As in, I should — knock on head — finish this today and send it to my betas.
I mean, it’s 5k words. That’s 2 hours work. Except that it was 20k words at midnight on December 31 2019….
I honestly suspect that this book is cursed and somehow caused the mess we call 2020 and so far 2021, or as we call it around the house 2020 Won.
You’re probably laughing at the poor superstitious writer, but look, seriously I’ve had stories and books that seemed cursed. Or that seemed to stick me in a particularly unpleasant spot. Like, for example Through Fire, which somehow meant we couldn’t find a house until I’d finished it and sent it to the publisher. Or the first short story I ever sold, Thirst, which, until it was actually published in the US (oh, you really don’t want to know) killed three magazines and two editors.
The good news is that once the story or book changes “state” as in, it’s delivered or published, it seems to break the curse.
The bad news is that if this book is cursed, then I’m responsible for 2020 and 2020 Won.
Don’t kill me though. I promise I’ll get out of here and go write those 5k words. Mostly because the next Shifter Book — Bowl of Red — is already writing itself in my head, and there’s a couple of Darkships screaming in my head, trying to get out, and the next Magis book, and there’s this series with uplifted cats that…. you’ll see.
But FIRST Other Rhodes must get done and released to the wild.
Why didn’t anyone tell me that trying to write a science fiction/futuristic Nero Wolfe recasting was this dangerous?
Next year is 2020 Too.
Does this Rhode stay close to home? In other words, "the Rhode less travelled"?
(I'll see myself out now).