A mid-December update

Back-to-back-to-back editions of the magazine have kept me hopping for weeks now, punctuated by weekends spent on Leaving Paris. The finish line is in sight, sorta. I'll wrap up the January edition of Atlanta INtown this week and will have an extended break before having to start work on February. That should allow me to meet my deadline of having a complete first draft of the novel before the end of the year – before Christmas as a matter-of-fact.

After I finish this post, I have a couple of small scenes to rewrite and then it will be – at last – time to print a hardcopy and begin the read-through and redline edit before serious corrections and rewrites begin. Then it's on to Kathy Dean, who has edited all of my manuscripts before they go to the press for another edit. My self-imposed deadline for getting Leaving Paris to Sibling Rivalry Press has been May, but I think it will happen before the end of winter. Just after the holidays, I'm meeting with a book publicist to discuss marketing for Leaving Paris and the trilogy as a whole. The next couple of years are going to be very exciting, and I'm ready to visit new cities, share my fiction and meet readers. 

Also in the new year, a trip to London and Paris, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the visit that inspired The Venus Trilogy of novels. I'm saving my pennies to afford a night or two in the Bel-Air Hotel (now called Le General) on rue Rampon. While Leaving Paris will be complete by then, I hope to write something there for the novel – maybe the acknowledgements. 

I'll also be working on the reissue of my first poetry collection, Better To Travel, with Poetry Atlanta Press. More details on that soon.

Below is a Spotify playlist of the music that has inspired me while I've been writing Leaving Paris. It's an hour-long eclectic mix – from Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald to Bjork and Kate Bush – that will helps set the mood for the novel.