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The first two books in my Dragons Run My Life fantasy series, plus the short story that reads best between them.

Book One. Click Here for Amazon; click Here for other e-tailers (epub version)

The Intermediate Story: Click Here for Amazon; Click Here for epub versions.

Book Two. Click Here for Amazon; Click Here for epub versions.

The Dragons Run My Life series is set on the planet Toile. Follow the trials, heartache and joys of red-headed three princesses urged by beings they call ‘dragons’ to avoid continent-wide war, something they don’t even understand.

The desire to understand their world and the taboos they live with drives them. Of course, they have responsibilities, too, their families, their friends and compatriots.They are princesses, after all. Conflicts, assassins, ordinary day-to-day tasks all must be managed; none can be set aside for the quest.

The dragons speak to a few, without revealing their plans, or especially their nature. Their guidance, to use the term loosely, seems to lack any rationale; the few must make their own choices whether to accept the advice or not. Predictably, they follow when the direction given matches their instincts and hopes. How the dragons will react when their words are not heeded remains to be seen. Perhaps they know well enough how to couch their counsel so it will always be palatable.

Family, friends, country and joy of discovery drive the actions of those we see; others are equally driven, perhaps to seek the same goals.

The first two books, The Faux Princess and The True Princess, along with The Warden's Tale, are available now at your favorite e-bookseller. If you don't find them, please let me know so I can extend my reach.

Book Three: The Journeys Home will be available at the end of February. Pre-orders will be up soon.

Thanks for reading. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Truly a bad month, continuing to this very day.

Not personal for me more than anyone.

A brief political rant heads us off this month.

I wonder if anyone has any respect for honesty, especially under oath. After the Attorney General, charged with the responsibility of the Justice Department, lied to Congress and was still confirmed, some of us (unenlightened, naïve even) watchers considered it a fluke. Well, after the sham that Bart Kavanaugh just put not only the Senate, but credible witnesses and the American people through, and the Republicans to a one [possibly excepting Sen Murkowski (R-AK), since the vote hasn’t happened as I write this] have accepted this orgy of lying, self-entitlement and privilege the likes of which have seldom been seen outside fiction and “upper-class boarding schools.” In fact, they’ve rewarded it.

 I digress. I suspect that the bad taste of this ‘hearing’ will echo in the form of loss of respect for the rule of law, since at the highest level, there is no penalty for out-right defiance of laws that do not suit the moneyed,  and the privileged. In fact, lying to the Senate provides rewards: Appointment to Attorney General to further the white supremacist, evangelical belief that Sessions’ version of Christianity is the only true way, anti-immigrant policies that Jeff “I lied under oath” Sessions believes and wants to force all of us to live by. Confirmation (unless some miracle happens tomorrow⁠—please god, who- or whatever you believe her to be) to a lifetime seat deciding rules that brown and black people, and women, and all the rest of us, too, no matter what we believe, will have to live by.

 Or he could be impeached after the Senate has been taken back.
I don’t necessarily want Democrats to be in charge, but I’d like people who think for themselves, who are not bought and paid for by billionaires (I know, I know, some of my best friends…). That means repealing Citizen’s United, too.

 I hope I’ll be able to break the habit of giving the finger to the television because a director decides a shot of the orange menace will fill the empty space between my ears as well as it does his.

 But think back and tell me why any citizen would give up all that by telling the truth? When will that honor be restored? Asking for a friend…
/rant

Not as much writing, again; September was filled with angst and disappointment (see above). True Princess came back from my reader with her comments and suggestions (which were not a source of disappointment), most of which have been implemented.

 When I got it, I had just realized a minor difficulty in my world-building: that while I’d modeled my characters on earth-based humans, with attendant aging specifically, the world of Toile has a year that’s only 77% of an earth year. So the ages I included, whether called winters or years or whatever, were low by that amount. The place I found it was calculating the length of a pregnancy. The nine months or 270 days, approximately, of an average pregnancy on earth translates to almost an entire year on Toile: 243 of the 256 days, or 30 and a quarter otto'dars of the thirty-two in a Toile year. For other age comparisons, I made this handy chart for the Author’s Note, to help explain it.

