Today I finished the first draft of the twelfth and final book in my Zom-B series. (I've been referring to it as Zom-B 12 on my Twitter, but of course that's not the actual name -- I won't be revealing the titles of the individual books for quite a while yet.) So, does that mean the series is done and dusted?!? Well, not quite. I work in quite a strange way. I like to give myself LOTS of time to work on a series, so that I can rewrite and edit at my leisure, across the whole span of the series, rather than take things one book at a time. I wrote the first draft of the first book three and a half years ago, in April 2008. I've been pegging away at it since then, writing the first draft of each of the subsequent eleven books in turn, while editing the earlier entries as I've been going along. So, while the first is at a very advanced stage, needing just a couple of more edits before it's ready to see print, the last few are still at their first draft stage. I'll be working on the series for at least another two and a half years, rewriting, fine-tuning, editing each book into its final, tightly knitted state. So there's still quite a way to go untuil I'm totally finished.

But getting the first draft of the final book out of the way is a MAJOR achievement. Once the first drafts are all in the bag, it's simply a case of chipping away at what I've created until I'm happy with every book. The hardest work is behind me, where I've had to create each book out of thin air and commit each to paper, one slow word at a time. Now that the hard graft is out of the way, I can relax a little and enjoy the editing process over the next few years -- although I'm sure I'll start working on first drafts of other books during that time! It also means that if (heavens forbid!) I was to have an accident and go toes-up tomorrow, somebody else could take care of the editing duties and ensure that the series goes ahead and sees publication as planned. I'm always worried, when I start a lengthy series, about making it to the end. There are so many things that could go wrong, and I'd hate to die halfway through and let down my fans!! At least now, if the Grim Reaper comes calling for me, I can slip away with a clear conscience and not leave any angry fans behind moaning about me leaving the work unfinished!!!!