Firstly, Rose and Spindle is now listed at Queerteen Press. You’ve got both the book description and an excerpt posted, and the release date for the e-book is Nov. 11, while the print book is Nov. 30.

Secondly, I’m four chapters short of finishing Gold in the Clouds, and, man, I’ve my work cut out for me. Writing that novel in longhand has been a fantastic experience on the whole, and the biggest benefit I enjoy is the way that method of writing really kills the inner editor. I’ve written so many notes on the margins and even on post-it notes that I slap on different pages, reminding me what I need to do during the transcription and revision phase.

Because the novel idea came from out of the blue, I’m more of a seat-of-the-pantser than a planner, and having the inner editor locked away has helped me move forward without breaking my momentum. Oh, sure, I’ve had a few moments when I was totally flailing and blocked, but I kept going, anyway, writing whatever I could down. At the end of the day, I scribbled notes and used those to guide my next writing time.

I’m hoping to get this novel done by the end of November, and it looks like a pretty realistic target. The book’s going to be shorter than Rose and Spindle since I’m not alternating POVs, but the length will still be a pretty good one (close to 70K words). For December, I’d like to hustle my butt through Helleville and maybe have it done and ready to go by the end of the year. It’s already halfway done, but I do have to make a number of substantial changes – overhauling entire chapters, for instance – in order to keep it from turning into a series.

No, I don’t want to write another series right now. I’ve got my hands full with Masks.

I tend to plan way ahead of myself with regard to what books and how many to release the following year, and I really should stop that. I was, after all, hoping to get some more short fiction titles under my belt, but my efforts have been pretty sad, and stories end up turning into novels.

I’d like to see how well Rose and Spindle does before settling on a plan I had regarding fantasy / fairy tale novels written along those lines. Gold in the Clouds is one, but that was totally unplanned (and, given the circumstances behind its inception, absolutely necessary), and after that, I should hold back and see how things go.

But at any rate, I’ve got Helleville, Gold in the Clouds, and the final book (hopefully!) of my Masks series all slated for 2013. I’d love to publish one more novel, but as to what kind it’ll be, I have to see how things pan out in the historical fantasy world.