Earth age|   8  10  15  20  23  30  31  40  70
Toile age | 10  13  20  26  30  39  40  52  91

I realized that problem just as True Princess came back, so I made the corresponding corrections to The Journeys Home, and sent it off to my reader.

The Lovers is finished, except for discoveries like the one above.

Latest updates on top. Older ones are below.
Updated  October 5, data from 30 September.

As of (10/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 114 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 99 286 words. My reader returned it the 10th of September, and I made most of the changes she pointed out.
   •    The Journeys Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 127 860 words. It went to my reader on September 23rd.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 59 686 words. No changes. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 506 words. Unchanged.
    •    First Indications (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four): 10 709 words.
    •    The Lovers (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three addendum): 44 281 words. Following Miri and Rhion, and Sanne and Gareth as they travel from Rendekebing  to Traenthe. Both this and Father Maman are complete except for things I or my reader find wrong.
    •    Father Maman (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four addendum) 20 539 words. A trip to seek out Tanial’s maman in Slot Minear.


From last month, here’s August’s update:
As of (9/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 183 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 99 270 words. By the 21st, it was off to my reader again.
   •    The Journeys Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 127 887 words. Finished til the next round of comments. It was ready to go to my reader on the 21st.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 59 686 words. No changes. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 506 words. Unchanged.
    •    First Indications (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four): 7 737 words.
    •    The Lovers (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three addendum): 34 773 words. Following Miri and Rhion, and Sanne and Gareth as they travel from Rendekebing  to Traenthe.
    •    Father Maman (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four addendum) 20 313 words. A trip to seek out Tanial’s maman in Slot Minear.


Here’s September’s work. Added 24 714 words, bringing the Y-T-D total to 166 106 words. 

What happened last month, then?

Overall, I wrote 24 714 words, just over 820 words per day. For days I did write, about 1370 words each of those days.

Aside from the dismay caused by politics, the change in time was the biggest thing to show up and it took two or three days to puzzle through. (Could I posit that my characters’ development was sped by the shortened year? No.) Then, figure out what changes were needed and make the changes.

As I said, The Lovers was intended to be about the same length as Father Maman, about 20Kwords. Finished, I managed to hold it under 45Kwords, barring any other changes that show up.

The plan was to get comments back on True Princess, Voyages Home and Father Maman. I’ve gotten True Princess completed, and Voyages Home is with my reader. Father Maman and The Lovers are both ready, but one big question I have is: would the three stories, Father Maman, The Lovers and First Indications, work better as a single book?

A look at this image, the time spans for the seven books that exist in one form or another,  may show the genesis of that question.

 The top line is Amerith; the second, The Faux Princess; the third, The True Princess, the fourth, The Journeys Home; the fifth, The Lovers, the sixth, Father Maman and the last, First Indications.

While CreateSpace has shut down, I haven’t made the time to move my books to Kindle Direct Publishing. In the plans for October.

I haven’t completely decided, but I may just drop Blood Moon and publish Low Places. I have been unable to decide where it should go, and as a result, can’t gen much interest in it.

As always, comments and opinions welcome.

The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).

Earlier updates

From last month, the July update:
Here’s April’s update:
As of (8/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 114 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 99 253 words. A third version following the reader’s comments on the earlier version; earlier comments are now included. By the 17th, it’ll be off to my reader again.
   •    The Journeys Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 123 131 words; continuing this draft. Still incomplete, two threads to tie up. It will go to my reader by 8/17, after finishing and rereading.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 59 686 words. No major changes. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 506 words. The new version back and changes made. Ready for publish one Blood Moon is done.
    •    First Indications (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four): 7 982 words.
    •    The Lovers (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three addendum): 17 216 words. Following Miri and Rhion, and Sanne and Gareth as they travel from Rendekebing  to Traenthe.
    •    Red Hot Maman (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four addendum) 15 646 words. A trip to seek out Tanial’s maman in Slot Minear.


From two months ago, here’s the May update:
As of (5/1), the WIPs are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 112 338 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 99 676 words. A third version following the reader’s comments on the earlier version; it’s back with my reader (April 25) to see what problems I’ve left in.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 113 529 words; continuing this draft. Still incomplete, two threads to tie up. In the hands of my reader (April 28), to see what problems she spots.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. No change. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 784 words. After my reader’s suggestion the rethink the ending, again, added and subtracted words for net reduction of about three thousand words. The new version is back with her (April 25) to point out places that don’t match or still don’t work.

