Tonight I can finally see the end of 'Survival I'- the first part of a spin-off series set in the time of the Era Of Darkness. After a run of delays, I was able to have a couple of very intensive days - filled with conflict, bloodshed, chaos and mayhem - and draw the story to a close. Tomorrow I need to tie the narrative off smoothly with a good Epilogue that will lead into 'Survival II'. Then I begin the second draft.
The tale is going to be over 15,000 words, which puts it into the realm of a novella rather than a short story. That's better for me creatively and for my readers in terms of page-value. My editor and myself hope to crack through the polishing stages in about a week so 'Survival I' can be available as soon as possible... But we won't sacrifice quality for speed, so I can't give an exact timeline.
My initial plan was to add this to the range of 'Short Tales From The Era Of Darkness'. This story has worked out so well, I believe I will want each episode of Survival to be 15-20,000 words... So the Survival series will probably be 'Novellas from the Era Of Darkness' - making the prepared cover below a little redundant! Oh well, such is life.
