Of Thorns and Shadows

Well, I continue to plug away at Thorn and Shadow. I'm 56,300 words into the novel, a little over halfway. It's strange how I see myself returning to the same themes over and over. This is unintentional. It's like a kid who keeps picking at the same scabs. I can't help it. I find myself wrestling with the same thoughts, the same feelings, the same ideas. The particular stories are different, however, so it's almost like I come at the same things from different angles. I wonder if other writers experience this phenomenon. I assume they do.

I have written fourteen chapters. Here are the current chapter titles:

1 - The Shapes of Men
2- Scattered
3 - The Spirit of the Old Planter
4 - Volunteers
5 - Blood on the Roots
6 - Secret Places
7 - Of Water and Voices
8 - Light and Spirit
9 - The First Stirring
10 - Pursuit
11 - To the Wall
12 - The Clearing
13 - Dust
14 - Breaking the Wall

Not sure why I post chapter titles like that. It helps me to just keep track of where I've been, I suppose. Now, you might be saying, "Well, what is Thorn and Shadow all about?" It's about the Garden of the Old Planter on Haven Ridge, and the girl, Adhi, who is tasked with defending it from the thousand-strong army of Deti Maranam, Lord beneath the Sand. Adhi, by the way, in the Tamil language means "the start of everything."

In other news, I just received twenty more copies of Mary of the Aether. I will need them for the literacy event at the school coming up next week.