Even though I know that A Long Lost Time is an extremely long book, it’s only when editing it I realised quite how long! That’s been my task this week, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It feels strange to know I’ll be editing it for the last time and then after that it’s all go towards release date.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to look back and share some stats with you about The Luke Bright Series, because on the outside it may look all clean and polished but it took many years to get there. I think it’s important to remember, for all books, how much goes into them. I know I especially find myself expecting the new books I write to be perfect at first draft, but keeping those realistic stats in mind will help manage expectations.

So, Atlantic Split, which I began in 2007, came to around 12 drafts. The first draft was 28 pages and 15K words. In the end when I published it 11 years later, it worked out as being 103K words and 480 published pages.

At Liberty To Live took slightly less time from draft to publication as I started that in 2008 and published in 2018 but had roughly the same number of drafts. That first draft was 54 pages and came to around 28K words. In the end, it ended up as 121K words and 520 published pages.

Then moving onto An Undercover Dream which I began in 2008 too. This one had only slightly more drafts and in the end it was around 13 drafts. My first full draft actually happened around 2010, and was at 128 pages and 69K words (so it would’ve made NaNoWriMo for sure). In the end it was 568 pages roughly.

So, then I come to the end of A Long Lost Time – whilst the full word count and page count are to be revealed, I can honestly say that my first draft which I began in 2009 I never finished. It was only when I got to 2014 that I really decided to make a full draft of the book. Partly because I didn’t want to ‘end’ it, but partly because I was still coming up with plot points. That first draft from 2014 was a chunky beast – 192K and around 536 pages – unpublished. It was the only first draft I had to cut down from rather than add to. Guess that’s what growing up does to you and some extra time to think.

It’s been an intense and fantastic journey, one I wouldn’t change for the world and one I’ll cherish forever. Bring on the next couple of months!

Atlantic Split, At Liberty To Live and An Undercover Dream, the first three books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! The final book of the series A Long Lost Time will be released in 2020!

Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post

N.A.K