It is done

Hail readers!

Previously, I mentioned that I was close to completing Fallen Love, my upcoming new novel. Well: there’s no more ‘upcoming’ about it anymore. Fallen Love is finished!

Of course, I also mentioned, in my previous update, that writing the ending does not serve to complete this quest of mine; there is still much work to do, in the form of getting more feedback, making revisions (a sizable number remain to be done) and of course querying agents.

But still: this is a huge milestone. I have turned an idea—an inkling of the character’s desires, the world they inhabit, the circumstances of the plot—into reality. Indeed, I thought it would never happen.

You see, when I began Fallen Love, I had written over 50,000 words on the Ark. It seemed insane to start a new novel, and abandon the old one, even though—deep down—I knew it was the right thing to do. Luckily, I persevered; and now here I stand, my hands holding a much more valuable object than the Ark could ever have been.

It is often said by writers that the second novel is easier than the first one. For me, this was not true. Oh sure: writing the Necromancer was insanely hard, and took two years to get published. Yet I completed the first draft in barely six months, two weeks; whereas Fallen Love took me 10 months, and it’s shorter too. The Necromancer stands at 108,000 words, while Fallen Love is 79,000.

If you consider the Ark to be more than just a false start—since I spent over a year working on it, and created three of the main characters that would later find themselves in Fallen Love—then you really start to comprehend the Goliath endeavour this was.

I only hope that publishing it will be easier. I daresay I am a much better writer now.

In any case, that’s enough for today. I have sent the completed draft to my beta readers; it is time for me to rest, letting my readers digest, and allowing me to charge my batteries for what comes next. University has also not let me off too easily, and I will have work to do in the coming weeks.

But since I know you must be excited, I have made good on a promise: you can now read the first chapter on this page.

Good bye for now, or as the Dutch say: tot ziens!