Status Update

Posted on September 17, 2014 by SloanParker

MORE THAN MOST Scene Board (with several layers of my review check marks). Image: (c) Sloan Parker 2014

Completed Manuscript of MORE THAN MOST. Image: (c) Sloan Parker 2014

Well it’s been a while since I posted anything. I didn’t mean to completely ignore my blog, but it was for good reasons, I assure you. I’ve had my head down in my writing cave for several weeks now, and I thought I’d take a quick break to do a status update on my current projects. So here’s where things are:

MORE THAN MOST (MORE #2)
The second book of Richard, Matthew, and Luke’s series was submitted to my publisher. I’m waiting to hear back on that, so I don’t have any news to share regarding a release date. I hope to know more soon. In the meantime here’s another brief snippet from Richard’s point of view: Sadness overwhelmed me. For Dominic and his friends in the nursing home. And for Matthew. If he outlived Luke and me, what would his final years be like? Would he have anywhere to go? Would he end up at someplace like Legacy Village? Not if I could help it. If nothing else, I’d leave him a stockpile of cash. There had to be a number of nicer nursing and retirement homes in the city. Could money buy the kind of security I wanted for him? It hadn’t done anything to protect Anne. And neither had I.
MORE THAN EVER (MORE #3) – tentative title
Matthew’s book is half drafted. This is the fastest I’ve ever written a first pass. There’ll be quite a bit of revising to do on it, but getting the initial draft done is the hardest part for me so I’m thrilled with the progress. And I’m very excited about this story. Matthew is really finding his way, and the threesome are moving into a new phase of their relationship.
THE HAVEN #2 (No title yet)
The outline is finished, and I completely love Seth and Vargas together. They are both so vulnerable, and it should be an incredibly emotional ride for them. This is actually the next book I’ll be working on, but I wanted to get a draft down of More #3 while the ideas were fresh in my mind. The goal is to finish the rough draft of More #3, then complete The Haven #2.
THE HAVEN #3 (No title yet)
I’ve got a few notes down for this story. I’m pretty sure I’m set with who I want the couple to be (and how they’re going to meet and get together), but I’ll wait to share more on that until I’m further along with writing book 2 in case I change course for any reason.
Also, I may be writing a short story that I can’t get out of my head, but we’ll see if I can fit it in somewhere in the next few months.

I’ll keep you posted on news about the release of More #2 and my other progress. Thanks for checking out what I’ve been up to.

Inside Look at Writing More 2: Poor Luke

Posted on March 6, 2013 by SloanParker

Yesterday while working on the sequel to MORE, I added something I hadn’t planned on before now. It was a very intense moment between Matthew and Richard. No matter how far Luke has come, it’s a little scary when he’s the one who has to make the other two talk. This scene doesn’t take place until later in the book than what I’ve been working on, but I just had too many ideas running through my head. I had to get their conversation down. Now I’m back to working on earlier chapters. I cannot wait to get to the follow-up scenes after that Matthew/Richard moment.

I also completed changes to the Epilogue for BREATHE that I’ve been wanting to write since I first finished that book. As I read through it one last time, I cried and sighed and smiled like a goofball. Love those guys. I’ve sent it off to my editor to review. More news on that will be coming soon.

And part six of MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK has been sent to a couple of people who help me with the editing. My newsletter followers will be the first to be notified when part six is available to read via my website, so be sure to sign up to receive my newsletter if you haven’t yet.

Well that’s where I’m at with my current projects. Hope you all are having a great week!

Sometimes Minor Edits Lead You On

Posted on January 28, 2012 by SloanParker

I’m on my third pass working on Walter and Kevin’s story, and I had a series of great writing sessions this week. Today I worked on a chapter and a half that needed a few changes, including adding some dialogue and reactions. I ended up rewriting almost all of it. I was in some sort of zone where the dialogue and character interactions just flowed and worked better within the overall story arc. The more I rewrote, the more I knew what I had previously written wasn’t working. When I was done, it felt good to know it was the right call to rewrite those scenes.

Even though decisions like these affect the overall amount of time it takes to complete a project, this type of revising just seems to work for me. The more time I spend with the characters and their story, the clearer the overall picture becomes. Sometimes I can’t see the forest with all those damn trees in the way.

It took about five hours to get that chapter and a half rewritten. I sat in my comfy chair in my office while I wrote. These two little guys came in to keep me company.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m hoping to get in another 5 hours or more of writing on Sunday.

