1381 Words

Though it feels like it should be more. But that's an entire scene there and one I really like. Another Paul and Stephen scene. This time Paul comes both real close to conquering his anger and loosing total control. I was hoping the scene would go longer than it did, though. It seems a number of my scenes are shorter than I was aiming for. As far as page-count goes, I'm still ahead of the game, though. Guess I'll just have to finish the book and see where it stands. Only 386 more pages to hit my estimated 500 for this book. I imagine rewrites will screw with my numbers a good deal anyhow. And if it turns out it's only a 100,000 word novel instead of the planned 125k, so be it. That's still a good length.

Reading News: There hasn't been much of this because I haven't had much time to read while working on the book and dealing with Real Life. I did want to gush a minute over S.L. Viehl's Endurance. Much darker and edgier than the previous books in this series, it's almost stressful to read this one (but in a good way). I found myself cringing in parts as poor Cherijo was put through hell that's too harsh to describe here. I liked this one a lot. What's great about S.L. Viehl's StarDoc series is that each book takes Cherijo to a whole new place, and Viehl writes on a whole new level. It's rare to find an author this reliable. Crime writer Robert Crais was one of these, each of his books getting better and better, until his latest, Hostage; not terrible, but nothing compared to his previous seven or eight novels. Stephen King's had a number of let-downs (though someone who writes as much as he does is bound to produce a few stinkers). I'm told Nora Roberts is a pretty reliable writer as well. Like pizza and sex, even when the books aren't great, they're still pretty darn good. (Sorry, Mom.)

What I'm getting at is go grab an S.L. Viehl novel already. I know. I've raved about her before. Maybe now you're finally getting the hint. She's good. She's damn good.