One Brother Shy is finished!

True to my pledge, I’m doing my best to keep you all up to date on the progress of my sixth novel, One Brother Shy. I started the actual writing of this manuscript back in early March, having spent the preceding six months or so conceiving the story and then mapping it out in what eventually became an 80 page chapter-by-chapter outline. I’m now pleased to report that the novel is finished!

I sent the manuscript to my editor, Doug Gibson, about a week ago. Since then, he’s read it a few times and worked his editorial magic. He complained that I’d left him little to do, which I took as a good sign. I received his editorial suggestions on the weekend and have been working my way through them, page by page, ever since.

And now, it’s finished! One Brother Shy is finished, at least until the manuscript is put through the copy-editing process at McClelland & Stewart. Having made this journey on five previous occasions, I know that copy editing will yield more little changes thanks to minor discrepancies, inconsistencies, and typos that neither Doug nor I caught, even though we’ve both been immersed in the manuscript these last few weeks.

But the important point here is that, at least for a while, the novel is out of my hands while the wheels of publishing grind on. This frees me, and my addled mind, to consider what story might be told in my seventh novel. I have a few ideas, but none has yet grabbed my throat and refused to let go. Soon, I hope.

Still no formal word on when One Brother Shy will be published, but stay tuned. It will be sometime in 2017. When I know, you’ll know.

One Brother Shy is, among other things, the story of identical twins discovering one another some 25 years after they were born. While there is virtually no autobiographical content in this novel, as you can see below, I do know what it’s like to have an identical twin brother. I’ve dedicated this new novel to my identical twin brother, Tim (on the left, below). He’s been big supporter throughout my writing odyssey. This shot was taken when we were about fifteen. I just wish I still had that much hair.