rj_anderson: (Doctor Who - Adipose)
rj_anderson ([personal profile] rj_anderson) wrote2010-04-06 05:08 pm

The Wanderer Returns

*steps very cautiously outside into the Big Wide World*

*sniffs*

*blinks*

Oh, look, there's a big shiny yellow thing up in the sky! *squints at it* I think it's called the sub, or something of that sort?

Well, maybe I haven't been quite that dramatically isolated in my First Draft Cave since mid-January, but it feels like it. All my usual activities went out the window when I set myself the challenge of finishing Arrow by the end of March, and then somewhere in the middle of my frenzied typing I came down with Baby's First Sinus Infection, which was a lot of No Fun At All.

However. I am here now, poking my head out of my burrow and sniffing the virtual wind, and by that you might rightly conclude that I have, in fact, succeeded. To wit, I wrote the last sentence of Arrow this past Saturday. Yay!

Of course, my work is not quite done yet; I have the month of April to revise the really rocky bits of the manuscript and give it a last polish before I turn it into The Lovely Sarah (my UK editor). But for me, the first draft is by far the hardest part of writing any book, and revision is much less stressful. So I'm giving myself a few days to relax and breathe and catch up on all the things that have gone by the wayside in the past three months (like certain household chores, and my shockingly neglected e-mail inbox), and then I'll print the whole ms. with a new font and double-column layout so I can look at it with fresh eyes, and start marking it up like crazy.

In any case, some interesting things have happened since my last post, and I look forward to telling you all about them. You may expect to hear from me a little more often in the next few days...

But in the meantime, you might check out this (now slightly outdated) video I made for Adele over at the book blog Persnickety Snark, giving a little update on what I've been doing and what's coming up in future.

[identity profile] greenfaeriedust.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't wait for Arrow. I loved the first two books a whole lot, so i'm sure that the third one is going to be just as good. : ) I love knowing that I have something good to read in the future. It's comforting.

I'm hoping the UK cover is going to be as breathtakingly beautiful as the first two. *crosses fingers*

[identity profile] rj-anderson.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 10:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Brian Froud will be doing the cover for Arrow just as he did for the others -- I haven't seen anything yet, but I'm very excited to find out what he comes up with!

And I'm very pleased to know that you liked both Knife and Rebel.

[identity profile] greenfaeriedust.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh! So happy to know that Brian Froud is doing the 3rd cover as well. : ) Not just because his work is always stunning (*swoons*) But because my bookshelf loves book series so much more when all the covers match. Lol. *has a book cover problem*

[identity profile] tinpra.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Welcome back to the world :)

[identity profile] rj-anderson.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks! It's nice to be back. :)

[identity profile] bittervillager.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Welcome back and I'm looking forward to hearing your perspectives on the new Doctor Who!

[identity profile] rj-anderson.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
That will definitely be one of my upcoming blog posts, yes!
kerravonsen: TARDIS in a field: "Somewhere Else" (tardis-somewhere-else)

[personal profile] kerravonsen 2010-04-07 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
Oh gooood! (uses generic TARDIS icon because I haven't made an Eleven icon yet)

[identity profile] fandoria.livejournal.com 2010-04-06 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Welcome back to the world! :) Looking forward to hearing about the interesting things you hinted at.

[identity profile] imaginarycircus.livejournal.com 2010-04-07 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
Congratulations on finishing the first draft! I hope the revisions go well.

[identity profile] branquignole.livejournal.com 2010-04-07 08:48 am (UTC)(link)
Hooray, congratulations on finishing the first draft! I'm really looking forward to reading Arrow. 2011... that sounds so far-off and surrealistic.