I think the title says it all. The rough draft went to the editor in Monday, so waiting to hear back. Also, have plans for a few new stories over the summer, but may take a back burner to the Big Move.

The Big Move will happen this summer when I pack up my things and move to the Denver area. Jobs were scarce in beautiful Fort Collins, so it looks like I'm going to have to make the move to more populated ground. The good news is that manual labor gives me plenty of time to digest my thoughts, which in turn leads to better storytelling.

The second book in the Legend of Kimberly series is almost complete; the rough draft, anyways. It's been a unique experience expanding on a previous work, due largely in part to the fact that I've established my characters and want to take them new places.

I don't think there are any authors who aren't worried when they write a sequel. As I pen my scenes, I constantly worry. Are my characters still real and believable? Are my scenes better than they were in the last book? I constantly wonder if my craft is improving, or if I'm laying stagnant at a particular ability level.

Regardless, the two main complaints about the first book involved pacing and world building. I have tried to improve; there is a fight on page one. I've expanded Auviarra to include merfolk, elves, and airships. I've created new villains to replace the old, and my action scenes are bigger than ever.

In doing this, I've tried to maintain Kimberly's innocent qualities. She is still just a girl in a magic land. She makes mistakes, screws up, and tries to grow from them. Two new heroes join her on her quest, her uncle Benjamin and the mysterious bard, Jonathon. As always, I try to set up fantasy cliches and then sidestep them entirely. Perhaps my favorite part of the story revolves around the characters getting to the location of their goal, only to realize that nobody even has a plan of what happens next. From there, things will quickly devolve as their rescue attempt goes horribly, randomly, ary.