As I might have mentioned before, now I am writing Book 2 of The Dinorah Chronicles – The Book of Sharon. I have to say that the approach to this book has taken me on a different journey, one that I did not plan but simply followed. Most of the time I don’t follow an outline, if an outline happens, it does while I am writing and for “memory” reasons, so I don’t forget and keep things in perspective, and don’t forget important issues that should be resolved throughout the novel. Must likely, I don’t necessarily know how the story is going to end, although I may have a faint idea. Sometimes, I think of something but it happens that a character has a better idea, and I follow – I let go. Must of the time, I find that this approach lets everything fall into place and all ties come together in the end. This is what happened with Ramblings of the Spirit (Book 1) – it set the path for The Book of Sharon.
This presents a challenge for me, as I am writing the story that I want to write, however this time, the story contains the book of the main character, which is also the contents of an ancient book. It is a book inside a book inside a book – I hope you understood that. It is a more complicated way of writing but I am up to the challenge thanks to Dinorah Sandbeck, the main character. Of course, I am excited about writing it, but also on beating the deadline of publishing before the end of the year, and ideally, by the end of summer/beginning of fall. It is a tight deadline, thanks to Dinorah Sandbeck. This of course, presents another challenge, not only will I have to write in my voice, but in Dinorah’s writing voice, and in the ancient tome’s style as well. No wonder why I have gone through so many cups of coffee during the day. I am honestly feeling the pressure from these two characters – yes, the ancient tome became a character in Ramblings of the Spirit, although it was introduced in Moonlit Valley – my first novel and the story who gave birth to The Dinorah Chronicles.
So this is what is going on with the second book in The Dinorah Chronicles trilogy, and this is why you see the counter at the upper right corner of this blog, as a constant reminder of the contract that I have with my characters, with the readers, and with myself. I have worked on the design of the cover as well, although it is not ready yet.
If you are unfamiliar with Moonlit Valley and Ramblings of the Spirit, these are available through Amazon, and you can even preview a bit. I am also doing a promotion this month for a free kindle download of Ramblings of the Spirit. And if you want the chance of winning a free paperback of Ramblings of the Spirit, you can like my Facebook page by clicking the button at the right on this page. You will be entered for a chance to win one of three copies. The winners will be announced on May 20th.
Since time is ticking and I am not even halfway my story, or Dinorah’s, or the Tome’s, I will try to limit blog posts to two or three a week, most likely two, at least until I have a handle on the first and second drafts. For the next few months I will be immersed in this novel, much so as a monk writing a doomsday book. It will be an interesting journey.