Work in Progress: Ashes and Light, week ten

Yes, I know there was no week nine. We had just gotten back from NecronomiCon, and I was tired. Also sore — I managed to break my toe on Wednesday the 17th… two days before we left for Tampa!

Ashes and Light
Swords of Charlemagne, Book 3

The convention was amazingly fun, and I had an awesome time. Saw some friends, met a bunch of new people, got to sit with Mickey Zucker Reichert for our mutual signing, and succeeded in not fangirling at her.

And, amazingly enough, some writing happened last weekend. I wrote nearly 2K words longhand for Written in Water. And I find myself in the very odd position of being able to see from my chair the ends of two simultaneously written books. Patrons will see the end of the first part of Heir to the Firstborn in about three months, more or less — chapter 12 went live this past Friday, and I’m working on 19 now with a projected end by chapter 25 or so.

Then what? Well, then I put in the sex scenes that at the moment fade to black, polish it up, and publish the book. Patrons who get the ebooks or print books will see that first book probably at around the same time that the last chapter goes live in the Patreon.

I can also see the end of Ashes and Light from here. I’ve discovered that I have a favorite character who isn’t one of my main characters. I mean, really, I love Roland and Olivier and Turpin in the 800s, and Douglas and Margaret and Mystere in the 1890s. But I’ve had one character step forward and just win me over. He’s a Frank in Charles’ court, and his name is Engelier.  His is one of the names that came straight from The Song of Roland — he’s one of the Twelve Peers. We first hear his name in Hidden Things, but we don’t meet him until The Lady and The Sword.

He’s a bit of a character. He has been a retainer in Charles’ court for a while, so he has, in his own words, seen some things. (In a more modern setting, he’d been the stoner in the corner saying “I’ve seen some shit, my dude. You would not believe the shit I’ve seen.”)  He’s a bit of a smartass, too.

“Roland?” Olivier touched his arm. “Now what?”

“Now?” Roland leaned down and kissed Olivier. “Now that.” He turned, and saw Engelier standing with Nasir. The other Frank held his hands up.

“You don’t have to kiss me. I’m fine,” he said. Roland burst out laughing.

When I’m writing Engelier, I’m never quite sure what’s going to come out of my fingers.

So, what now?

Writing all the words. Same as always.