Fort and Suze’s fourth outing is on track for its August 2015 release!

Firstly, it has now officially made it through the primary editing pass. This means a few things – mainly that the second chunk of my advance money is released (advances are split into thirds – the first chunk is yours when you sign the contract, the second chunk when your editor determines that the manuscript it at the level that the company deems largely acceptable to publish (completion of primary edits), and the third chunk on publication of the book). This is mainly exciting to my mortgage.

This is an accurate representation of my loan holder. “More money,” it hisses. “Give me MORE money.”

Secondly, it means that the book is on schedule. This was the stage where my editor was completely within her rights to say things like, “Well, maybe you should rethink the last two-hundred pages,” or “I like that the character names stayed the same, but hated everything else,” and then I’d cry and start rewriting. But there weren’t any massive alterations – mostly some trims and tucks, and some rethinking and retinkering on the front end. There was also a major challenge to my editor’s ick factor. Now, I’m on record as having great respect for my editor’s ick factor. That, after all, is why there wasn’t incest cannibalism sex in Iron Night.

This is the face my editor makes when I try to slip incest cannibalism sex into a manuscript.

Yes, that almost happened. It was only months later that I begrudgingly admitted that she might’ve had a point about the incest cannibalism sex, which at the time I thought she was mostly just being a fun-ruiner over.

There was another major editorial ick factor challenge in this manuscript (before you ask, no, it does not involve incest, cannibalism, or sex), but after some serious thought and soul-searching, I decided to leave it in the manuscript. For the sake of science. Whether or not this was a good idea will probably not be determined until August, at which point I imagine readers will make opinions known. I can only hope that readers ultimately decide, as I did, that it was important to the ethos of the world and the direction that I’ve been going with a particular race. Either way, I have a feeling it might show up in one or two reviews. Hopefully described in glowing terms. (of, I guess, “Brennan grossed me out, but it worked for me. Gritty realism for all!”)

This is a semi-accurate representation of me in the moment of choosing to proceed with the scene, despite the ick factor.

Finally, big reveal! The Dark Ascension cover is now up at Goodreads! Feast your eyes upon what is to come:

Thoughts on the cover? Love it? Love it more? Disregard it for the sweet sweet prose, kitsune antics, and Doctor Who jokes waiting inside?