Done!

The rewrite is finished!

Why was it finished so quickly in the end? I hear you ask. Well, I got Covid and was stuck in bed for a week, so I was able to dictate each line and edit/change (hopefully improve) them as I went along. The key thing is that I had hours and hours alone undisturbed to just plough through it. It is such a relief!

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Typing lying flat on your back is not that simple, but fortunately the aching joints symptom of Covid didn't extend to my fingers and hands so as long as I didn't jiggle about in the bed too much, it was quite doable. It also made time pass more quickly during isolation. I basically divided my time between typing and sleeping.

If I am honest I have to admit that I'm not sure in retrospect that it was the wisest move but I definitely feel happier with the quality of the English. I couldn't get over the sheer volume of occasions when I used the same noun, verb or adjective twice in the one sentence or more than once in the same paragraph, to absolutely no dramatic effect. I feel that stripping back the prose and simplifying the sentences have made it more readable. I only added in one extra scene to flesh out the back story of Tiberius - putting his personal demon(s) into a clearer context. I know that a really good Book Editor and/or Proofreader would dramatically improve the book further, but I can't afford the services of such an august personage so c'est la vie! Most importantly, I'm happier to put Book One behind me and move on.

Time to get back to the sequel. I'll re-read it and see where it takes me. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next to Mr Black, Beth and Tiberius.