Welcome to Purgatory, Population: Me

So here I am in that weird place between first draft and revision, which is akin to being wedged somewhere between existence and nonexistence. And, as usual, I'm unsure of what to do with myself. I'm beginning work (actually, continuing work) on a sequel to A Whisper of Need, but I know when my month is up that I'll be diving fangs-first back into Eighth Grade Bites. The sequel (which was initially titled Shades of Gray, to go with Whisper's original title, Black and White) has 36,000 words and, despite my memories of it, has a killer storyline that definitely appeals to me. It takes me back to characters that I have long loved and in it we revisit New Orleans, which has been on my mind much as of late. At first I hesitated, because how can I write about the way the city was, when there are new truths to it now? The answer came quickly, in a matter of fact tone.

Because it will be that way again.

My other choice was to work on The Rapture Cafe, second in The Rapture Chronicles series (of which The Roses of Carrion is first). I'm 52,000 words into it, but even I need a break from writing vampires now and again. Two agents and one editor are still reading Roses. I cringe at the first three chapters--the story gets so much better after that. The pessimist in me knows I'll be rejected and the logical professor in me agrees--citing that I should have deleted the first chapters and started further in. None of the voices in my head are optimistic and none seem to realize that as much as it's my fault...it's theirs.

But enough about me and the padded room I sleep in.

It's time to work, to query more, and to hope that all of this will eventually pay off.