A first draft for a last book

The first draft, I wrote a year ago, is the easy one. It's the "rough, unpolished blob a writer pushes out in a manic frenzy."

My thinking has changed. In some cases, the first draft is the harder one. It's the foundation that must be properly set in order to support and accommodate all that follows. Whether done quickly or not, it's the one that requires a little extra care and attention.

This is especially true with a series finale. As I learned in writing Crown City, the fifth book in the Time Box set, the first draft can be as consuming and aggravating as the last. It can be a chore.

Fortunately for me, I managed to complete that chore successfully. I produced a draft I can easily improve. I pushed out a 107,000-word manuscript nearly four weeks ahead of schedule.

Like Camp Lake, Crown City will bring a long family saga to a close. It will tie loose ends and answer questions that have lingered since The Lane Betrayal, the first book in the series.

It will also showcase the Lane ladies. Though Ashley, a high school freshman, takes center stage in the novel, set mostly in Coronado, California, in 1963, her mother and sisters play strong supporting roles. All provide depth and meaning to the story.

I intend to revise the first draft, with the help of my editor and several beta readers, in the next ten weeks and choose a cover in the next four. Crown City is still scheduled for a Christmas release.