Finished reading the Codex Novel Contest excerpts, then went back to my delayed read-through of Petra Released.
Some feedback on my own excerpt is filtering back in. Turns out it’s . . . well, less than universally loved. I knew on an intellectual level that this would be the case, but now I know it on an emotional level, too. My initial suspicions that the opening is too expository have been confirmed–no great shock there.
As I embark on this read-through, I’m coming to realize the truth of something else I had suspected–that this is a more complex novel than its predecessor. Petra was a simple story–so simple, in fact, that I almost dismissed the idea when it first came to me. But then I realized that simplicity had its own attraction.
With Petra Released, I’m expanding in both scope and ambition. And you know what? It’s hard.
But then, it’s supposed to be, right?
Anyway, I need to get back at it.
And speaking of not being universally loved, here’s a Write Club update: two tier-one rejections from agents on queries for Petra.
Right. I’m out.
