Hey, everybody! Did you miss me? Now that November’s become December, it’s time to get back to blogging. First us, here’s what I’ve been up to for the past thirty days:

That’s right, my National Novel Writing Month campaign was a smashing success, with a grand total of 66.744 words written for The Bay of Sins. I got into a groove right away and averaged about 2200 words a day, about 500 more than necessary to meet the 50,000 words in a month goal. Not bad, considering I have a day job and everything.

Actually, this is by far the best year I’ve ever had. I’ve usually struggled across the 50k line on the 29th or 30th. My previous best was when I did the first draft of The Water Road and hit 55,000 in the month. So 66,744 is a hefty improvement.

What made it easier this year? For one thing, The Bay of Sins is the final part of a trilogy, so it’s all downhill. I’m working with characters I know well (for the most part) and in familiar locales, so the learning curve that usually goes with a new story is pretty much gone. For another, this is the first thing of this length I’ve sat down to write since releasing stuff out into the world this year. That makes it easier, believe it or not.

Having said that, there’s much more to go before The Bay of Sins is finished. Hopefully, I’ll knock out the rest of this draft before Christmas.

Look for way more info about The Water Road – the entire series – with Water Road Wednesdays, coming in 2016!