Tardy Bonnie

Where have I been?

Not blogging regularly, that's for certain. And I do apologise. I hope you will forgive me. You see I"m fast at work on my next novel - and I've promised my publisher I'd have it in to them June 1. (I'm happy to say I'm on track and really loving how this book is shaping up. It's been a blast to write.)

Deadlines are important in publishing.

The book I'm working on right now won't hit shelves until June 1, 2010 0 a full year after I will submit it. Sound like a long time? Sure, but it gives us an idea of the amount of work involved in producing a novel. So much goes into the production of a book.

In the acknowledgements of Talking to the Dead I say this:

"Books are collaborative efforts. Forget the notion of the cloistered writer
alone with her thoughts, the romantic myth of isolated keyboard clacking in a
mountain cabin. Oh, certainly there is the writing, the idea that belongs wholly
to the author (as much as any idea can belong to anyone)—but that alone creates
only a manuscript. It takes much more to make a book."

I've learned so much about what goes into creating a book, largely because the team at David C. Cook are so inviting and collaborative that they have literally invited me into each step, explained how the process works, and answered my many questions joyfully.

Good things come to those who wait, and this is no more true than in the world of books. The process may seem slow, but the end result is something extraordinary.

So, I hope you will forgive me for not posting as regularly as usual lately. I have some wonderful things in store for the blog - coming soon!!

And I can't wait to share the details of the next book - but for now, there is Talking to the Dead coming VERY soon!!

I bid you good writing.