Writing Update: One Story’s Journey

Posted on January 18, 2012 by SloanParker

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. I took an unplanned/unexpected sabbatical from blogging. I’ve been slammed recently with non-writing work and family obligations, but when I did get to work on my writing, I rocked it on Walter’s story. I figured an update on my progress was long overdue.

And progress is exactly what I’m making with Walter and Kevin’s book. I’m writing every day again and finding a groove with this story that feels really good.

Which is nice because this book has been through such a long journey already. Here’s the path of its life so far:

Brainstormed story ideas (started in 2010).
Created character sketches/story outline.
Wrote synopsis.
Took a break to work on synopses and outlines for Richard’s and Matthew’s books (from More)
Submitted all 3 synopses to my publisher.
Worked on another project while I waited for feedback on which book they’d prefer to see next.
Received feedback.
Revised story outline & character sketches based on publisher’s suggestion to remove one story element.
Worked on rough draft.
Had inspiration for a new story, so I put Walter and Kevin’s aside to create proposal since Christmas stories were being considered at my publisher. After receiving approval, I wrote and revised Take Me Home.
Back to Walter and Kevin’s story. Worked on completing rough draft.
Had to take a break to work on edits from my editor for Take Me Home.
Back to Walter and Kevin’s story. Completed revisions of first seven chapters.
Decided to make several major changes to the story (scenes deleted and new scenes added). Reviewed entire manuscript and worked in changes.
Completed revisions of first ten chapters (as of today).

This story is nothing like it started out as, and yet, it’s becoming more of what I had envisioned in the first place. I cannot tell you how much I love the conversations and interactions between Walter and the much younger Kevin.

This book may not have had the quickest path to publication, but I am really happy with what I’ve got on the page now.

I’ve also worked on revisions to part four of Mark and Scott’s story, the serial novel More Than Just a Good Book. I need to review a few more times, and then send to my critique partner. I’ll announce when it’s ready for you to read on the blog and in my newsletter.

So that’s where I’m at this week. Thanks for listening!
Sloan

Writing Update & FAQ: Are you still going to write more with Luke, Richard, and Matthew?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by SloanParker

It’s been a bit since I’ve posted an update on my writing progress, so I thought I’d share where I’m at with my stories.

If I didn’t mention it before I’m back to revising Walter & Kevin’s book, an erotic romantic suspense set in the same world as More. My goal is to have this book finished and submitted before the end of 2011. That may be pushing it since I usually spend more time revising than I do writing the first draft (and I have some research left to do), but I think it’s good to have a goal that pushes you to work hard. That said, I won’t submit it until I can feel really good about the story. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

So far I’ve worked through some issues that were in the beginning of the first draft and came up with changes that I’m really happy with. I sliced and diced a few scenes, and it really made the story stronger so far. I also added one scene that knocked my socks off, even as I was writing it. I’m still amazed when that happens.

I’ve also drafted a new scene for my serial story More Than Just a Good Book. I’m hoping to add one or two more scenes and then publish part 3 in late October. I’ll share a link for part 3 when it’s available on my website or you can sign up for my newsletter to get the announcement.

Since my writing plans changed a bit during 2011, I thought I’d post the answer to a question I often get asked.

FAQ: Are you still going to write more with Luke, Richard, and Matthew?

Definitely. I still plan to complete 2 more books with Luke, Richard, and Matthew. I had originally planned to write one stand-alone release in between each MORE book. After Breathe, I took the time to outline all 3 of the remaining More books (which included Walter’s) and sent the story synopses to my publisher. They were interested in seeing Walter’s book next (at that time More was still a new release and we weren’t sure how well it would do with readers). Before I had a chance to finish Walter’s story, there was a submission call from my publisher for Christmas stories. I had already started notes for Take Me Home, so I worked up a proposal. That proposal was approved, and I took a break from Walter’s book to finish writing Take Me Home, which is now scheduled for a December 13, 2011 release. And I have to say, I’m so glad I did that because I love how Take Me Home turned out.

Now I’m back working on Walter & Kevin’s story, which has a working title but I’ll wait to share when I’m closer to finishing the book since it may change.

I’m not sure if I will be writing another stand-alone contemporary or Richard’s book next. I’m leaning toward Richard’s book, but in either case I will be finishing both Richard and Matthew’s stories. The boys have more to learn, about each other and themselves.

The above answer also explains the year gap between books. Since finishing Breathe, I have outlined 4 novels, written one manuscript, and completed a first draft for another, both novel-length. This means I should move more quickly through the next couple of projects in 2012.