It’s been a while since I last updated (despite any promises I may have made), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that progress on the novel has been equally quiet. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. For the first time since I started conceptualizing and writing Through Bended Grass the finish line is firmly in sight. Of the 28 planned chapters, I’m currently working on Chapter 24 (currently untitled). Yeah, that’s close, only 4 more + and epilogue to go.To give you another perspective on how close the end is, the chapter I just wrapped up (Chapter 23) is titled, wait for it, Through Bended Grass. Generally, it’s safe to say that when a chapter shares a title with the novel itself, it’s probably an important one… and it’s no different here. Chapter 23 sees Rowan make a final pass from Ireland and back into the Fey world to confront her biggest challenge yet.

Through the whole novel, Rowan is desperately searching for her missing son, Lewis, and from Chapter 24 on her questions begin to be answered and, well, she’s not exactly going to like everything she hears.As you can probably guess, Through Bended Grass (the chapter, not the book!) is the first time the title of the novel begins to make any sort of sense. Of course, I spread hints through the rest of the book, and one character in particular gives you a good glance (hah! pun not intended ) at the meaning, but it isn’t laid out before the reader until this chapter.

In fact, the scene where the meaning becomes clear, as Rowan passes back into the Fey world, is one of my favourite scenes in the novel, and one of the few times where I feel that the words on the page do justice to the vision I had in my head.I won’t lie, that chapter took me a long time to write, with many days staring at my computer screen and little progress at the end of my writing session. Still, I think all that time was well spent.

Of course, since the climax of the novel is approaching, there’s also a lot of action, some great revelations about the characters (if I can toot my own horn, of course) and a, hopefully, satisfyingly ragged ending. Rowan’s story isn’t always a happy one, it isn’t always a perfect one, but I do think it’s a compelling one. Through Bended Grass ends here, with most everything wrapped up, but I have a feeling that Rowan, and other characters in the novel, aren’t quite done with me yet.Now, I’m not suggesting I’ll be writing another story about Rowan or the Fey world, in fact, I have another story brewing in my head that stars a new protagonist and takes place in Morocco/Japan, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few familiar faces popping up in the future.

You see, I’ve always been a fan of standalone stories that are bridged in little ways. Terry Brooks did a good job of this early in his career, with novels that stood well on their own for newcomers, but with just enough connections to past works to satisfy longtime readers. That all being said, it’s probably best to concentrate on finishing and selling one novel, before jumping into the deep end with sequels.

Speaking of selling the novel, at the suggestion of my good friend, Shawn Speakman, my plan is to try to have a solid draft of Through Bended Grass done by October. Why? Well, a huge writer’s conference happens in Surrey, BC every year and this time around Terry Brooks is attending, and, well, any advice and help I can get from a fellow like him would be a huge leap forward in actually seeing my manuscript turn into a published novel.In any case, I’ve still got a lot of work ahead of me… but I’m bloody eager to do it.

The end is in sight, now I’ve just got to get there.