The first half of January has been brutal. I’ve been working on the manuscript for Conspiring Men. To say it has not been going well would be a massive understatement. So far, my total word count for the month is a dismal 2,482 words. Realizing that something has to give, and if I don’t make a change soon it could very well be my tenuous grip on my sanity, I’ve decided to pull off of my current story for a while.
My son, the author, has been urging me to go back and dig a little deeper into where Chet came from. My editor suggested my first novel could have been better if I’d provided some additional back story. In light of my current writing struggles, my frenetic mind has seized upon these urgings as a heaven sent excuse to avoid what has turned out to be an incredibly persistent case of writer’s block.
Now that I’ve come clean, I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that I’m undertaking a prequel to the Chet series. I envision a relatively short novella that will give us a glimpse into who Charles and Emily were when Chet first entered their lives. I can’t tell you any more than that because the story is currently nothing more than an ill defined mist, skulking around in the recesses of my mind. Not only that, I’m pretty certain you wouldn’t want me to spoil the story before it’s even written.
With a little luck, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks …