I've just written the final part of LONG SHADOWS; novel number three.

I must stress that it's not yet publication ready; it still needs some editing and there'll probably be some rewritten scenes and the odd new one but the book is now fully-formed; the story is in place and I experienced my usual feeling upon finishing a story; happiness mixed in with a tinge of sadness and a sensation of being totally knackered.

I've been advertising the book as coming out summer 2018 and in my head I was hoping for June. I think that's possible now as it gives me three months for editing. Right now I'm going to put the whole book aside for at least a couple of weeks so that I can look upon it again with fresh eyes when I begin the editing process.

I must admit this one has been a tough one. I've often heard that writers find the second novel the hardest as they put so much into the first and there's the added pressure of having a publication deadline to meet. For me number three has definitely been the hardest.

I wrote the first draft this time last year but wasn't happy with it. It was at this time that an agent took an interest in NOTHING VENTURED, only to reject it as they weren't sure about the saleability of comedy. This led me down a path of trying to write something an agent wanted to see; which was completely the wrong thing to do. It took me to the end of 2017 to realise this and I came full circle, back to rewriting LONG SHADOWS.

Not that last year was a complete waste. I did try my hand at crime fiction and ended up creating another comedy. I am going to return to this for novel number four; CRIME & NOURISHMENT; same characters but a different storyline.
(That's another way I realise I'm coming to an end of a book; I start getting new ideas about the next one. That's been happening this past week).

I think LONG SHADOWS is coming at the right time. I've mentioned before that this is a follow on to DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION. Although it can be read as a stand alone novel, it does continue the stories of Derek, Angela, Margaret & Dora. I've had a recent surge in sales of my first novel so hopefully people will want to find out what happens next.

I didn't set out to write a follow on. There's nothing worse than reading a book or watching a film where the ending is left open incase there's a sequel. Obviously if a book is advertised as part of a series then that's fine; although there still needs to be an ending of each part of the story. DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION had a satisfactory ending. I just found myself wondering what would happen next to some of the characters and those thoughts developed into a whole new novel.

So, the countdown to publication begins. I'm excited. I hope my readers are too.