Added three new WIP. Titles are working titles only. More hours spent with Aeon Timeline, to lay out the plots for these:
    •    First Indications (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four): 1 394 words.
    •    The Lovers (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three addendum): 5 453 words. Following Miri and Rhion, and Sanne and Gareth as they travel from Rendekebing  to Traenthe.
    •    Red Hot Maman (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four addendum) 1 424 words. A trip to seek out Tanial’s maman in Slot Minear.

From a quarter ago, here’s January’s update:
As of (2/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 909 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 103 135 words. A few changes. New version now in the hands of my reader, when she gets to it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 94 601 words; Continuing this draft. Still incomplete, two threads to tie up.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. No change. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 110 405 words. Added and subtracted per my reader’s comments. Returned the changed pieces for her review on January 28.


As of (1/1/18), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 140 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 102 272 words. Comments on old draft received early in December, triggering another round of revisions, which continued through Dec 15. New version now (Dec 16) in the hands of my reader, when she gets to it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 59 038 words; draft underway. Not done by mid-December, but one major point has been hit.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. Reduction in word count is due to leaving out double counted sections and annotations. A few words, but not much. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 108 027 words. Got my reader’s comments back on Dec. 15th, and began addressing them.


As of (12/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 491 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 104 131 words; minor changes in draft. Revisions finished October 23. My reader has her own life to worry about, so I haven’t sent it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 52 045 words; draft underway. Parts of this story went very well; others were slower. Still have a couple major points to hit.  I still hope for mid-December to have the draft complete.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 54 313 words. I’ve committed to a direction but haven’t put much flesh on those bones. I will probably finish the draft of Voyages before coming back to Blood Moon, which will put it into January.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 954 words; haven’t heard back since my reader has a life.

As of (9/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. No change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. On 9/1, received comments back from reader; problems. I’ve started a new version as a result. Plan for revisions to be done in September.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 22 255 words; draft underway, although on hold for now,  til True Princess is revised, as the changes will affect it as well.  I hope for mid-October to have the draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 508 words, the first breakthrough occurred; now to put some meat on the bones. Plan to finish draft in October.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 109 912 words; sent the first half (57 000+ words) back on 8/15 to see if the issues have been addressed. On hold til those comments are back.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 word; no change.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; no change.
Amerith and Rhion have had no attention paid them; I’ll drop them from the updates.

As of (8/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. Took care of the few questions and said, that’s done.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. Reread and revised, and sent to beta reader on August 5.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 336 words, the understanding of where the story is isn’t complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 104 578 words; Received comments back, fixing is started.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 words; last questions answered and it’s done.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; done.

As of (7/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 343 words. To my reader on June 6; comments back and revisions complete. A few more q for the reader, and this one will be finished.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 94 750 words; draft is not complete. Two more scenes; I can see the end. The title has changed because I liked where the characters ran off to. Update July 6: Draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 370 words, began understanding where the story is; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 100 178 words; almost no work. First read to beta by July 6.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated; Q’s back to reader by July .6
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated.

As of 6/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.


As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta reader by 3/31.


As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

Look, A Whole Quarter’s Gone By

And what do I have to show for it?

First, congratulations to every one who did Camp NaNo last month. Here’s hoping you made good progress on whatever your goal was.

My time for the past three months has not been spent writing. Mostly, it’s been editing. And reading. Editing and reading my stuff; reading my reader’s work and reading books from others. I recommend Elle Casey, especially the War of the Fae series of nine books, so far. And only one a novella. Book ten in July, IIRC.
My TBR is stacked sky high.

The writing I did get to, aside from rewriting which reduced word count, moved Voyages Home to the final stages, although it’s not complete as yet. Also, I spent about a week working on an updated map of Territory Two on Toile (where the Dragons series is set).

Latest updates on top. Older ones are below.

Updated  May 3, data from 30 April.

