As Rocky would say, la fine!

I've finished my final edit of 'The Killing Zone'. After 117,600 words on 228 pages, I've put to bed what was the most enjoyable and I believe, my best work yet. Next up will be CAPA-U and my 10-minute pitch to an agent. If that's unsuccessful, I'll be sending out query letters before the end of May. My next project will be a final edit of 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'.

I'm on Twitter

I set up a Twitter account. If you have a Twitter account see if you can 'Twitt' me.

Creative Writing Workshop

I will be attending Eileen Albrizio's creative writing workshop next month. Ms. Albrizio worked for National Public Radio as a broadcast host and journalist.

CHAPTER 26 AND COUNTING

I've completed a final edit up to chapter 26 on 'The Killing Zone' and only have 10 more chapters to edit. I'm targeting next Sunday (April 26th) as my completion date. This will then give me a couple of weeks to prepare for CAPA-U where I will have an opportunity for a 10-minute meeting with an agent during which I can pitch my novel. Once that is over, then it's on to a final edit for 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'. If all goes well, I'm hoping to dust off 'Montana Harvest' and complete the last third of that novel by year-end. 2009 could be a very productive and rewarding year.

CAPA April Meeting

Today, I attended CAPA's monthly meeting in Avon, CT. Agent Gina Panettieri, President of Talcott Notch Literary Agency was invited to speak about writing and submitting winning query letters. She provided handouts and I learned some things that I hadn't known. The CAPA organizers also mentioned the upcoming CAPA-U on May 9th.

Time to Blog

The start of my post is going to sound a little bit like the lyrics from a Sam Cooke song but here I go anyway:

Well, it's Saturday night and I spent a good day editing 'The Killing Zone'. One thing that I've discovered about editing is that nothing you write needs to end up being discarded. What were the remnants of a modified storyline becomes the plot of a future novel. A scene in my novel involving a deputy who rescues a girl from an outlaw biker gang, just didn't seem to fit. Now it will become the central theme for a future novel. The same deputy discovers a mysterious girl who doesn't remember who she is or where she came from. With a different scene, a few word changes, and new dialogue, a rough section that went nowhere becomes the hook for a future spinetingler.