One More Polish...

Well, things are really amping to a new level in my life right now. I had a series of substantial and promising interviews yesterday for a job that could result in a steady, rewarding 8-5 for the foreseeable future. If I get this, a great deal is going to change. My project timelines. My expectations. My short term and long term writing goals. All of it. I have been so spoiled with the time I have had writing for the last nine months, and I am now at a place where I honestly expect that reality to change in the coming weeks.

And that has almost nothing to do with this post. Except this: I am going to be entering another reality in the soon, one in which I am a self-published indie author. Yes, regardless of this new work schedule, I am going to release Stronghold before summer, at least on Amazon kindle, if nothing else. I am toying with a few possible timelines, and I will make an announcement by April 3 as to the date when the book will launch. I have some decisions to make regarding the content and strategy for the release, and I hope to make a definitive plan once I get some important feedback.

I feel I am ready, and I feel the book is ready. I've read it a number of times, and I am in the midst of yet another final draft that has gone more quickly than expected. I wrote about this last week, and I have proceeded ahead of schedule and should finish before my self-imposed deadline. My wife has told me that I need to just put it out there and not edit it to death, and she is right. I believe that time is very close.

But that's not what is most important. What is important is this: Stronghold is a good book. I really believe that, and I just finished The Kite Runner so I know what I should be thinking and feeling as I process a good book. While certainly not as good as that other title, Stronghold fits the bill for a solid read, and I am very happy with it from prelude to epilogue. Saying such a thing may sound arrogant and proud, and of course, I am tainted since it is my work, but nonetheless, I believe the statement to be true. I find the reading experience of this novel to be fast-paced, consistent in tone, engaging to the senses, and spiritually resonant.

I have never actually felt this way about anything I have created. Usually I settle for one of the aforementioned strengths, but I believe that Stronghold hits them all. I will not be embarrassed to direct people to it. I am almost ready to let it go and see what happens when readers begin to engage it.

Now, I am sure that after the book is released, I will be told how bad it truly is (if more than 20 friends read it). Until that time and hopefully beyond, I am going to hold fast to my present mindset: Stronghold is a good novel.

I am more than halfway completed with my pre-publishing edit, and then I will give it a final polish for caps, comma's, quotation marks, etc. Once that's done, I am kicking that bird from the nest to let it fly on its own! I think it will soar.

Thanks for reading,
C