BLACK GROTTO: First Draft Is Finished & Chapter Titles & Read Chapter 1

BLACK GROTTO 

Update: First Draft is Finished

Fantasy Novel - Setting: Scotland from AD 500 to AD 2024 - 143,500 words - 31 Chapters - 11 months of heartbeats!

If you'd like to read Chapter 1, click here.

Now, I need to let it rest a bit and then read the entire book and edit it...again. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing Black Grotto and have had a lot of fun working on such an intricate plot with so many diverse and interesting characters.

It will be a couple months at least before Black Grotto is published, but here are the titles of the 31 chapters.

1. The Prophet & The Scribe
2. The Druid’s Journey
3. Rebirth
4. Black-Haired Beauties
5. Fergus’s Tale
6. Bea’s Story
7. Mirror Image
8. Dr. Willam Hamilton Brodie
9. Questions
10. The Ritual
11. Leaving Home
12. Faerie Glen
13. Kenina
14. Anu Grenn
15. Trial by Fire and Ice
16. The Sacrifice
17. Iona
18. The Good Samaritan
19. Dreams
20. Secrets
21. The Stones
22. A Fork in the Road
23. The Black Raven
24. Path to Power
25. Erin’s Last Prophecy
26. Into the Wilderness
27. Wicked
28. Alone
29. The Vortex
30. The Joining
31. Epilogue

BLACK GROTTO: Chapter 30 Is Done

BLACK GROTTO 

Update: Chapter 30 Is Done

I edited the climax today, and the first draft of BLACK GROTTO is almost finished. I'm really proud of the ending. I believe that it's complex, surprising, and very powerful. I worked very hard on it. Now, tomorrow, I'll begin the final chapter, which will be the Epilogue. It will be one of the shortest chapters in the book, but very important!

BLACK GROTTO: Update - Chapter 29 Is Finished

BLACK GROTTO 

Update: Chapter 29 Is Finished

I thought that chapter 29 would be the last chapter of the book, but, as with the rest of BLACK GROTTO, it just didn't work out that way. With the climax as complex as it is, I had to divide the last chapter into two parts. Chapter 30 should be the last regular chapter and the finish of the climax, unless, well, you know, something else comes up. There will be an epilogue or afterward...afterward, as well.

I'm very pleased with the ending so far, and am really looking forward to getting into chapter 30 this next week. Keep hanging in there with me. I'm getting more excited about this project every day!

Before I go, I just wanted to add this fun fact. BLACK GROTTO will definitely be my longest and most detailed and complex novel. As of today, it's a little over 135,000 words. My longest before this was 87,000. Also, I've begun doing research for my next novel. It will be a while before I begin writing it, but the basic idea is there and the research is going to add a lot. It will probably be another modern day fantasy, but with an unusual historical subplot and will include some very famous fantasy characters from the past.

BLACK GROTTO: Update

BLACK GROTTO 

Update: Chapter 28 Is Finished

I just finished chapter 28 of my new fantasy novel, BLACK GROTTO. The title of the chapter is "Alone", and the book is now almost 130,000 words. I have one chapter and an Epilogue left to write, and I've been working on this book ever since May of 2015.

Recently, I've begun looking at how I write each chapter much differently. I still plan the entire book, generally, and make sure that the details and events in each chapter connect well with those in the rest of the book, but I'm also beginning to look on each one more critically as a story in and of itself - a story with a solid beginning, middle, and end. It takes me longer to write each of them as I flesh out every word, sentence, and paragraph to a greater degree, but hopefully through that process, the reader will enjoy the book more and be able to actually see the scenes and characters much more clearly. For me, this has been a wonderful "C-Change" in the way I write, and my work on BLACK GROTTO has precipitated this new way of thinking.

Also, I can tell that my vocabulary, phrasing, and the way I write conversations are all improving, which is making the job of writing more fun and creatively interesting for the reader and for me.

I'm extremely excited to release this new fantasy book for you to read, and I hope it won't be too long before it's available. I'll let you know more as time goes on.

BLACK GROTTO: Update

BLACK GROTTO 

Update: Chapter 26 Is Finished

I just finished chapter 26 of my new fantasy novel, BLACK GROTTO. I began writing the book in May of 2015, and before that I did over a month of research, which has continued along the way.

It will be my longest and most detailed novel to date. Before this, THE CHOSEN was the longest with 87,000 words. BLACK GROTTO has 120,500 so far, and I still have at least two chapters left to write.

Chapter 26 is titled "Into the Wilderness" and was a difficult chapter because of the complexity of the plot. At this point in the book, all the different threads needed to be woven together for the story to continue to build and make sense, and it was a pivotal chapter that will point the reader towards the end of the book and get them ready for the final scenes. By the way, I think I have a really exciting and unusual ending planned. I'm looking forward to writing it!

The book begins in Scotland at the Cave of Dreams near the Three Sisters mountain range in AD 500. The events in chapter 26 start on May 1, 2023, so the story takes place over time. By the way, there is a cave in the Three Sisters in Scotland, but it has a different name. The Three Sisters is a real group of mountains, though.

So...I'm getting close to the end. I'll let you know when I'm done with the first draft. I'm having a lot of fun, and the story is a "kick' to write!

ROOMS & THE CHOSEN: New Versions & New Review

Both Rooms and the second book in the series titled, The Chosen, have been rewritten. Below is a recent review of them from a reader in the U. K.

"I very much enjoyed the two books. I have to admit I was intending to read Beatrice first, however, I was curious about Rooms and thought I'd take a peek at the first few pages, then I was hooked. I don't read many science fiction books, but it's nice to have a change. My only complaint is that they weren't long enough. I could have read on and on.

"I was finding that I would stop reading now and again to think about some of the terrible things that are going on in our present day situation. For example, when the people of Loon wanted a peaceful solution to Harlequin and her cronies, I couldn't imagine how you were going to do it. I was delighted with the ending.

"I think you brought pretty much everything in to the books, power hungry, evil, greedy, selfish characters, as well as amazing heroic, kind, loving and caring characters. ...lots of heroes in there. Rad obviously being the favourite."

As Of Today My Blog Is Being Read In 55 Countries

I want to say hi to everyone around the world who is reading my blog! Latvia is the 55th country to join that group! Welcome! 

Here's a complete list of the countries.

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