Dearly Beloved Y’all,

I’ve been receiving more inquires about the progress on Spellbreaker and its expected publication date. The continued interest in the series and the notes of support mean more to me than I can express. Progress on Spellbreaker has been very good.

Back in January, I predicted I should finish in April with a word count of 140,000 on the first draft. I did indeed hit that word count in April; however, the story was determined to develop itself into something longer.  This is partially because I’m telling a fuller story and delving more completely into the characters, but it is also because wrapping up a trilogy requires that all the loose ends be tied up to satisfaction.

Also, I must admit there have been a few distractions. I moved up to San Francisco, polished up a story for the Unfettered Anthology (which promises to be amazing), and knocked off an op-ed for the New York Times.

At the time of writing this blog, I’ve written 175,000 words on Spellbreaker and have 16 outlined chapters left. I would guess the final first draft will run about 220,000 words  and the revision will come back down to about 200,000 words. That’s about 40% longer than the second book and makes it a good-sized, but not massive, epic fantasy.

Predicting a publication date is a dicey business at best. I should deliver a first draft to my editor next month. Depending on when the edits come back, I’ll need a few months to turn the manuscript around, especially if I am on a busy service in the hospital. After that, the publishers need time to package and print the books. All told, I think it’s safe to say the book won’t come out in 2013. Sadly. More regular updates, along with various internet shenanigans, can be found on my Facebook Author Page and my Twitter account.

I have gotten some very impatient notes, which I understand. I’m impatient with the process as well, and I can promise that I will be doing everything possible to get the best possible conclusion to this series out as fast as possible. Thank you kindly for bearing with me. Your support makes it all worthwhile.