Blog entry twenty four: The end of the road
I’ve finished Lights in the sky…
I’ll qualify that; I’ve finished the final novel in the series, the leftover girl, which (counterintuitively), is the first chronologically in the series. This is not to say that I’ll never return to the world of Alpha 5, I’ve left some loose ends and there are still stories to tell, but the main narrative is finished! It’s taken me four (or possibly five) years of living at least partially in a world of my own creation. The series covers a period of two centuries from the birth of Helen Choi right through to the death of last of the twins on Alpha 5…
So how do I feel?
Well, empty, grieving, directionless etc etc…
This is the first time that I haven’t had anything to write in nearly a year…
It’s like a bereavement, or possibly like the empty nest syndrome you get when your children finally leave home; the novels are like my children!
So how do I deal with this?
- By doing the (to me) drudgery of promoting the series. I have a list of 15+ agents plus a number of independent publishers (you have been warned!). And I’m now looking to sharpen up my (rather blunt) act by making my website more visible and marketing my writing more effectively via social media (even!).
- By writing something else!
- Another volume of LITS (possible, but the safe option, and there’s always the danger of diminishing returns!)
- By starting a completely new project (scary!)
- By continuing the ‘Simon’ series (lacking enthusiasm for this at the the mo’, and compared to LITS it’s a teensy bit prosaic!)
So a bit of thinking to do, but plenty to get on with…
’til next time…