Yesterday evening at a few minutes past five, I finished the final draft of “Don’t Make Me Come Down There”. If you’ve been following my blog or Facebook, you will know that this is a project very near and dear to me and has been in development in various forms for over six years. Although, I really didn’t hit full stride until I finished writing “Blood Splatter” and completed the promotion events and book signings. I’d say it has been about three years in total. It’s a very different story than the one I first started in 2010 when the story was called “Angel Askew”.
The first draft was finished last March and I have spent the last sixteen months getting feedback and rewriting it. The draft I have now is almost 10,000 words shorter and 43 pages lighter. The last draft was edited with a very critical eye and I am extremely pleased with how it has pulled together. It has far exceeded my expectations and has spurned me to continue writing. I currently have four projects in development. “Mephistopheles” -the second book in the Oceanview Trilogy, “The Gate at the End of the Garden”, “The Star Wars Video Game Encyclopedia” and the screenplay adaption of “Don’t Make Me Come Down There”. I’ve decided to work on the screenplay first while “Don’t Make Me Come Down There” is still fresh in my mind. I wrote the book with a movie in mind, so the adaptation should not be too challenging. I am undecided if I will work on “Mephistopheles” or “The Gate at the End of the Garden” next. I have started outlines for both. If “Don’t Make Me Come Down There” starts to generate interest, it would likely be in my best interests to start with the sequel. I have visions of turning into George R.R. Martin and having my publisher chomping at the bit for the follow up. I’m not saying my work will be as popular as Game of Thrones, but it never hurts to think big, right?
I don’t think I have ever felt more alive and bursting with creativity. I have nothing holding me back now. I have a mind full of ideas, a digital recorder at my bedside for midnight brain dumping, an empty notepad screaming to be filled with words and a laptop with a blank Word document open. I am a writer. I was born to be a writer. I am doing what writers do. They write.
The next part of the journey is both exciting and terrifying. Writing was the easy part. The next part is where it becomes a challenge. I am under no delusion that finding a publisher or agent for “Don’t Make Me Come Down There” will be easy. There are a thousand people like me seeking representation. I just need to make sure my writing stands and out and I believe that it does. I will get rejection letters. I will get notes of encouragement. I will need thick skin and a patient mind. But someone will like it and will be the right person to represent it. I have no doubt.
“Don’t Make Me Come Down There” finds me at the happiest I have been in my entire life. I am happily married, my wife and daughter are healthy. My friends are plentiful and supportive. I have held my current job for fifteen years. Everything is falling into place. I believe there is a reason this journey has taken so long. I needed to get myself sorted out first. I am not the person I was when I started this adventure and that’s a good thing. The next few months are going to be some of the most amazing of my career so far.
Yours humbly, happily and heathily (is that even a word?)
CWC
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