Well, everyone, this week should mark the last few updates to Dark Places, as we wrap up the story... for now.
Tuesday the 1st will be chapter 43, and Friday the 4th will be chapter 44 and the epilogue. I can't believe we're finally at the end! We'll finish at just over 200,000 words, which is substantially longer than I had originally anticipated when storyboarding this, but much shorter than the rough draft! So much cut content that may make its way into the next book...
That's right! Karl and Jenn's story won't be ending with the close of Dark Places. Once the epilogue is posted, I will begin work to split Dark Places into two separate books and begin yet another editing pass, this time shooting to get each book down to around 85k words, with the help of my beta reader and potentially an editor. I already have some work done on what will end up being book three, and I hope to start sharing that with you all sometime this year.
Before we continue Karl and Jenn's adventures, though, I am going to be working on another novel, because as much as I love them both, I need a break from them, too. And they deserve some rest.
I will be letting you, the readers, help me decide what direction to go with my next novel. I have two that are through the basic planning phase, each one has a plot outline complete, and I'm polishing the first couple of chapters of them both. When the final chapter and epilogue go up for Dark Places on Friday, the 4th, I will be putting a poll out for readers to vote on which of these two potential novels I will work on first. Ultimately, I'll make the final decision, but your input will be very valuable to me in making my choice!
I will provide readers with the cover, genre, and synopsis for each of these stories, and then you'll be able to cast your vote. I look forward to seeing what you all think!
See you all tomorrow for chapter 43!