And now there are three

It took much, much longer to pen The Lucky Strike Manifesto than I had expected. Back in January I had set as a goal to use two quiet months from my consulting practice to churn out the next two novels – in very rough draft form – in the Blackwater Mystery series. Darkening Archipelago came together quickly. But then my phone started ringing off the hook, and I took on three new clients, and my writing time shrank to the early morning hours. I started getting up at 4 a.m. as often as I could to make up for the lost time. Then I moved at the beginning of March, and that physical and emotional change also took its toll on my writing time.

All that being said, I finished a very rough draft of The Lucky Strike Manifesto yesterday. It’s a much meatier book than the first two. At 470 pages, and 122,000 words its longer, and the plot is much more complex. As with the first two books, I love the characters, and am excited about the opportunity to talk about some of the important issues of our day without having to beat people over the head with the message. The book deals with poverty and homelessness in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and with mental illness as a strong, important sub-theme.

Now I’m going to do edits on all three books, and continue my effort to connect with a publisher.