The Elite: Proof-reading

I am so pleased to have finished the final draft of The Elite! It has been a lot of fun reviewing the original drafts and editing and improving, then adding new ideas. I never ever use the first draft of a story when I send it to be published and I always spend a lot of time re-reading what I have written because I find that sometimes an idea I really liked in draft one doesn't necessarily fit with the finished product. Or sometimes a new idea occurs that would fit really well and I need to find a way of seamlessly adding it. Sometimes, as was the case when I was editing chapter 32 yesterday, the only way is to delete everything and start again with that blank page.

When I wrote Love Eternal, I redrafted that story eight times, because in the original version, I felt that Jerrod was too like Mac for it to work; there was too much of a dark side to my hero and I needed him to be a much better person. In The Light, The Dark and The Blood all of the characters are quite dark but necessarily so for the content of the story. Sometimes it is a lot of fun to write the darker characters and to create a mindset for them.

In The Elite, we will see Robert once again struggling with his inner demons and the effect of Cathy returning to him in The Girl. He has the added pressure that his niece has been taken to Adam at Electissimus and he must make the decision to leave the sanctuary of his home to rescue her. This is a big decision because Robert will be forced to face the demons of his past if he returns there and he isn't sure if he is strong enough.

Beth meanwhile is held by Adam in his palace and has only Maria to turn to for friendship and hope, but the Witch who has become the mate of the Vampire King is suffering from confusion and doubt herself. Ethan and Diana are on their way to face the destiny they have been raised to while Jack is heading to Uncle Robert's.

I must admit, I love writing the interactions between Robert and Jack. Even though Jack is the eldest of the Hart siblings, he has a boyish nature which seems completely at odds with his uncle's personality and when Robert gets frustrated with him I can't help but be amused by it :-)

The Elite is a dark story and will take the reader further into the world that Adam and his people have created. It will also be the build up for the final book, The Vampire, in which we will confront Robert's past with him and see exactly why he sees himself as he does.

Watch this space for the release date of The Elite.