Taking a rest between books

The only thing that’s more fun than beginning a new novel is sending off a completed one to the editor . . . before deadline! Now that Love Thine Enemy is safely in Melissa’s hands, I’m taking a little break between books to think about upcoming projects.

I’m also revising the Freshman Composition I class that I teach at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida. This is my tenth year of teaching, and I’ve found over those years that my students’ grammar has gotten worse. In this age of text-messages, many young people don’t realize how important it is to have a grasp of formal communication.

Of course, it never hurts to hone my own writing skills. I have numerous books on writing that I’ve only skimmed. Time to pull those off the shelf and dig in deeper, beginning with James Scott Bell’s Revision and Self-Editing. I have writer friends who hate rewrites, but I love them. Love Thine Enemy went through two writings. I threw out a bunch and kept what I could use, and the second version is much better than the first.