Behind the Scenes Part II: Revising the Story

I’ve been sharing some behind the scenes of how my books come to be.

Today, we’re covering the second draft, and while it ain’t cute, it might be the most important part of the process.

You see two monitors there. I take my first draft from one screen and revisit each and every word choice before retyping or revising it.

Earlier in my career, I tried to sneak around this part of the process, but ultimately found it’s imperative to a high-quality story. This is where the story takes shape. I know who the characters are, and I get to hold them to their qualities. I get to explore what they’d do in various situations. I get to decide which scenes I put in the first draft that no longer apply to who they became.

This part of the process usually takes about a month, but I have condensed it to two weeks before (and have the arthritic fingers to show for it).

So what am I working on?

Right now, it’s Unspeakable so it’s ready for a May release.

But I’m also cooking on two Christmas stories that I didn’t finish before the holidays ended (oops).

One involves an OG Painter Creek couple and is very, very spicy. I’m considering doing that one as a subscription serial, but it might just be a novella.

The other is a brand new hockey standalone that I’m planning to submit to traditional publishers this spring. It’s still part of my established Galliaroverse, but you haven’t met these characters before.