It feels a bit surreal saying I’ve now written two epic fantasy novels. Nevertheless, it’s true! I finished Alignment, Book II yesterday afternoon after a writing session resulting in over 4,500 words in one sitting. The total word count for Book II is over 102,000 at the moment, however, that will expand to around 110,000 during editing as I flesh out some characters and scenes. In the end, it will be around the same size as Awakening, Book I.

Now for the big question: what comes next?

I’ve learned to let a manuscript “rest” for a bit before jumping into editing. It helps it seem fresh when I come back to it, and it allows me to see errors I didn’t before. So, for a little while, I’m going to set Book II aside until I’m ready to begin Draft Two. How long will that take exactly? I’m not setting a specific time limit on it. It could be a couple weeks, or it could be a month. I’ll let my intuition guide me.

In the meantime, I have some major family events and engagements coming up that demand my attention, Book I’s publishing date nearing, an exciting gala to prepare for (more on that to come), manuscripts to review by teens I mentor, and I’ll be continuing to work on the publishing business aspect of things. There will be plenty of things to keep me busy!

Excitingly, the artist I commissioned to do the illuminated Tersaith poster map is nearly finished with the project. I cannot wait to see the final results! Once I sign off on it, the next phase will be to run some test poster prints, and when those are finalized, it will be officially listed as an item for sale in my shop!

A huge thank you to everyone who encouraged me through writing Book II! Even the smallest messages of support provided a large amount of encouragement, and I am truly grateful!