After twelve days of writing like a loon, my first m/m novel, Scared, came in at 67K. It's one of those books that, as soon as the plot formed, I had the urge to keep going until it was done. No stops, no procrastinating. I had the plan to write a 3K chapter every day, but obviously some days went to two or three chapters. I wrote it arse-backwards all the way, skipping chapters so the loudest characters got their say first, then went back to fill in the ones who didn't have the courage to bully me into writing their parts. Bless them.

There are six main characters, something I didn't expect when I started. Originally it was meant to be a novel about Toby and Russell from my short story Grave Findings, expanding on that book and what happened after that one ended. Whoa, lots happened, and a small part of Grave Findings, where Toby stops a couple of men harassing a young boy, turned into the basis of the plot in Scared. Boys abducted in order to be sold on in the sex trafficking trade.

It isn't a pleasant subject, and I'm praying I handled it well, but it's something that has bothered me for a long time. I read a true-crime book once, that stated more boys are abducted than girls, just for this purpose. It's shocking and frightening, and when you delve into this terrible world, you realise there's so much nasty stuff going on right under your nose.

Tomorrow I'll be going through the book again from start to finish, making sure, because of me skipping chapters, everything runs in sequence and makes sense. The second draft also gives me the opportunity to add extras, things I tend to skimp on with the first draft, because I want to just get the main story down.

I felt lost when I finished. The book has literally controlled my life the past few days, and now maybe I can get to sleep without thinking on what happens next. Unfortunately, I don't think that will be the case. The bad guy in Scared, "Frost", decided he has a tale of his own to tell, so don't be surprised if I do another mad few days writing another novel all about him. But that can wait for a little while. I need to give my poor brain a rest, not to mention my fingertips.

But, ahhhhhhhhhhh, it feels so good to have got that story out of my head and onto the page. I've just got to hope readers like it, despite the horrific subject matter. Eep!