The Piper's Debt, Version 2.0 - Complete

I have finished editting the Piper's Debt. That right, I'm speedy. There are about two thousand less words than there were before. I chopped out hundred of adverbs, took away stupid filler phrases, changed the age of the children, changed the name of Vivian's maid, added in some extra tiny hints so that the reader may infer extra things, etc. Point is, the thing is done.

I feel very excited and yet afraid of sending it to people. I took some chances in this story that I haven't before, though I don't think anyone will see the chances as such. I think this story is much better than Death to Life and am anxious to get feedback.

I will be sending out copies for people to read tonight. Some people will have their copies delayed because I need their email. (I'm looking at YOU, Jimmy! Though I see an MSN contact on your blog. I"ll probably try that.) After that comes one of the parts I hate the most - Waiting a month for everyone to finish reading. It's painful. Very, very painful.

Two books written. Time to work on finishing a third.

**EDIT** I sent a copy to the email listed for Tenas at the End of Eternity forums. If this is a bad email let me know so I can resend. kthxbai!

Merry Christmas

I got to work today and there were presents on my desk. I got a new pair of pretty blue gloves, a book of cat stories, mechanical pencils and a book of word searches.

In addition to the gifts I was given four cards. I have arranged the cards on my desk to that I can see all of them. Normally I don't care for cards, but these ones have given me a happy feeling and I'm enjoying taking little breaks to admire the pictures. It really makes me feel the holiday spirit.

I'm also making great progress in editting Piper's Debt. I am now over halfway done. Maybe copies can be sent out sometime between Christmas and New Years.

This weekend is going to be very busy. Between editting Piper's Debt, going to the movies, going to Disneyland, having brother and his wife over for Christmas Eve and going to his house on Christmas, I have a plenty to keep my attention. It promises to be a great four day weekend. I hope all of you have great weekends as well and I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Interesting and Hypnotizing

This is an interesting little site. When you search for an author it shows what other authors people who liked that one would also read. I typed in the names of some of my favorite authors to see what would happen. Terry Pratchett comes up very close to Douglas Adams. This makes perfect sense since while one is fantasy and one science fiction they both write very enjoyable satire. Neil Gaiman and Tolkien also lurk nearby, which once again, makes sense. What makes me giggle is Jane Austen floating her way along the bottom of the screen.

You can also search by title and topic. Searching for God brought up two R. A. Salvatores and Drew Carey. Bizarre.

Customer Service

If my brother worked in customer service, he'd probably be a bit like this guy.

Mini Rant

I don't think I can finish Duty's Tomb right now. It seems whenever I get to the middle of a project I get very angry at it. This time, instead of sitting around and growling at it and getting nothing done, I'm going to move right over to editing Piper's Debt. Several people have expressed interest in reading the rough draft for me. I want to fix up the end and make a few other changes before giving out copies. I just don't think it would be fair to make people read through all that when it currently has the lamest ending of ever. My goal is to have the rough draft ready to be viewed right after the holidays.

For those who wish to beta read, please understand the following: It is a novel. A full novel. I will send you an electronic copy, but most people go nutty and print it out before long. It takes about 80 pages, front and back, right now, though it will probably be a little longer after this edit. I know saying the thing is long may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I give just a sample of something out and people burst a vein at the length.

Second, I'm only going to want plot and character advice. There will probably be gaping holes even after this edit that I will miss. That's going to be the main focus. After the beta readers have read it, I will spruce these things up. THEN I will want a deeper reading for typos and such. Only then. If you only want to read a polished version this first reading is not for you! If you like to watch the creative process, however messy it gets, then you are more than welcome to two reads.

Finally, this first read through must be done a month from when I decide to hand out copies. If you can't read it in a month, sorry. I only wait more than a month for agents. Besides, if it takes someone longer than a month a lot of the novel could have already changed making a chunk of their advice moot.

I feel kind of mean saying all of that, but I've gotten a lot of well intentioned offers of help before that ended in sadness. I don't want any of that to happen with this group of beta readers. If you're still interested, let me know. I'll try to get this edit done in a timely fashion. I'd love to have this making the agent rounds by this summer.

Thank you for all of your support.