Here’s April’s update:
As of (5/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 112 338 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 99 676 words. A third version following the reader’s comments on the earlier version; it’s back with my reader (April 25) to see what problems I’ve left in.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 113 529 words; continuing this draft. Still incomplete, two threads to tie up. In the hands of my reader (April 28), to see what problems she spots.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. No change. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 784 words. After my reader’s suggestion that I rethink the ending, again, added and subtracted words for net reduction of about three thousand words. The new version is back with her (April 25) to point out places that don’t match or still don’t work.

Added three new WIP. Titles are working titles only. More hours spent with Aeon Timeline, to lay out the plots for these:
    •    First Indications (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four): 1 394 words.
    •    The Lovers (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three addendum): 5 453 words. Following Miri and Rhion, and Sanne and Gareth as they travel from Rendekebing  to Traenthe.
    •    Red Hot Maman (Dragons Run My Life, Book Four addendum) 1 424 words. A trip to seek out Tanial’s maman in Slot Minear.

From a quarter ago, here’s January’s update:
As of (2/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 909 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 103 135 words. A few changes. New version now in the hands of my reader, when she gets to it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 94 601 words; Continuing this draft. Still incomplete, two threads to tie up.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. No change. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 110 405 words. Added and subtracted per my reader’s comments. Returned the changed pieces for her review on January 28.

Here’s April’s work. The Y-T-D total is 72 597 words through April 30.


 

What happened this past quarter, then?

Overall, I wrote just under 35 500 words, or not quite 12 000 words per month. Far fewer than the 40 000 per month I hoped to get, but didn’t set time aside for.

The exercise in getting pdfs ready for CreateSpace was completed, and on Feb 5, the proofs were approved and shipped. They arrived about a week later. I’m about halfway through Amerith. True Princess has been set aside (since the ms has undergone significant revision since then), and Faux Princess awaits.

As I’ve often said, I’d thought to finish Voyages. It is close, but I decided to try ProWritingAid’s app on it and on the newer sections of True Princess.  I’ll wait to see what comments my reader may make, but from my viewpoint, its suggestions have just enough merit to keep using it despite all the ones that don’t help so much. Also, it’s not clear why their suggested comma placement just sounds wrong to me, since they follow the ‘rules’. Oh well. With all that, probably two weeks went into that exercise, during which no original writing was done.

The planning for Blood Moon still hasn’t finished. I’ll probably wait til Voyages is complete, a week or two after I get the comments on the current draft.

As always, comments and opinions welcome.

The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).

Earlier updates:

Here’s December’s update.
:
As of (1/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 140 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 102 272 words. Comments on old draft received early in December, triggering another round of revisions, which continued through Dec 15. New version now (Dec 16) in the hands of my reader, when she gets to it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 59 038 words; draft underway. Not done by mid-December, but one major point has been hit.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 50 924 words. Reduction in word count is due to leaving out double counted sections and annotations. A few words, but not much. Obviously not complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 108 027 words. Got my reader’s comments back on Dec. 15th, and began addressing them.


As of (12/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 491 words. No major change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 104 131 words; minor changes in draft. Revisions finished October 23. My reader has her own life to worry about, so I haven’t sent it.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 52 045 words; draft underway. Parts of this story went very well; others were slower. Still have a couple major points to hit.  I still hope for mid-December to have the draft complete.
    •    Blood Moon (A Beckie and Ian story) formerly Princess: 54 313 words. I’ve committed to a direction but haven’t put much flesh on those bones. I will probably finish the draft of Voyages before coming back to Blood Moon, which will put it into January.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 107 954 words; haven’t heard back since my reader has a life.

As of (9/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. No change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. On 9/1, received comments back from reader; problems. I’ve started a new version as a result. Plan for revisions to be done in September.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 22 255 words; draft underway, although on hold for now,  til True Princess is revised, as the changes will affect it as well.  I hope for mid-October to have the draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 508 words, the first breakthrough occurred; now to put some meat on the bones. Plan to finish draft in October.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 109 912 words; sent the first half (57 000+ words) back on 8/15 to see if the issues have been addressed. On hold til those comments are back.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 word; no change.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; no change.
Amerith and Rhion have had no attention paid them; I’ll drop them from the updates.

As of (8/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. Took care of the few questions and said, that’s done.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. Reread and revised, and sent to beta reader on August 5.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 336 words, the understanding of where the story is isn’t complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 104 578 words; Received comments back, fixing is started.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 words; last questions answered and it’s done.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; done.

