A Major Draft of the Book is Done
A friend of mine accused me of dropping off the planet, wondering when I would be back. I suppose it's true, that I dropped from cyberspace in order to get some work done. And I did get the work done.
Hunting Grace is done.
Or at least a major draft. It is in the hands of various readers even now, including the publisher, and we will see where we are shortly. Early personal reviews are positive, thought it is still early.
Anjie was the first to read it. When I finally finished assembling all the pieces--the blank pages inserted so that copies would run correctly on both sides, Sara's journal entries, the dates, the front matter, etc.--I felt a surge of pure joy that was greater than anything I'd felt in a long, long time. I'm not sure what such a thrill means about the way I've ordered my life, but it was a sweet, sweet drink for a man who's been thirsty for awhile.
Her response was gratifying as she rode the emotional roller coaster that is this part of the story. I worry about these characters as they bare their lives to the people who knew them in Ruin, as well as to new readers. The journey is not an easy one.
Another thing I discovered was that I think I need to get on to writing the third book while the iron is hot, partially because those readers who have come to care deeply about the Mannings are going to want to know ASAP what happens next in their story. So I'm determined to get started within the next 30 days, and to not take the four and a half years it took me to do Hunting Grace.
I'll let you know when the book is going to be published and when it will actually appear. Thank you for all your prayers as I went through the process of writing. May God do what He wants with this new book, and I hope it's that many, many people will take the journey with Cyrus and company.
...thought you'd like to know...
6:44:26 PM 
