I've finished the rewrite of the rewrite of the rewrite.

A stack of pages, some 240 in all, glides into the tray at the side of the industrial printer. The enormous machine had printed the current version of my new book, Why Did He Die?  in less time than it had taken me to turn on my computer, log onto the internet, open the relevant mail account, write an email, attach the book and send it. No time to treat myself to a coffee as a reward for finishing the draft. The start button was pressed and in two minutes flat I was walking out of the print shop, clutching a warm stack of papers.

The two minutes printing time seemed a paltry amount for the hours and hours of work I had put into creating the words that filled the pages. Miles had been walked, along bog roads and through woodland with my dogs while I pondered on problems in the plot. Horses had been groomed, mucked out and ridden, the house had been cleaned, meals cooked, all while my mind was mulling over the actions of people who exist solely in my imagination.

I had promised myself the draft would be finished by the end of January, which it was. I rewarded myself by a brilliant few days away and then starting my week by binging on The Landscapers, a series I had been looking forward to watching. Those hedonistic few hours over, it is back to work on the book, which is now in its fourth (at least) rendering and third title change.

Five other books have been written since this one’s first inception. Three of those are still waiting to be edited and completed. The first draft of Why Did He Die? was originally written as a standalone title, my first foray into crime, as Hell Hath No Fury in 2016. Then my Dad died, then I did a MA at university, just before which I completed another book and treated myself to a day binging a television series, which inspired me to write After and the second in the series, Vanished.

I had, when I wrote the first two of my crime series, intended that Hell would slot nicely into place as book three of the series. What I hadn’t realised, is how much my writing would change and improve after working with an inspirational team during my degree. And also how much the Grace Tallis series would have found its own direction while it was being written. Equally, I hadn’t realised how hard it would be to attempt a different writing style after being influenced by P. D. James.

The re-writes of Hell, were challenging, daunting and frustrating in equal measure. Normally I have a clear and very detailed plot to work from. Damaged as it was named for most of the rewrites was precisely that! There were a lot of words, some of them usable, some not. There were a lot of characters, some of them usable, some not. And there was a lot of action that vanished at the touch of the delete button.

I wished, for most of the time I was working on Damaged that I could just delete the lot of it and start again, but unfortunately I’m too bloody minded and so I’ve persevered. What is now titled, Why Did He Die? to fit in with the series re-vamp, will need another rewrite, but at least now it feels manageable. Instead of scattered jigsaw pieces with no picture to work from, I feel now I have something I can work with and mould into an actual plot. A day bingeing on a crime series awaits me when the final rewrite is completed.