s less world building.
Now, off to the Beta Readers (actually, off to them once I finish formatting).
Okay, Joe and Clairese – I’m done. Soon to print.
On Monday I posted that I was back in the groove and hoped to hit 70K in Trekker before the weekend. Well, here it is Friday morning and I’m already approaching 76K. I’ve pretty much set up most of the today through Sunday for writing, with the intent on wrapping this up at about 90K. Point of reference, Surveyor is 102K (originally, it was 126K but I chopped out a whole lot of detailed stuff, which I liked but others didn’t). I don’t expect to be doing as much chopping with Trekker.
So, yesterday I posted about finally getting back into the groove and hoping to hit 60K. Quite the change since then. Today I made some significant progress and crossed the 65K threshold. Not sure if I’ll be able to keep this up the rest of the week (something to do with having to do my “day job”), but I’ll give it a try. Next goal – 70K before the next weekend.
Well, it’s been a while since I posted. For good reason. I’ve been busy. Along with checking out colleges for the youngest spawn (I believe she’ll be attending Digipen Institute of Technology in the fall – so buy lots of copies of Surveyor, tell your friends to buy lots of Surveyor, and if you want to be on the pre-release of Trekker, shoot me an e-mail with Trekker in the subject heading) I’ve been working, teaching, and writing (and watching the odd stupid movie, like Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (a totally stupid move that I thoroughly enjoyed!).
Speaking of Trekker, I decided to deviate from my usual chronological writing style, and jump forward into the story to get the creative juices flowing again. That seemed to do the trick, as I’ve pumped out several thousand words this week, and should be over 60K by the end of the day. Don’t expect Trekker to be as long as Surveyor, but you’ll find it to be more action packed. No spoilers.
So, rather than sitting down at my computer, I just spent the last five days in the Bay Area (that’s San Francisco Bay Area for those of you not on the West Coast). Youngest spawn is checking out colleges (man, am I really that old?). That meant leaving Trekker at home while I traveled. Buuuuuut, I did start a new series, mainly YA (Young Adult). Same timeline, some of the same characters, but a different plot. The goal is to knock out about 3-4 40K novels in this series while completing Trekker and Explorer (or should I focus on Openings?) Decisions, decisions.
To Joe and Clairese – yes, I’m still working on Trekker.
James S. Peet, Author, novelist, and all around good guy! 