Well it took a little over 18 months from start to finish (including the time it took to write the 20,000 word outline) but the first draft of As Morning Shows the Day is now (fanfare, please) complete.
I put the final full-stop in place last Sunday morning (18th of July), sat back, looked out of the window, looked back at the computer screen and sighed. Approaching the ending had been tense. It’s a fairly large piece of work and, hitting the final chapter, I was very aware of just how pleased I was with everything that had gone before — and how vital it was, as ever, that I get the final few pages just right.
Did I manage that? I think so — I really do. I haven’t, as yet, read through the whole novel, but having read the final pages through a few times it’s very much the conclusion I’d originally envisaged. There’s still work to do, of course, but I’m extremely happy.
613 pages of nostalgia, quiet humour, characters I love, a plot and thematic development that’s subtle but not too subtle… I like it. A lot.
Two sample chapters of If I Never can be read here.
To buy your copy of If I Never, please click here.
