Update on "Call of the Siren"

Last weekend, I spent part of Saturday reading through my current BryonySeries novel in progress.

It's called Call of the Siren and it's the second book in the Limbo trilogy. (The first is The Phoenix, and you can find a copy of it here).

After weeks and months of very slow, all-over-the-place progress - despite two at-home writing retreats and a solid outline - the muse finally perked up a few weeks ago...just in time for the holidays.

So I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that I had finished than I'd assumed. Nearly half of the chapters are completely edited on my end (meaning, they are ready for my editor) and portions of many others are partly edited.

A few chapters and large amounts of other chapters are still in draft form. Below, I'm sharing my file that shows my progressions and gaps, along with my back cover summary of the story.

As you can see, the story hasn't come together in a linear way. But it does read well, and I'm eager to finish it and send it to my editor - hopefully by early spring. 

Hopefully, anyone who writes can see writing a novel is sometimes like assembling a puzzle of ideas. And anyone who reads can see a glimpse of how stories are constructed.

Cover art is by Nancy Calkins, wife of Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara.

CALL OF THE SIREN

Sue Bass is haunted by dreams of her father, who died in a boating accident before she was born, alluring dreams of water and song. But then a soft-spoken outside man with an inside plan comes to town, and Sue's sleepwalking stops, only to resurface with greater magnetism when he leaves.

Two voices beckon. Which one will she heed?

Prologue:

PART ONE: WATER

Chapter 1: Lullaby

Chapter 2: Music or Madness

Chapter 3: Town Mouse

Chapter 4: Country Mouse, Monday Sept. 13, afternoon (spot places to fill in)

Chapter 5: Water, Butter, and Wine

Chapter 6: Little Girl Lost

Chapter 7: The Lure of Their Eyes

PART TWO: FIRE

Chapter 8: Flames and Frost

Chapter 9: Even The Sparrow (drafted)

Chapter 10: Bewitched By Her Sweetness

Chapter 11: House Calls, Saturday, Sept. 18, morning (drafted)

Chapter 12: Coin for the Passage

Chapter 13: Plaintive Cries, Sunday, Sept. 19, morning (1/2 drafted, 1/2 edited)

Chapter 14: As Sharp as Spears, Sunday, Sept. 19, afternoon (1/2 drafted, 1/2 edited)

Chapter 15: The Meadow of Skeletons

PART THREE: AIR

Chapter 16: Gates of Horn and Ivory

Chapter 17 Ask, and It Shall be Given You

Chapter 18: Seek, and Ye Shall Find (nearly edited, needs writing in spots)

Chapter 19: Knock, and it Shall Be Opened Unto You (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 20: The Stain No Storm Could Wash Away (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 21: A Stone and a Serpent (drafted)

Chapter 22: Treading Water (drafted)

Chapter 23: Last Dream of my Soul (1/2 drafted, 1/2 edited)

PART FOUR: EARTH

Chapter 24: On Solid Ground (1/2 edited, 1/2 drafted)

Chapter 25: Ideal – and Worthy of Envy  (2/3 edited, 1/3 drafted)

Chapter 26: Sue’s Diner, (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 27: In Dark Depths Lurking (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 28: The Abyss Beckons (drafted, a few graphs edited)

Chapter 29: : No Breath of Wind, No Ripple of Water (1/3 edited, 2/3 drafted)

Chapter 30: Ferry and Scythe (edited)

Epilogue, Monday afternoon (1/2 edited, 1/2 drafted)