Looking Back to See Forward
My #Austensque Year in Review
Happy New Year to all subscribers and everyone else!
Given that Janus is the god who looks forward…and looks backward…I think I will take a look at my #Austenesque world as it took shape in 2021. And 2021 was an entire year that forced me to look backward even as I was looking forward.
Every month featured something that was exciting for me. However, as I have learned throughout my life, this sort of stimulation is invariably tempered with hard work that makes it all the better. Here is my story…and I am sticking to it!
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JANUARY 2021: Yes, I got my first vaccine shot. Being sixty-seven at the time helped. Having an address in Washington State helped. So, feeling safer made THIS next all the sweeter.
Meryton Press (who had published my two most recent books—The Longbourn Quarantine and In Plain Sight) in 2020 contracted to republish my entire catalog of self-published work (eight full-fledged novels including Lessers and Betters and the seven Bennet Wardrobe books). Meryton also contracted to publish the eighth and final book in the Wardrobe arc.
So, January was the best January (ask my wife: I HATE JANUARY) ever!
Except that this January’s wonderful news set 2021 in a difficult light…because it meant that every single month would see me trying to finish Volume Eight, The Grail: The Saving of Elizabeth Darcy while simultaneously re-reading and rework eight other books!
FEBRUARY 2021: Second dose…woo-hoo. Fully Vaxxed. Dove into a reconsideration of Lessers and Betters set to republish in April after a Meryton re-edit. Amazed at how much my writing has changed since the first parts of the book were laid down in 2016 and 17. Pushing through Book Two (The Bluffs of the Ohio—1840) in Grail. So difficult to write Darcy without Elizabeth in frame. Then I discovered that this was the central struggle…Darcy WITHOUT Elizabeth.
MARCH 2021: Still working Grail. Reviewed MP edit of L&B. Started my own re-read of Volume One…The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey. See February point about L&B.
APRIL 2021: Still working on Grail with completion of Book Two and Interval Two. Started looking at Book Three (Home). Knowing that I would be “shoulders bent and head down” on Grail, I decided to get ahead on my re-visits on my MSS for the Wardrobe books. That way I would have some breathing space to allow the publisher to do their thing while I continued writing.
Looked at Volume Two—Henry Fitzwilliam’s War—which was a 19,000-word character study to build Kitty Bennet’s 1886 love interest. The novella was a hair too short for a print book (and I kept envisioning the Wardrobe series on a bookshelf in RW). Decided that my North and South novelette Cinders and Smoke would fit as a second story under the cover as there was a cross-over into the Wardrobe’s Universe…and I had included a scene in Grail that had Darcy meeting John Thornton at a dinner in Manchester.
Started re-read of The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle Époque (Volume Three).
The Meryton Press edition of Lessers and Betters is published.
MAY 2021: Still working on Grail. Reviewed MP edits on Keeper. Submitted Henry Fitzwilliam in its new form at 30,000 words. Began review of Volume Four: Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess.
The Meryton Press edition of Volume One—The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey—is published.
JUNE 2021: Still working on Grail, but the end is becoming visible. This is exciting! Hard to imagine a 700,000+-word journey across eight books was nearing its end.
Did not review any additional Wardrobe books (figured I could deal with Volume Five in July.)
The Meryton Press edition of Volume Two—Henry Fitzwilliam’s War—is published.
June 29, 2021: First draft of Volume Eight—The Grail: The Saving of Elizabeth Darcy—is completed. Began my own hot read.
JULY 2021: Still doing hot read of Grail
July 3rd Attended Las Vegas Access basketball game. Everybody in stadium followed CDC protocols of the day—fully Vaxxed, no mask. The place was packed. Of the 6,000 persons in attendance, 5,999 must have been vaccinated. My wife wore her mask. I did not.
July 6th Scratchy throat. ‘Ah, a summer cold. I get those, and that is what it must be as I am fully vaxxed!’
July 7th Finished Hot Read of Grail and sent to beta readers. Opened the original MSS of Volume Five: The Grail: The Countess Visits Longbourn.
July 13th Happy Birthday to me! At family insistence, I took CV19 test.
July 14th Surprise! Positive! Getting sicker. Fatigue and shortness of breath. Get call from research group doing monoclonal antibody dosage study. I qualify! Dropped any attempt to edit Volume Five.
Our beloved furry partner, Bear, crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
July 15th I am dosed with 500 mg of GSK monoclonal antibody—IV. Others got an injection. There were no placebos!
July 17th Do not plan to dance, but I would be polite enough to tell folks at the assembly to stay 12 feet away and mask up! Did, however, find enough energy to emcee the July JAFF Writer/Reader Get-together Work In Progress session. Two hours long! Crashed and burned afterward.
July 19 to 23rd Received some beta comments on Grail. Tried to rewrite some sections. Not the best idea. Covid Brain.
July 29th MSS of Grail sent to Meryton Press for the first round of edits.
Volume Three of Wardrobe—The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle Époque—is published by Meryton Press. Thank goodness I got ahead!
August 2021: Recovering. Was able to revisit Volume Five: The Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn. Sent to MP.
Volume Four of Wardrobe Series—Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess—published by Meryton Press.
September 2021: My recovery is going well. Only lost the tip of my tongue for taste (still gone as of this writing). Revisited Volume Six (probably my personal favorite because…well the title character is an older gent)—The Avenger: Thomas Bennet and a Father’s Lament.
Volume Five of Wardrobe Series—The Exile: The Countess Visits Longbourn—is published by Meryton Press.
October 2021: Partial first edits for Grail returned for my attention. Began revisit of Volume Seven: The Pilgrim: Lydia Bennet and a Soldier’s Portion.
November 2021: More edits for Grail come through. Complete Pass One on edits for entire book and send back to editor for reconsideration for Pass Two (editing is a collaborative process involving a conversation between author and editor. An editor’s job is to make the writing flow better and not overprint the author’s voice. That is a difficult task.)
Send Pilgrim to MP.
Volume Six of the Wardrobe Series—The Avenger: Thomas Bennet and a Father’s Lament—is published by Meryton Press.
December 2021: Pass Two of Grail begins appearing in my mailbox. I spend three weeks looking at everything. Pass two book leaner now at 132,000 words. Happy with this series capper!
We take the decision to release Pilgrim in January 2022 to avoid holiday glare. Cover reveal (no I am not telling) for Grail set for February in advance of pub release in same month.
Got CV19 Booster.
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Perhaps the most difficult year in a long time. I was forced to be creative every single month. The re-reads insisted that I take what I learned in later books and apply it to the earlier ones (looking backward). Then I was also looking forward at the eighth and final book through the lens of the first seven. Events became fresher. Discontinuities vanished. Grail became stronger because of the renewed foundations of the first seven books.
However, I am looking forward to 2022—a year of relaxation and opportunity. Have two or three good ideas into which I will delve after Grail promo activities conclude in March! Until then, dear readers, have a Wonderful #Austenesque New Year.
For those who would like to see more about me…here is my Amazon Author Page:
https://www.amazon.com/Don-Jacobson/e/B001IQZ7GC/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
PS: The JAFF Writer/Reader WIP is set for January 8, 2022 at 12 Noon Eastern (USA). Free ZOOM session (2 Hours). Go to JAFF Writer/Reader Get-together FB Group to register for Email capture (deadline is Jan 5).
Wow, Don! What a year you have had! I am rooting for 2022 to be a year of relaxation and opportunity for you! You deserve it plus some.