A couple of quick notes. First of all, I had a pretty decent writing day yesterday, and at about 6PM last night I completed the first draft of Power’s Shadow.  One of the best parts of writing is being surprised, and a couple of things happened in the final chapter that I honestly wasn’t expecting. The implications for the next book are significant, but since I have a book in a completely different series that I have to finish before I even think about starting the next book in The Laws of Power series, I’m not going to worry about that yet.

The draft was just a couple of hundred words over 88,000. Not a doorstop, but a decent length. When someone asks me if I’m a “taker outer” or a “put-er inner” in revisios, I always say “yes.” I cut everything I can, but I rewrite and add just about as much. I tend to ramble a bit when I’m sorting out how a draft should go but a completed first draft tells me things that need expansions or explanations or clarifications, so I put in a lot too. In general, after cuts and additions, my first and final drafts usually work out about the same length. I’ll get on the rewrite as soon as First Reader is done with it, so it will be a few weeks before the ebook version is available. There will be a print version, but those always take longer.

As promised, I will finish posting Chapter 14 before the hiatus–or if it works out, just as the ebook is available–but I’m going to be out of pocket a little bit next week, so the Monday post may get delayed. I’ll get it back on schedule as soon as I can.

Finally, a big thank you to Charles de Lint for the kind words and to all the readers who picked up The Blood Red Scarf. Makes a working slob feel appreciated.