So, about the caving novels I was working on last autumn: they’re not out, but not abandoned either.
My goal of completing the second caving novel by the end of the year didn’t happen. The first novel is not in a publishing pipeline either. This is mostly because I’ve decided to try my luck with breaking into the traditional publishing market in the United Kingdom. As you might guess, this is not that simple. Fortunately I’m used to rejection letters by now.
Still, the manuscript for Not the Dark that Kills You is done: written and revised and sanity checked, but like all such things, it needs a proper editor’s touch. I’d like to get one who knows their way around suspense stories written in English, and my chances of finding someone like that in my circle of acquintances are not great, especially since editors like to get paid for their work or so I hear. This is the main reason for wanting a traditional publisher.
However. The story is ready, and I’m not going to sit on it forever waiting for publisher interest that may never materialise. If by the time I get the second caving story finished (present working title: Last Man Crawling, self-imposed deadline for completing the first draft: end of August; you may now laugh at me) and if it seems that I’m not getting anywhere with any of my attempts to find a publisher, I’ll just bite the bullet and self-publish, hopefully after hiring some sweat shop editing talent to help me hammer the worst bits into shape. That way the story or stories will at least get out there for anyone who might want to read it.