Edits Through Chapter 24 Complete

Spent quite a bit of time editing earlier chapters again. More details, world building, and character development. This added about 4k words, but was a net gain in reader experience, in my opinion.

Chapters 25-31 are in rough shape, and I’m not happy with them. There will be some full rewrites and at least one chapter removed. Hoping to have them done by end of January. Then I will look for beta readers, and plan to do a publisher search in spring/summer.

Here’s another passage to share:

“Chef, this is one of my favorite treats!” Unseen, she used a heat blast from her hand to scorch the top to a golden brown texture. Setting the tart on a counter, she waited while he studied it. His silence and mixed emotions were disconcerting, but she remained composed.

I’ve almost broken the 140K word barrier. I should be close to 130K by the end, maybe lower.