Happy Sunday morning to all who take the time to read my blogs. Today, I'm going to give a quick update on my writing progress. I'm happy to report that Dark Jealousy is on schedule. I've been writing consistently for about a week now, and I'm currently working on Chapter Eleven of the final draft which sits at about 56k words out of roughly 86k. So, at the rate I'm writing, Dark Jealousy will be complete in a few weeks.
What happens after the final draft is complete? I read through and edit the manuscript several times. I plug it into grammarly, prowritingaid, and read it over and over. Then I run it through natural reader to make sure the manuscript flows. This will take me a couple of weeks. After which, it's time to format my manuscript for both Kindle and Paperback. This will take me a few days to get it perfect. Then I'll add the back matter to the book, and hopefully publish it on Amazon. So, as long as I stay on schedule, Dark Jealousy should be released in a couple of months. Probably looking at March or maybe April.
In my last blog I revealed the cover I was going to use for Guilty Deceptions. I have changed my mind on that one and have decided on a whole new concept. I really like this cover and have one for Dark Jealousy to match it.
The Cover for Guilty Deceptions:
The Cover for Dark Jealousy:
All in all, it's been a productive week, and I can't wait to share the second book with you. Because of my excitement in wanting to share it with you, I have decided on giving you a snippet from the final draft. Keep in mind that this is raw text, and has yet to be edited fully. This snippet is from Chapter One, and it introduces to Sheriff Dawson the first Crime Scene:
"Sylvester and Dr. Murphy were behind him, and the photographer was bringing up the rear. As the woodshed came into view, I quickly spotted the mess.
The snow was stained crimson all around the front of the shed. The front wall and door were splattered in blood. Yet, my eyes were on Catherine Baker; her head partly severed – as if the murderer attempted to cut her head off – but failed miserably at it. A few feet away, a bloody axe was discarded in the snow. Sylvester crept down and carefully examined the body.
“On an educated guess,” he said. “This death is but a few hours old, maybe less.”
“This is what I feared,” I said. “A fresh murder, and we have no idea what the cause or intent here was. Will the killer strike again? That’s yet to be seen.”"
What happened to Catherine Baker? Who committed this horrible crime? Find out this and so much more, in Dark Jealousy! Until next time, D.C. Malcolm