As of (7/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 343 words. To my reader on June 6; comments back and revisions complete. A few more q for the reader, and this one will be finished.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 94 750 words; draft is not complete. Two more scenes; I can see the end. The title has changed because I liked where the characters ran off to. Update July 6: Draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 370 words, began understanding where the story is; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 100 178 words; almost no work. First read to beta by July 6.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated; Q’s back to reader by July .6
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated.

As of 6/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.


As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta reader by 3/31.


As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

Posted by tonyl at 8:23 AM
Labels: Blood Moon, Carol Buhler, Lillith Chronicles, Low Places, Svenja, The Faux Princess, The True Princess, The Voyages Home, updates

Dragons Run My Life Cover Revals

As promised, probable covers for the first four Dragons Run My Life stories, along with blurbs for each. Opinions and suggestions in the comments are requested, welcomed and appreciated.


Might have looked better if Blogger would allow changes to text, like center alignment, but not today, I guess.

Book One - The Faux Princess
Description:

A muddy walk to the store earns Tanial a headache and a not to be denied opportunity to stand in for a dead Princess.

Because Liam’s man killed the Princess instead of preparing her for examinations to confirm her as suitable for marriage to the King, Liam is most anxious to make amends. A whisper in his ear sends him across Tanial’s path; he recognizes her uncanny similarity to the dead princess and instantly delivers Tanial’s headache from atop his horse.

Being wed to the King of the far-off land excites Tanial not nearly as much as Liam does during their ride to his camp.

To survive to love Liam, Tanial must befriend her new sister, dupe the King’s examiners, avoid an assassin and endure a journey of five hundred leagues on horseback.

The Faux Princess is the first book in a multi-book series set on a continent on the planet Toile. The desire to understand their world and the taboos they live with drives them. Of course, they have responsibilities, too: their families, their friends and compatriots. Conflicts, assassins, ordinary day-to-day tasks all must be managed; none can be set aside for the quest.

The dragons speak to a few, without revealing their plans, or especially their nature. Their guidance, to use the term loosely, lacks any rationale; the few must make their own choices whether to accept the advice or not. Predictably, they follow when the direction given matches their instincts and hopes. How the dragons will react when their words are not heeded remains to be seen. Perhaps they know well enough how to couch their counsel so it will always be palatable.

Family, friends, country and joy of discovery drive the actions of those we see; the others are equally driven, perhaps to seek the same goals.

The Faux Princess Cover:

Amerith - A Dragons Run My Life Short Story

Description

The girl Amerith grows up to be a skilled thief and then a world-class assassin, named after her profession, Dunver, until she takes the title, name and role of Mistress Warden Marshal to the Princesses of Lindebalgh. Her mentor and her debt will return, to wreak havoc on the Warden’s life.

Amerith is a short side trip that adds to the experience of Toile and its characters. It is best read between Book One, The Faux Princess, and Book Two, The True Princess.


Amerith Cover:

 

 




























Book Two - The True Princess

Description

King Esben travels to seal his alliance with the King of Aberystrad through the marriage of his daughter, Princess Miriajona, to that King. Esben’s youngest daughter, Princess Jenoele, unwillingly accompanies him and his Queen. To gain some benefit from her reluctant trip, the ten-and-a-half-year-old princess elects to confront her older sister, Saitanne, about her sudden appearance two otto’dars earlier. That encounter ends with less drama than Jenoele expects, but her decision marks her as prey for assassins seeking red-headed princesses.

Larger phenomena are about to change her life even more than the assassins.
She just wants to go home.

Miriajona is caught in the whirlwind of dresses, gowns and fittings in preparation for the wedding, and prevented from being alone with the King.
She just wants to love him.

Tanial leads her motley team of… well, friends is best. She has yet to learn they can’t all be friends.

The True Princess Cover





Book Three - The Voyages Home

Description

Jenoele rides with her Regent Tanial and a few trusted friends to Rendekebing and the Lindebalgh palace. With her da, the King, dead in the waters off the coast, she and Tanial will take the throne and control of Lindebalgh, and await their sister Miri, ready for a dual coronation party.

Miri and Rhion intend a peaceful, boring thir’dar trip from Sianel Dnias to Rendekebing. That’s their plan.

