Funds received: $1,662. Needed for next chapter: $1,750.

I’m now e-mailing chapters to donors as soon as they’re completed, so those who have signed up for this service have received Chapter Eight. (If you’re a donor and haven’t signed up, what are you waiting for?)

I’ve written about two-thirds of Chapter Nine, but I’ve been severely distracted by preparing our house to be sold, and by a sudden rush of paid critiquing. The house prep is about 95% complete and I’ve started writing the last of the critiques (which means I’ve read the entire very long novel in question), so I’m hoping to have those out of the way soon, which will allow me to concentrate more on Realms of Light. Though there are still other distractions.

And to reiterate what I told someone in a comment thread: The longer it takes to finish Realms of Light, the longer it will be before I start another Ethshar story. I am not going to abandon this until at least 2010, and I’m not going to start another serial until this one’s finished. Anyone impatiently waiting for me to give up on Carlisle Hsing and get to The Final Calling will have a long wait.

Thanks for your support.

Just to not keep you in suspense, it appears unlikely that the next chapter will be posted tomorrow. Chapter Eight is written, but it’s due at $1,750, and the total take so far is $1,627.

I’ve made some minor revisions to previously-posted chapters, though, and I might manage to get those changes online. I’m not sure; it depends on whether I get some urgent household business out of the way.

I still haven’t finished writing Chapter Nine, partly because I ran into a small plot hitch, now solved; partly because I’ve been sick with the worst cold I’ve had in years; and partly because I’ve been very, very busy getting our house ready to put on the market. We’re planning to relocate. I do hope to finish the chapter soon, though.

I’m considering modifying my model here; I may start e-mailing chapters to donors as I finish them, regardless of how much money has come in in total, rather than making people who have done their share wait for the rest of the world. Let me know if that would interest you.

Okay, even though I haven’t received the requisite funds, I’ve posted Chapter Seven, because I felt like it.

Still haven’t finished writing Chapter Nine, but I’ve finished two of the three other writing projects I was working on this week, so I’m hoping to get to it soon.

Not really much else to report. Hope you like the chapter.

Okay, I’m a bit more awake and less harried.

The belated Chapter Six has indeed been posted, almost a month late. My apologies. I managed to keep up through Christmas, but then things got really busy with family business, travel, and getting our house ready to go on the market.

We had six rooms repainted, four rooms and a hallway recarpeted, the cabinets refinished, and new countertops and light fixtures installed. That made it difficult to get much done here, especially when some items were delayed and we couldn’t cook for several days.

And then I had to sort through my comic book collection, more than 14,000 of the little devils, because we don’t want them here when prospective buyers tour the house, and we don’t plan to take most of them with us when we move. I thought I had six to eight thousand, so the sorting, cataloging, and packing was a much bigger job than I’d expected. It’s done now, though, so I can get back to writing, which is, after all, at least theoretically, what I do for a living.

Meanwhile, I still don’t actually have $1,500 in hand. I have $1,487. Which is close enough that I posted the new chapter anyway; I feared that if I waited any longer the whole project would be given up for dead.

It’s not dead. Not even pining for the fjords. It’s just running a little slow. And not bringing in the great waves of cash I’d like.

In view of that, and the state of the economy, and that my plans to coordinate this with other serials seem to have gone completely by the boards, I think it’s time to reconsider my pricing. I am hereby lowering the price from $300 per chapter to $250 per chapter — which means I’m $13 short of posting Chapter Seven, and if that $13 comes in, Chapter Seven will be posted on Wednesday, February 4th.

(I know Chapter Six was posted on a Friday. I don’t care. It should have been Wednesday. Maybe if I hadn’t been so busy with the comics…)

I am, by the way, still in the middle of writing Chapter Nine.

So there we are. My apologies for the delay, and I hope we can get back on track.

There’s much more I should say, but it’s late and I want to get to bed, so I’ll just say that Chapter Six has finally been posted.

More on Friday.

Chapter Five has been posted.

I’m actually still three bucks short, but that’s not worth fussing about.

I’m part of the way through writing Chapter Nine, and the plot has mutated in interesting ways, adding several complications to what I’d originally planned.

I’m still not seeing much in the way of discussion, which worries me.

Well, here it is Wednesday, and I’ve only taken in $1,157 of the $1,200 needed for Chapter Five.

I might be a little more upset if it weren’t for the holidays; I’ve been too busy to give this project all that much thought today, and I suspect that’s true of several readers, as well. Kiri arrived Tuesday night and will only be here a few days, Julian’s here for about a three-week stay, and spending time with my kids seems more urgent right now than writing or posting.

Chapter Eight, by the way, is about 90% complete.

I suspect the lacking $43 will arrive soon enough, but for now — no chapter.

Chapter Four has now been posted.

Seven chapters are written; I’m a couple of pages into Chapter Eight. The plot is developing in ways that weren’t in my original outline, but I think it’s all to the good. I’m estimating twenty-five chapters, but that’s really just an educated guess.

(I know some writers outline everything chapter by chapter, but I don’t work that way. Never have.)

I may have been a little too pessimistic about the slow start; things are looking up. A few people have been very generous indeed, which helps.

I tweaked the colors slightly; anyone still have a problem with them?

Next chapter at: $1,200.
Current total: $1,030.