August 2, 2005
Well, I just finished the re-write of the second Derek Stillwater novel, The Serpent's Kiss. It was due on September 1, so I'm a bit ahead of schedule, though I still have to fuss with burning disks and getting the manuscript, etc., into the mail.

The first novel featuring Derek, titled The Devil's Pitchfork, is tentatively scheduled for publication by Midnight Ink/Llewellyn in the spring of 2007. The Serpent's Kiss should be out something less than a year after that. There's a possibility they'll come earlier, but we'll see.

It's always satisfying to wrap this up, although a bit nerve-wracking, too. Is it good enough? Did I miss something? This was a very clean manuscript, and my editor only had one plot change request, which I thought would be easy, but turned out to be a little more difficult, though easier than some. My agent had requested I change the motive of the villain before she marketed it and that turned out to be a fairly big re-write, though I think the request made the novel significantly better. I'm very pleased with it.

In fact, I'm convinced it's the best thing I've ever written. Hopefully we think that of every new novel, but in this case I'm sure it is. It's probably my favorite to date. It's got multiple ticking clocks and dangerous deadlines, lots of plot twists and cliffhangers, and I think I still managed to dig into the character's backgrounds a bit and provide some thought-provoking shit, too. But what the hell do you think I would say? It was shit on toast?

So I'll shortly be able to concentrate more on the third Derek Stillwater novel, and I have a good idea for a Derek short story and/or novella that I think I'll write and either submit somewhere or even more likely publish as a chap book and give out for free as a promotion for The Devil's Pitchfork.

I contacted Heidi Mack yesterday about revamping my website and I'll have to work out some sort of marketing plan and I'm still doing promotional stuff for Dirty Deeds. I'll be at Magna cum Murder in October and I've got some signings and events scheduled, and I'm going to start concentrating on Rotary Club talks and other service groups in and around the Detroit area this fall.

Also, my agent is marketing the follow-up to Dirty Deeds, so I'm still hopeful there. Busy, busy. And of course there's the nonfiction make-money-to-eat thing going on. Busy, busy.

Best,
Mark Terry