Their plan works out better than Jenoele’s; they aren't kidnapped by a revenge-seeking former minister.

However, at least three others ride north after them with different goals in mind.

The Voyages Home is the third of the Dragons Run My Life series. Will Jenoele and Tanial actually arrive home… Do they know where ‘home’ is?

The Voyages Home Cover

 


Artwork is all © Howard David Johnson.

August Update

Updated 5 Sep, data from 1 September.
Since Blogger won’t properly handle an internal link, I’ve reordered the updates to put the latest on top. Older ones are below the text.


When we did this last time:
As of (9/1), the WIPs, along with my plans for them, are
   •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. No change.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. On 9/1, received comments back from reader; problems. I’ve started a new version as a result. Plan for revisions to be done in September.
   •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 22 255 words; draft underway, although on hold for now til True Princess is revised, as the changes will affect it as well.  I hope to have the draft complete by mid-October.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 508 words, the first breakthrough occurred; now to put some meat on the bones. Plan to finish draft in October.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 109 912 words; sent the first half (57 000+ words) back on 8/15 to see if the issues have been addressed. On hold til those comments are back.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 word; no change.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; no change.

For reference, here’s last month’s status.
July: As of (8/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. Took care of the few questions and said, that’s done.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. Reread and revised, and sent to beta reader on August 5.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 336 words, the understanding of where the story is isn’t complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 104 578 words; Received comments back, fixing is started.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 words; last questions answered and it’s done.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; done.


Here’s August’s work:


























I wrote 35 025 original words in June, averaging 1130 per day, with thirteen days of writing nothing. That’s about 1945 words each day I did write, which, though less than last month, would still have been fine if I’d kept it going. The short title is at the right. The thirteen days of no writing were mostly spent worrying about the problems in Low Places.


What happened?


The beginning of the month, I tried to see the problems in Low Places and design corrections. That took the first week; making the changes took through to the 15th, when I packaged the partial draft up and mailed it to my reader. Of course, she has her own work and life (I know; imagine that!) and not only that, but she was getting started on True Princess.

While futzing around with Low Places, I reread True Princess once again, and sent it to my reader on August 5.

Bottom line: Most of my WIPs are on hold now, waiting to see where things stand vis a vis the problems. I have the old Princess story to work on (and retitle!), but I think this will be a month of catching up on my TBR list (thank you Fiction River and  StoryBundle!) and working out more backstory and world-building questions in the Faux Princess world.


As always, comments and opinions welcome.


The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).

Earlier updates:

June: As of (7/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 343 words. To my reader on June 6; comments back and revisions complete. A few more q for the reader, and this one will be finished.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 94 750 words; draft is not complete. Two more scenes; I can see the end. The title has changed because I liked where the characters ran off to. Update July 6: Draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 370 words, began understanding where the story is; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 100 178 words; almost no work. First read to beta by July 6.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated; Q’s back to reader by July .6
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated.

May: As of 6/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.


April: As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

March: As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

February: As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta ready by 3/31.


January: As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

As of 1/23, the four WIPs along with my plans for them:
    •    The Faux Princess: 91 300 words, to beta reader by Jan 31;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 50 000 words, draft complete by Feb 15.

July's Gone; Here's the Update



Updated 8 Aug, data from 1 August.

Since Blogger won’t properly handle an internal link, I’ve reordered the updates to put the latest on top. Older ones are below the text.


As of (8/1), the WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 490 words. Took care of the few questions and said, that’s done.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 106 324 words; draft is complete. Reread and revised, and sent to beta reader on August 5.
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Three): 3 700 words; draft is about 5%. Plan for the first draft to be done by September 15.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 336 words, the understanding of where the story is isn’t complete.
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 104 578 words; Received comments from beta reader; fixing has started.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 words; last questions answered and it’s done.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 042 words; done.

For reference, here’s last month’s status.
As of (7/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 343 words. To my reader on June 6; comments back and revisions complete. A few more q for the reader, and this one will be finished.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 94 750 words; draft is not complete. Two more scenes; I can see the end. The title has changed because I liked where the characters ran off to. Update July 6: Draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 370 words, began understanding where the story is; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 100 178 words; almost no work. First read to beta by July 6.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated; Q’s back to reader by July .6
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated.

