Extract from ‘Blood Moon at Eyre Hall’ #amediting #amwriting

Writing the first draft of the fourth novel, which is the prequel to the Eyre Hall Trilogy, my sequel to Jane Eyre, was challenging but fun. The exploration of the characters’ backstories and the gradual unveiling of the plot was thrilling. But editing is another story.

I am currently grinding my teeth and pulling out my hair, because I’m sending my editor the second and final edit on Monday. 

Why does self-editing get more difficult with every novel I write? Answers in the comments, please! 

Meanwhile, I’m taking a brief break to post a short extract from Chapter 12 of Blood Moon at Eyre Hall. Narrated by Michael, Mrs Rochester’s valet.

“My husband’s first wife, was a very unfortunate woman. It pains me to remember her.”

Mrs Rochester turned to me. “You look surprised, Michael. So was I when I met her, just once.”

Her eyes followed the tumbling flight of the chestnut leaves blowing across the lawn. “The leaves remind me of some lines from Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind, ‘If I were a dead leaf, Or a swift cloud to fly with thee, Uncontrollable in my wanderings, Oh, lift me like a wave, a leaf, a cloud!’”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “’I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!’ Or words to that effect.”

I had read her copy of ‘Prometheus Unbound’ many times. “The last line reads something like, ‘When winter passes, can spring be far behind?’”

Her face bloomed like a summer rose. “Indeed, Michael; the calm after the storm, the annual rebirth of life. Perhaps spring will bring new hope.”

Release date, 24^th May 2021