Smith’s grocery and Curse update

On Wednesday, at 8:53 PM, I finished the first draft of Assassin. 

It clocked in at just over 97,000 words, making it the biggest book in the Drovers series. Prey was 73,000 words, Outlaws 68,000, and Sura 84,000. 

More importantly, Assassin finishes the story arc that began with Prey. I may return to Ferran and company for another arc in the future, but I wanted these books to have a real, satisfying ending. And now they have one, if only in first-draft form. 

Nobody but me sees the first draft of what I write. For good reason. 

I’ll let it sit for a week or two so I can come back to it cold and discover that I’ve changed people’s clothing mid-scene, used the word sit six times in three paragraphs, and committed other literary crimes. 

Draft two goes to my beta readers, who report where they were excited, bored, confused, or questioned my grasp of reality. 

Draft three addresses those issues and gets a thorough line edit, even though I’ve found the best way to discover spelling errors is to think you’ve found them all and then publish your book. At that point, the devils come out of hiding and begin dancing around on the page. 

Dixon Leavitt, the artist who created the previous three covers, will be doing this one as well. 

If all goes well, Assassin should be out for the holidays. 

One of my favorite discoveries in the book was a lad named Weff. 

I didn’t set out to write Weff. I didn’t know he existed. But I was up on the hill behind my house on one of my writing walks, walking and talking to myself about the story, when he suddenly appeared. 

Broniss has streets paved with cobblestones, and the queen wants them kept clean. The problem is that horses, oxen, and other beasts have an unfortunate habit of leaving things behind. 

So the city has children assigned to territories whose job is to keep those streets clear. 

They’re called muck runners. 

And Weff is one with an enterprising mind. 

That’s one of the delights of writing for me. Sometimes you plan a character for months. Sometimes you’re walking along a dirt road talking to yourself and a manure boy shows up. And suddenly he must have a part in the tale. 

While you’re waiting for the big wrap up, if you’re looking for an audiobook, I highly recommend Tim Curry’s reading of Garth Nix’s Sabriel. It’s a terrific fantasy to begin with, but Curry’s performance makes it even better. His rendition of Mogget is so enjoyable you may find yourself listening a second time. 

If you’ve heard an audiobook performance you absolutely loved, tell me. I’m always looking for the next good listen. 

Until next time, 

John