Hunters Unlucky - a novel in progress

Part 6, Chapter 6

Abbie — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:00:41 +0000

Chapter 6. Council in Hiding

“Treace’s followers killed the sentry at the foot of the trail to the council ledge first,” said Halvery, “to prevent Arcove from getting a warning. Roup and Ariand’s clutters were stationed in that part of the boulders. I’m sure Treace’s cats were trying to kill them quietly. They probably ambushed a few before anyone knew what was going on, but Lyndi saw what was happening and ran to get me.”

Hey, this book has an end!

Abbie — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:17:15 +0000

Hello, Hunters Readers!

I just typed "THE END" on Hunters Unlucky. 213,499 words, and it will be a little shorter after polish. Part 6 has 28 chapters (unless I decide to split one of them...which I might).

The book took me 16.5 months to write, which is embarrassingly slow. I believe the original took me 14 months to write when I was 14/15. Ack! I'll blame part of that slowness on starting the book at the end of my first travel job. I've had to re-train myself to write while traveling. I also wrote 2 novelettes during that time, so I wasn't 100% focused on Hunters.

Anyway, the book is done. It needs final tweaking for the last few chapters, and then it will be put away to marinate. I'm thinking a month. Then I will go back through it for a continuity edit, taking into consideration comments on this site. That will probably take 2-3 weeks.

Then I'll send it off to my primary beta readers - the ones who give me content feedback. I'll also send it to my cover artist, along with a synopsis. Hopefully by the time all the rest of the edits are finish, she'll have a cover for me.

I'll implement any suggestions from the primary beta readers that seem good to me. Then, depending on how much material I've changed and how I feel about it, I may do a final edit for typos and correction of any continuity errors that I may have introduced with my edits.

After that (or if I feel good about it already), I'll send it to my typo search-and-destory team. I'll fix the many typoes they are sure to find. Then I'll format it for ebook and print, and it'll be available for purchase! I will also set some sort of audio plan into motion. I haven't decided yet what that will entail.

While all this is happening, the chapters and commentary will continue to appear weekly on this blog until the whole book has been released, which should happen in October. At some point before that, I may begin taking down the early chapters, so that I don't get in trouble with Amazon when the book goes up for sale. When their bots find one of their paid books free online, they send the author love notes threats.

After all of you who've been reading along with me have a chance to finish the story, I will take it down off my site. I plan to make the chapter commentary (including some of the comment threads from readers) available as a free PDF download on my website, but not the old text of the story. If any of you do not want your comments preserved and included, please let me know.

If you would like to be part of the typo search-and-destroy team, ping me at abigail dot hilton at gmail dot com, and I'll put you on the list. If you are one of my regular typo hunters, you'll get an email about it anyway. I will send out another heads up when I'm ready to have the final manuscript typo-edited, so you could just wait and speak up then.

I hope you're enjoying the story. It does have a satisfying conclusion (well, it satified me, anyway). :D

Best,

Abbie

Part 6, Chapter 5

Abbie — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:00:12 +0000

Chapter 5. Loyalty

In the chilliest time of night, just before dawn, Charder crouched on the cold stone near the northern mouth of the tunnel. He wrapped his tail around his legs, and tried to stay awake. He was thinking that this all felt familiar—as though the past and the future were colliding. I have waited, hungry and cold, in such caves before.

Part 6, Chapter 4

Abbie — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:00:29 +0000

Chapter 4. The Fiord

Their run took them along the foot of the cliffs into creasia territory, through mazes that Storm did not know well. Roup said that this was technically Sharmel’s territory, though it was riddled with telshee caves, so close to the Garu Vell. No cats denned here.

Part 6, Chapter 3

Abbie — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 08:00:48 +0000

Chapter 3. Run

A young male creasia lay sprawled across the path, eyes glazed, chest soaked with blood. Deep scratches cut into the muscle and meat of his flanks. Roup bounded forward. “Nevin?”

The cat did not answer. Roup was bristling all over as he bent to sniff him.

Arcove growled and started running. “Roup!” he bellowed over his shoulder. “With me! Now!”

Part 6, Chapter 2

Abbie — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:00:09 +0000

Chapter 2. The Truth at Last

The traditional council ledge was on the ferryshaft side of the waterfall. The trail ascended the cliffs from a point just north of the trees and climbed to a ledge about a third of the way up the cliffs.

Storm followed Roup and Kelsy out of the trees and across a grassy patch of plain to the boulder mazes. He glanced back once and saw the ferryshaft herd scattered over the plain to the east. He turned towards the trees and saw Myla, looking small and alone, and Tollee, a darker shape behind her. It’s for the best, he told himself again. Our species don’t mix.

Part 6, Chapter 1

Abbie — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:00:16 +0000

Part VI. Treace

Chapter 1. Winter Conference

Storm walked along the Igby beneath the tall riverside trees, through mounds of fall leaves, and thought. It was a perfectly clear day with a fathomless blue sky, and a crisp breeze that parted his winter coat in ripples. Teek bounded along ahead of him, scattering leaves and pouncing on anything that scampered or fluttered out of them. He was as large as a lamb now—robust and healthy with a dense winter coat of his own.

"Hungry" - a Hunters Short Story

Abbie — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 04:33:35 +0000

So...I've got a short story for you. But not for all of you.

I wrote this vingette last August with no intention of showing it to anyone, but, by-and-by, it got polished and finished, and I ran it by a few beta readers, and they were not horrified, so...here we are.

Part 5, Chapter 18

Abbie — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:01:00 +0000

Chapter 18. Mistakes of the Past

Over the next few days, the ferryshaft herd drifted in, and Storm almost forgot his worries for the future. The air was warm and the water of the lake delightfully cool. Frogs and insects filled the evenings with sounds that Storm associated with contentment and plenty. Fireflies winked under the trees at night. The grass was sweet and tender, and small game was plentiful in Chelby Wood.

Part 5, Chapter 17

Abbie — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:00:34 +0000

Chapter 17. Teek and the Lowland Curbs

On the day that Storm left the cliffs, he came to the curbs’ den to say good-bye. He’d not been hunting with them for most of the spring, but they greeted him warmly and introduced him to seven puppies, who were now beginning to hunt outside the den. Storm could not tell most of the puppies apart, but Teek remembered a few of their names, and they seemed to remember him.