Here’s July’s work:




I wrote 17 170 original words in June, averaging 554 per day, with twenty-four days of writing nothing. That’s about 2450 words each day I did write, which would have been fine if I’d kept it going. The short title is at the right. The twenty-four days of no writing were spent in editing or reading, and worrying about the problems my reader found in Low Places.


What happened?


On July 15, I got feedback on Low Places. It was largely negative after a quarter of the book, and deservedly so, once I read the comments. It’s a simple problem to recognize (once you look for it) and while conceptually the correction is easy, the implementation is far-reaching. For those keeping score, I failed to allow Beckie, the protagonist, to grow through the preceding five novels; she’s still making mistakes that would be fine, or at least understandable, in the first or second books (where she did make some of them), but aren't so plausible after seven years in her universe.

As of the time of this update, I’ve reworked up to about the spot where my reader stopped; when I get there, I’ll send it and see if I’ve improved it sufficiently.

I finished the draft of True Princess July 6; I set it aside and cleaned up The Faux Princess and Amerith, finishing them about the same time the comments on Low Places arrived.
The comments on Low Places bothered me because I didn’t know why I made the mistakes. My confusion about that stopped me cold for the best part of a week, and I still don’t really understand what I was thinking. The worrisome part of that is how will I recognize it in future? Thank heavens for good beta readers!


I set The True Princess, the second book in the Dragons Run My Life series, aside to steep. Then, while contemplating the problems in Low Places, I reread True, editing and going through the list of words I use too much. After doing that twice, I sent it to my reader. Hopefully she won’t find problems as big as in Low Places.


Bottom line: My plan is to have the first quarter of Low Places ready for review by the middle of next week. If that part meets expectations, I hope to have the whole story fixed by the first week in September, and back to my reader the week after that. Depending on when I get True Princess back and the number and depth of comments, I hope to have it well along by the end of the month. Depending on how I might split my time, I want to have the first draft of Voyages Home done by the middle of September, too.


As always, comments and opinions welcome.


The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).

Earlier updates:

As of 6/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.


As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta ready by 3/31.


As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

As of 1/23, the four WIPs along with my plans for them:
    •    The Faux Princess: 91 300 words, to beta reader by Jan 31;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 50 000 words, draft complete by Feb 15.

June, 2017 Update



Updated 6 July, data from 1 July.
When we did this last time:

Sorry, this month internal linking does not work, so until I figure out what's different, scroll down to So how did I do?

As of 1/23, the four WIPs along with my plans for them:
    •    The Faux Princess: 91 300 words, to beta reader by Jan 31;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 50 000 words, draft complete by Feb 15.

As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta ready by 3/31.

As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

As of 6/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.

So how did I do?
As of (7/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 111 343 words. Went to my reader on June 6; comments back and revisions complete. A few more Q's for the reader, and this one will be finished.
    •    The True Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 94 750 words; draft is not complete. Two more scenes; I can see the end. The title has changed because I liked where the characters ran off to. Update July 6: Draft complete.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 49 370 words, began understanding where the story is; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 100 178 words; almost no work. First read to beta by July 6.
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 900 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated; Q’s back to reader by July 6.
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; sent to beta June 6. Comments received and incorporated.

Here’s June’s work:

I wrote 30 430 original words in June, averaging 1014 per day, with eleven days of writing nothing. That’s about 1600 words each day I did write, not as good as last month. The short title is at the right. The eleven days of no writing were spent mostly in editing or reading, lest you think I’m not doing authorly things, once the wedding (last month) and the funeral (this month) are taken into account. I revised the three stories my reader returned, making changes and finding questions to ask.


What happened?

The draft of Low Places is done; I got caught up in other things (mostly The True Princess story) and my reader was out of town for a bit, so I neglected this until just now.

I plan to finish the draft of True Princess early in July; I will set it aside and work on comments on Low Places, once I receive them, and finalize Faux Princess. I hope to get some reading in, and figure out what to do with Princess (too many stories about princesses-I have to find a new title for this one!).


