Now is the time on sprockets where I feel like I am running running running and not getting much of anywhere. The good news is, I’ve written enough novels that I recognize this as a standard part of the process; it happens in every book. And since this one is so long, I can now say with certainty that it isn’t based on wordcount, but rather on where I am in the book. (If this were a Lady Trent novel, the draft would have been complete twenty thousand words ago.) The “running running running” stage begins somewhere after the halfway point, but before the three-quarters mark. It’s just that since this book is so long, I’m going to spend much more time feeling like I’m on a hamster wheel, before I get to round that last corner into the home stretch.

This chapter was interesting because very little of it is from the perspective of our main protagonist, R—. I mentioned in the post for the previous chapter that she was coming apart at the seams; that hits its peak here, so that the characters around her are carrying the ball for a little while. We got to introduce a new pov, which makes me very happy — it’s a character who’s been on stage for most of the book, but we haven’t been in his head before, and his perspective gave us a great angle on what V— is doing here.

Anyway, we are now out of that particular plot pit and enjoying our last stretch of relative calm before things start ‘sploding. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks, because it won’t be for long.

Word count: ~128,000
Authorial sadism: S— being forced to look respectable, and V— dealing with metaphysical stuff that laughs in the face of his usual skill set. (There are actually much worse things in here, but the “authorial sadism” slot is generally reserved for the stuff we enjoy inflicting on the characters.)
Authorial amusement: A penchant for biting. And trying to look lovelorn rather than like you have indigestion. And snoring like a dockworker.
BLR quotient: More love. So much love, amid all the trouble.