Poltergeist 2 is written.

At long last, I've finished the writing of Poltergeist! The Dead of Winter (or Winter's Fury, as it may be renamed to.) It was supposed to be a 50,000 word novel and take about six months to write. Instead it's a 92,000 word novel and took about ten months to write. (A three hour tour, a three hour tour. :P) Nina's back, Cronenberg's back, and of course, Djinn is back. We have an all new cast to meet, new badguy, new friends, new awkward situations.

So what now?

Well, the next couple weeks, I'll be doing a read-through edit. Some of these scenes have been sitting in their files for most of a year, and they need to mesh well with the scenes I wrote *today*. I'll also be reviewing the new sections with my writing group. They make me a better writer. And then, the whole shebang will go to my editor, almost certainly E.C. Tobler again. She's a *very* good editor, and a friend. Cover art is coming along. I'm using new tools to do the cover layout: Afinity Publisher 2, to be exact. I could typeset the whole book in it, obviously, but I doubt I will. I have a *lot* of experience and automation with LaTeX.

When will it be out? It depends. My original goal was to have it out before Christmas, but that assumed six months or so from the time it was done to the time it went into print. The release may be late. I will not rush my 'back end' processes, nor will I rush E.C. Quality before quantity.

How many books am I planning?

Ok, here's how I number them. P1 is Poltergeist! Ask the Dust. P2 is Poltergeist! The Dead of Winter (or Winter's Fury, whichever.) P3 is the one I'm going to start next, tentatively titled Bikini Body. Px is the last book. It already has has several interesting scenes already written. That one seems likely to get written, but no promises. I have an idea for P4 that isn't Px, and there may be more. Px is flexible, and pulls in stuff from previous novels, so I can adapt it to however many there are between then and now.

Clear as mud?

Yeah, it is to me, too. :)

Anyway, watch for more news on the second Poltergeist! novel, coming soon/eventually to an Amazon near you.

-JRS