Okay...tomorrow is the day...

It's been a battle, but I've been able to hold back from looking at the feedback and proofing of APoS-Derry. Tomorrow, I'm digging into it....and I'm going to use an old trick to make it smoother. I'm going looking for some Shiner Bock. Wegmans used to carry it in their craft beer area, so I'll head there to see. I'll want it cold. And I'm making my enchilada plate for dinner.

Today, I tried out a recipe for cheapie/fake empanadas using flour tortillas. You cut one in half, smear it with cream cheese and jam then fold it over into a triangle and fry it for a minute, each side. Turned out nice, but it's a dessert. I want the prelude. I've got Old El Paso enchilada sauce and refried beans, a can of Ro-tell tomatoes, corn tortillas, Monterrey Jack cheese, Rice-a-roni Spanish rice, and salsa. Need some quac and sour cream, too.

Once that's done, I'm poppin' open the files and diving in, supported by my comfort food and the only good beer Texas ever made.

First thing I'm doing is correcting the typos they found. Nice and simple, right? HA! Nothing in my writing is simple with me. One sent me the typos in a list, with page numbers. One sent me a full document with the typos highlighted throughout, in notes. And I'm betting each of my readers caught issues the other missed. That's how it usually works.

After that is addressing any issues they had with the actual storytelling. After that is pumping the font up to 24pt and reading through it, myself, for issues they might also have missed. After THAT...is assigning it an ISBN and updating the copyright, then setting it aside for another few months till the last read-through.

I've gotten nothing from the agents I sent queries to, so I think I will self-publish it in hardcover. I'm looking at just after the first of the year. I'll be working on the New World for Old section of the story, in the meantime, and should have the two aligned, by then. If all goes well with that, I may put it out in June. That also gives me a year to work on part three, The Return, to have it out by Christmas, 2024.

Keeping in mind that old adage starting with, "The best laid plans..."