I am very pleased to say that I have finished the hopefully very last draft of Metrognomes: Book I: The Shaman's Apprentice. I am so ready to move on to the next project it's unreal. I've actually lost count of the number of drafts this novel has been through. I think that's a good problem to have. The more drafts, the better the final product. This time I mostly made changes to punctuation, but there were some changes still made in dialogue. I added an explanation of the word "metrognome" at the publisher's request. There was one continuity error so slight that the editor didn't even catch it, which I corrected.
I think for me writing a novel is the same as working on a movie would be for a director. I always read about pre-production, post-production, re-shoots, et cetera. For me, the characters are so real, when I go back to a manuscript to add or change dialogue, it's like doing reshoots with an actor. I get to "work with" the characters some more and get their dialogue down just right. Maybe even work in an additional scene here and there. And I miss them when the project is over. I was terribly depressed after I finished my first novel. It was hard saying good-bye. At the time, I had no idea whether or not I would actually write a follow-up. In the case of Metrognomes, I already know there are going to be four more, so I'll get to work with most of the cast again very soon. It's easier to let go of the book that way.
Right now, I'm going to get back to my Nightfire characters for a couple of weeks. Then, in April, we begin "pre-production" on Metrognomes: Book II. I can hardly wait to work with Molly and all those wonderful characters all over again. In the meantime, hopefully you'll have Book I in hand before the summer is thorugh.

So I'm still working on getting the final changes done on Metrognomes. Also, it seems my publishing associate has changed for the project, but I haven't heard anything from the new one yet. I hope to have it all turned in by tomorrow afternoon. Then I intend to get back to The Chronicles of Nightfire, Texas for the rest of March.
I've been thinking a lot about short stories lately. I plan to write a few as time permits between major projects. The last several I've published have been sort of cryptic and abstract. They were more about their messages than anything else. It's been a while since I published a good adventure story, or a chilling tale of ghosts or baby-eating monstrosities. I think that will change (minus the baby-eating), now that I've finally dealt with all of the trauma I went through three years ago. (I'm a writer. I cope through my work. Thank you for indulging me.) I'm ready to get back to stories that aren't just coded morality plays. I want to get back to stories that tug on your emotions and make you believe in new characters and feel their struggles. I'm leaning towards the fantasy genre too. There's a story I abandoned a while back that I'd like to get back to, as well as several small adventures in the Metrognomes Realm I'd like to share with you.
I can't say when you'll see these stories, or even when I'll write them. All I can say is that this is the direction my imagination is taking me in right now, which is a good thing, considering my next major project after finishing the current Nightfire story arch is book II in the Metrognomes series. I'm excited about writing new things. I just have to get through the revision process with the current project, so that I can get to it all.