The curve ball the characters of Voyages Home pitched fits nicely in the series overall arc, but changed this book’s arc so much I changed the title. Since, now that I’m willing to look, I see the characters have been pushing this way since about the first quarter was done. I am relieved with the change; I think it a better product. Killing important side characters doesn’t always go easily, but this is a story, right? Better in words than in RL.

Bottom line: I hope to have one ms to my reader in the next week, and one more at the end of July.

As always, comments and opinions welcome.

The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).

Update for June 1

When we did this last time:
Click for latest.

As of 1/23, the four WIPs along with my plans for them:
    •    The Faux Princess: 91 300 words, to beta reader by Jan 31;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 50 000 words, draft complete by Feb 15.

As of 2/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are:
    •    The Faux Princess: 90 956 words, sent to beta reader Jan 30;
    •    The Voyages Home: 2500 words, no change; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 65 932 words, still on track to complete draft by Feb 15.

As of 3/1, the four WIPs, along with my plans for them, are:
  •    The Faux Princess: 90 954 words was sent to beta reader Jan 30; notes came back by 2/12 and have lain waiting for Low Places to be complete. Goal is to have it ready to publish by 3/31.
    •    The Voyages Home: 8382 words; draft complete by April 30;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 81 365 words; failed to complete draft by Feb 15. The goal is now to have the draft by 3/15, and on to my long suffering beta ready by 3/31.

As of 4/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 108 807 words. Went over notes from my reader. Revisions complete by April 20; return to beta by April 30.
    •    The Voyages Home: 13834 words; draft complete by May 15;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by April 30, and
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 96 958 words; proof and send to beta by April 15.

As of 5/1, the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess: 110 651 words. Found even more holes with the aid of my reader; plug them with the revision to beta by May 15
    •    The Voyages Home: 37 735 words; draft may be complete by May 15, but more likely, the 30th;
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by June 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 053 words; found significant problems; revising. First read to beta by May 30,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 854 words; proof and send to beta by May 15, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 013 words; proof and send to beta by May 15.

So, how did I do?
As of today (6/1), the four WIPs along with my plans for them, are
    •    The Faux Princess (Dragons Run My Life, Book One): 115 518 words. Did the revisions, but need to reread, then to my reader by June 5
    •    The Voyages Home (Dragons Run My Life, Book Two): 62 162 words; draft is not complete. Now plan by June 30.
    •    Princess (A Beckie and Ian story): 51 000 words, no change; draft complete by July 30,
    •    Low Places (A Beckie and Ian story): 99 247 words; corrected most significant problems; revising. First read to beta by June 15,
    •   Amerith (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 19 848 words; proof and send to beta by June 5, and
    •   Rhion Prequel (A Dragons Run My Life Addenda): 6 018 words; proof and send to beta by June 5.

Here’s April’s work:

I wrote 25 919 original words in May, averaging 836 per day, with sixteen days of writing nothing. That’s not quite 1730 words each day I did write. The short title is at the right. The sixteen days of no writing were spent mostly in editing or reading, lest you think I’m not doing authorly things. I read and revised all the WIP except Voyages and Princess.

What happened?

The draft of Low Places is almost complete; there are a couple of items that seem to me to need embellishment. Since that’s atypical, I’ve waited to reflect, to see if that’s a good idea or not. I should have the changes incorporated in time to send it off to my reader on the fifteenth.

The two shorts I wrote in the Dragon universe (Amerith and Rhion) got excess words trimmed; I'll send those and the current version (I won't say the last, though I can hope!) of Faux Princess on the fifth.


I chose not to credit any of the words added to Low Places, since there were none in a block due to the way the editing went. As a result, virtually all the month’s writing, 25 100 words, went into Voyages Home. Over sixty-two thousand words, but unlike last month, I have begun the scene where Princess Miri is being dressed for the ceremony. I only have big waypoints in mind when I start, allowing the characters to fill in as they go. They’ve pitched me a curve ball, which won’t change the overall story arc⁠—I think⁠—but will play havoc with this book’s arc. It may end up being two books.

Bottom line: I hope to have three mss to my reader in the next week, and one more by mid-month.

As always, comments and opinions welcome.

The spreadsheet: Created by Svenja. See svenjaliv.com for more info and resources, including a free online word meter. All images are © 2011-2016 SvenjaLiv (http://svenjaliv.com).