I’m tossing in an extra blog post this week to give you some updates.
First up, in terms of writing, I’ve finished the first shareable draft of the final (I think) book in the Life First series. Â Why did I add (I think)? Well, there is one character who is not Kelsey, Luke, Susan or Rob, who has some massive story potential based on what happened in book 3. In my head, I know all the cool places it could go, but not sure if readers would care enough. We’ll see what happens. But, I’m digressing. The point I was going to make is I’m giving Book 3 to my hubby for a first read to see where he thinks any problems lie. I like where everything ends in book 3, but there are a couple of scenes I’m concerned about (in terms of whether or not they make sense). My mother also told me this week that she didn’t like that Second Life didn’t have chapter titles (beyond Susan and Kelsey), so I may do chapter titles in book 3. Or I may not as the entire book takes place over six days. In the manuscript, I label each day. This helped keep me grounded in the events taking places (kinda like the hour clock in 24), but still debating if this will be useful to readers.
Because the Life First series is out with my husband, I’ve again started working on my YA novel, Scented. I’m about 10,000 words in, and hopefully you guys will be seeing that later this year. I’m having a lot of fun with Scented, so I’ll be planning something special to coincide with the release of that book.
Lastly, I got two new reviews this week. The first review, by Richard Bunning, popped up on my Google Alert for RJ Crayton and was a completely awesome surprise. Mr. Bunning says:
“This is a very well written fiction story that adds interesting fuel to the debate between those that support the `rights’ of the individual and those that put the rights of community ahead of those of the individuals. Should the individual be expected to suffer, even to risk life, for a common good? Should we all, ultimately, be conscript soldiers of society?” Read the complete review here.
The second review I knew was coming. It was for Second Life and was one I requested. Those are always harrowing because the reviewer could just hate it and whale on you. However she didn’t hate it and wrote a lovely review at Evening eBook. She reviews lots of wonderful books, so definitely consider following her blog, Facebook and Twitter feed. Â Here’s a quote from this review.
“Crayton gives us Susan’s perspective inside FoSS and Kelsey’s perspective who is in Peoria. It’s great that the girls’ lives, from childhood to the events in this book, are entwined. It also means that this sequel wasn’t devoid of Kelsey and Luke, the main characters from the first novel.”  Read the rest of the review at the Evening eBook.