I’ve set a deadline of June 2025 to complete my edits. That will be 11 years since I started writing The Wakening. Wish me luck!

~ A. Lynn

Reposting, edited 😇

Editing: spending two {try 10} years going back over and tightening every thread on the sweater it took you a year to knit.  

It’s been a 10 year journey. Writing the book took less than a year. Editing took multiple years and I got stuck, literally in a loop, and lost my effectiveness in the process. So I stepped away.. for about 6 years. Now I am back “with fresh eyes” and energy on this awesome project!

Before stepping away, I did a lot of work and rework. One major change I made was to my first chapter which is the most important part of a book. But it was my least favorite chapter- which told me it needed to change. I reworked it so the content and story was still basically the same but the structure was different. Well, maybe it did change the content a bit. Enough, that the introductory passages I have on this site and my author site need to be re-written. But I’d like to save the originals first.

This is the start of the Archive Post series. These are posts dedicated to updating details but retaining the original material for reference. Below is our introductory passage from 2014/2015.

It was supposed to be the most important night of her life, but it ended up being the night her world changed.

Lera Brooke has been waiting for this night for a long time.  Ever since they were kids, Lera and Kory were best friends. But lately things have been different. She didn’t know exactly when it happened, but her feelings for Kory had changed and she hoped he felt the same. Tonight was the night she would find out. He wanted to meet her in forest behind their neighborhood, a place that was all their own. He had something important to ask her. She knew this was the night things would change between them. She was right.

On the way to meet Kory that night there was a crash. That is all Lera remembers before waking up and finding herself totally alone. No people in the streets, stores, cars, or houses. Now she must find her way back to her family, her life, and back to him.

Soon Lera finds out she is not alone in this ghost town. She meets Dean and a few others like her who awoke to find themselves in a place where everyone they care about is gone. These few people band together after The Wakening to figure out what has become of their world.

Now on to the rewrite!

It’s been a long time… just over 10 years since I started writing The Wakening. I think 6 or so since I took a break from editing. Well I’m back! 100% due to one of my amazing daughters. She read it and loves it. She has inspired me to get back to it and is helping me edit! Stay tuned-

Once in the car, Cali falls asleep. I remember that cycle, eat, sleep, eat…“We will need to get some real food in her soon,” I say.

“Let’s go home,” Dean says.

Home… the thought rattles in my head as we are driving. No longer the place I remember where Mom’s inside making dinner and Tommy’s in the driveway working on a car. But for the first time since this all began it was nice to hear the word. With Dean, and now Cali, it is starting to feel like home. And already, somehow, the three of us feel like a family of our own.

Dean pulls the car into the empty driveway. Cali’s in the back seat asleep looking like an ordinary kid with a hint of a smile on her lips. I look over at Dean who is wearing that amazing smile I knew he had. My heart melts as I watch him swoop her into his strong arms so gently that she doesn’t wake up. I shut the door and follow him as he carries her into the house.

“Brendan’s room,” I say and run ahead of them. The room is dark and cold. I pull down a few blankets from the closet and find a candle so she will have some light. My mom has a million of those glass jar scented candles around. They seem pretty safe. I put it on the bedside table, then I hear my mom’s voice in my head. “Don’t fall asleep with that lit Lera,” she would say. With a sigh, I move the candle over to the high dresser across the room and go in search of matches. When I get back, I see Dean lowering Cali into the bed, the sun shining through her honey colored hair as it falls past his waist. He covers her with the blankets I had set out.

Editing… like spending two years going back over and tightening every thread on the sweater it took you a year to knit.  

We, he said we. I can feel the relief running through my body at those words.

^Playing with present tense. Love posting when it is a sentence or section that just seems right. ~@

Main Street looks like an empty movie set. I continue on in a trancelike state, holding on to buildings to steady myself. The first shop I run into is The Frosted Star bakery, minus the usual intoxicating smell of butter, flour, and sugar merging into some newly named bake good. The door is locked so I climb through an open window.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Changing my story from past tense to present has been a liberating experience. It feels like the story should have been this way all along. But it is a tedious process, so I decided to start up my WP posts again to keep momentum!

Wish me luck  ~  only on page 13.

Thanks Facebook 🙂

First round edits of section 1 of The Wakening are done!  Hoping to complete Section 2 early this week and Section 3 later in the week. Will keep you posted. Re-reading The Wakening after a few months away was really great! Made me remember why I LOVE this story and can’t wait to share it!

~ A Lynn