What’s Taking So Long?

Yes, it’s been a while since I released a new book.  I hear you, Flynn’s Crossing fans.  Allow me to explain the issue(s).

I completed the first draft and first few rounds of edits to FC12 in late 2017.  The designation reflects the number in the series, the way I identify a book until I’ve given it a title.  And therein lies the first conundrum.

Usually, the title grows organically out of the story, and I know early on what the book will be called.  BUT – not this time.  I had a working title, which no longer works.

Sometimes, I write THE END and find I don’t like a hero or heroine.  (That’s a real BIG problem, because if I don’t like them, how will you readers feel?)  Or their motivations feel weak or non-existent.  BUT – I love the characters, their guts and instincts, and their predicaments.

In a couple of the FC books, the plot ended up so twisted and knotted that huge sections needed to be cut out and tossed in the literary trash, because there was no salvaging them.  BUT – this plot hangs together and passes the required ups and downs to be entertaining.

So, what’s wrong?

To attempt to figure out what is making me so uneasy, feeling FC12 is not ready for prime time, I returned to the basics.  Over the last three weeks, I’ve read over a dozen romance books by big name (or highly reviewed) authors.  I read them, and I dissected them.  I compared how they did it to what I was doing.

And STILL, I wasn’t seeing the light.

The best I can come up with is this.  I don’t want to let go.  Sending FC12 out into the world means saying goodbye to Flynn’s Crossing for me.  I have a novella to share the what-happened-after for some of the characters, but that’s not the same as a full-length novel.  I won’t be living in that world anymore.

This might not be such a big deal, letting go of a fictional town, but I based the series on the place I used to live too.  Another kind of letting go, which, admittedly, I did with eagerness four years ago and haven’t regretted.

My promise to you – and you can hold me to it – is to finish up the revisions and edits of both the final novel and the final novella in this quarter.  I have other stories to tell, other places to shine a light on, and other fictional people I know you’ll love.

If I can only get out of my own way and finish this thing!

Have you ever faced a block to completing the final phase of a project because you didn’t want to let something dear go?  How did you get around it?  I’d love to hear your insights in the comments!