Typically, May is one of my favourite months of the year. The temperature starts rising, the rain stops falling, and I can usually trade my jeans for shorts, not to be traded back again until mid-September. It's the first month which feels like summer, normally. It didn't feel like that this year.

I'm wearing a t-shirt and shorts as I write this on the 31st, but for the most part, May has been wet and windy, I've been wearing jumpers, and the window beside my desk has remained firmly closed. Despite all this, May has still managed to end up being my favourite month of 2021 so far.

Unlocking

The UK government's roadmap to ending lockdown reached its next stage, and having turned that particular proverbial key, I've been busy. From travelling around the country, to wedding ring making, to being the best man at my friend's wedding to my fiancée's birthday.

Phew! After months of nothing, it's almost like I have too many plans. Not that I'm looking this gift-horse in the mouth - I'm certainly not complaining.

The eagle-eyed among you (i.e. those who read last month's update), will notice a similarity here. And yes, my dear reader, this similarity is intentional. The point of my telling you all this is because I made less writing progress than I expected.

By the skin of my teeth, however, I did meet my target, and I did finish writing my novella. I've given it another once-over, and handed it to my alpha reader (who just to happens to be my fiancée. Purely coincidental, I promise...)

Imperial Gold by George William Rolls

One day soon I hope to write these words again on this blog, but it won't be until next month now. As you can see, the working title has stuck, but it isn't completely done like I dreamt it would be. To be fair to myself, it is also longer than I expected. It comes in at 30,683 words, or 88 paperback pages, where I had planned to write 25,000.

After Kate reads it to ensure it isn't the worst thing ever written, I'll study it again before instigating the plan of tri-weekly publication on this site. If I hadn't literally finished it over the weekend, I might have a blurb to whet your appetite, but unfortunately I don't, so that particular teaser will have to wait.

The novella will replace my regular Wednesday blog posts, probably in July, with additional chapters posted on Mondays and Fridays. I'm looking forward to wider feedback, and this will definitely be something both exciting and scary for me.

I have never shown my fiction to someone I didn't trust, and now I'm planning on letting everyone and their mother read it. I'm hoping the potential criticism will help my craft and identify my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.

The Future of Monthly Updates

As I write this, I'm aware these updates will start to get pretty monotonous if I keep the current format. Now the novella is in its last stages, my efforts are moving back onto my main fantasy trilogy.

I still await feedback from my beta readers for Pyres of Äpis, so I'm setting my sights fully on Shards of Lisgrimir, its sequel. I can't come back here every month and say "I wrote 20,000 words, which is fine", or "I wrote 10,000 words, which is disappointing", as this will be pretty dull, both to read and to write.

Instead, I'll try and delve a bit more into the meat of what I'm writing. I'll obviously be avoiding plot spoilers like the plague, but if I've been struggling with something or if the story goes unexpectedly off-plan, I'll think of a way to mention it.

Chances are these updates could just end up being much shorter. Maybe I will just end up writing one-paragraph updates, if there truly isn't much to say. I doubt it, though. I'll always find something to complain about. Stay safe.

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