Pace and Action

Those are two of the words my editor at Bloomsbury used the other day in her assessment of Avery McShane and the Silver Spurs, which we are in the final stages of editing. The next step is the more detailed editing and proofreading. That's where they look at and fix everything: the grammar, syntax, crossing each t and dotting each i.

Here are some snippets from that same email:

"...think it reads very well. I do think you have such a good, natural voice that boys will lap up!"


"...I do think it is reading so fluently and with such pace and action! Really (literally!) barnstorming."

Barnstorming because the protagonist actually blows up a barn.

I trust her opinion. I have started to come out of my shell a bit more lately - attending book readings and writers groups - and she's right. There are not a whole lot of easy read books for middle readers of the male persuasion. There is a noticeable gap between the more involved novels (such as the Harry Potter series) and the very simple reads (such as comic books). There are some out there, like Holes, but not many.

I can't wait to find out how the book (and the series) resonates with boys and, hopefully, with girls and other age groups too. It's pretty exciting.

She also said that I'll be seeing some cover art in the next month or so. I can't wait.

But I have no choice.