ELVEN-WARLOCK rough draft done!

Yesterday I needed to take out the trash, and I noticed a red squirrel suspiciously close to the house. If you’ve had the misfortune to be familiar with red squirrels, you know they’re bad, bad news, especially this time of year. They start looking for a place to nest, and if they get into your walls or basement, they’re immensely destructive.

I approached the red squirrel, and to my concern, it fled into a sealed window well that connects to my cellar. At least, I thought it was sealed, but the red squirrel had managed to find a way in. It hadn’t yet gotten through the sealed window well entirely, but I could see that it had been industrious in its work.

So most of the rest of the afternoon went into driving off the red squirrel and filling and resealing that window well so the squirrel (and related creatures) couldn’t find their way in.

I only mention this story because this kind of thing has happened, like, a lot over the past two weeks while I’ve been trying to write ELVEN-WARLOCK. I’ve heard young people these days say they were riding the Struggle Bus when things go wrong. I wouldn’t say I’ve been on the Struggle Bus.

I would, however, definitely say I’ve been on the Annoyance Uber.

But! Despite all these obstacles aboard the Annoyance Uber, I finished the rough draft of ELVEN-WARLOCK!

Next up is PALADIN & COMMANDER, a short story that newsletter subscribers will get for free when ELVEN-WARLOCK comes out.

I am still hoping to have the book out before the end of October. Look for a cover image sometime next week!

-JM