So, another Christmas has come and gone, and another New Year has begun. And like all of my stories, Apple Tree Hill (as it is temporarily named while I think of a better title) has grown and changed. As always happens, the characters have come to life and begun to tell me their story and demand I write it their way. They have compelled me to delete some 40,000 words. Frustrating!  No wonder it takes me forever to complete a novel. Well, okay, it’s more due to me not spending enough time writing. I tend to take long breaks while I wait for a character to relate the next chapter. 

It’s sometimes frustrating to be told the way I wrote a story is wrong, but I can’t help falling in love with Catherine Clement and her nephew, Evan Dietrich. I loved Tony from the beginning. He’s actually based on a boy I had a fling with in my teen years. 

Mark Barlowe is thoroughly obnoxious, so I wasn’t at all distressed when Catherine told me she had discovered he is involved in some criminal dealings. But I’m a little sad for poor Lauren. She wasn’t the most likeable lady at first, but she’s grown on me and I’ve come to understand what shaped her. Once you know what made her like she is, you can’t help but forgive her foibles and want her to be happy. 

So, there it is. Like all my novels, the story has taken on a life of its own. The first draft is about half done now. And it’s time I got serious about thinking of a good title. Hopefully one will come to me soon.  And then I can start to imagine what the cover might look like.  No picture with this post, because I haven’t even the faintest clue what image would suit - apart from perhaps an apple tree!  So, in the absence of a relevant image, to all my readers: