Another chapter is finished – that’s chapter 23 for those who are counting – and the word count for A Tortured Soul is now just 500 words below that magic 100k figure. That means that the next chapter will take the story over 100k, the first time I’ve achieved that.
Now, this may or may not be a big deal. This is still very much a first draft and I’m bound to make a lot of changes as I revise it in to a finished novel. So I may cut out some stuff and reduce the word count. Equally, I may well end up adding more than I take away – I always have in the past.
Overall though, I’m now thinking the story will come in some where between 110,000 and 120,000 words – it really all depends on just how I round this thing off and set up the third and final book.
I mentioned a while ago that a character from Kissed by a Rose was going to make an cameo appearance in A Tortured Soul. Well, that character is, in case you hadn’t guessed, Chloe Goodman. I finished off her chapter yesterday morning. It was a really fun thing to do.
That said, I don’t know if it’ll make it into the final book or not. I had to explain a couple of things away at the start of the chapter to put Paul in a position to set up the meeting, which after the previous chapter seemed a little harsh. Honestly, I think an existing character in the book could perhaps serve the same purpose Chloe does and it might seem less contrived.
But I really do like seeing Chloe again, so we’ll see.
(p.s. I was very, very tempted to post a small part of the scene here. I wouldn’t normally go posting excerpts mid-WIP, but this is different, this is Chloe. But I decided against it. If the scene doesn’t end up in the final book, I’ll keep it separate and post it here. I promise.)
