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Writing process

You’re taking over our story

Rossi, Rossi, Rossi. What are you doing to us? You’re taking over our story.

It’s not your story.

It’s Acquard’s story. And Tommy’s story. Plus a couple of side tales about Professor Gryffdd Tan and your old boss, Leo Rickenback. You remember Rickenback, don’t you? The man who sold your contract to the enemy. You hate him. At least, you’re supposed to. And he did reputedly try to poison you, even if you yourself said he wouldn’t have the balls to do it.

I repeat. It’s not your story.

So what are you doing taking over?

 

It’s not even the first time you’ve tried it. You did it before, in our first book in this series.

I’ve got news for you. No-one liked you. They skipped over your parts. We kept chopping you down, again and again. In the last edit we took out nearly 10,000 of your words. By the end of that rewrite you were just a shadow of your former self.

Now you’re doing it again.

We have already chopped out 20,000 of your words in this novel, and I can see another 20,000 going, maybe more.

I say again. This is not your story.

 

Let me tell you some facts.

You’re arrogant and opinionated. You’re the master of the verbal put-down. You’re politically ambitious and don’t care who you trample on your way to the top. You have an extremely high opinion of yourself and your abilities. In short, you are not someone we want to spend a whole book with. And let’s be honest, you’re so full of yourself you really have nothing to say. You’re only in this book because Acquard needs a linesman and you’re the only one around.

I don’t know how you manage to weasel your way into where the action is, but you’re always there.

We definitely don’t want to hear about it from your point-of-view.

Sorry Rossi. But you’re going. Again.

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