First chapter down!

To Target the Heart finally has a complete first chapter!

I expected it to happen about a week earlier, and probably would’ve been if my birthday hadn’t seen me with pharyngitis. Being sick on my birthday is seriously getting old, I mean last year I was struck with the flu for two weeks. What’s going to happen on my 34th? Plague?

Anyway, I’m starting to feel better now. Throat’s still crazy, though. I’ve currently a thistle in there whenever I use it, as opposed to half a gorse bush. Learnt that my daughter will respond to a click of the fingers in lieu of her name. And generally faster. Not sure what to do with that information…

I digress!

I’d thought the chapters of To Target the Heart might sit around the same size as In Pain and Blood’s (4300) and I wasn’t too far off that estimate (4700). Hopefully, it won’t spawn quite as many chapters, though. We’re at 45 already and this story goes over a longer period than In Pain and Blood’s three months.

But it’s so much fun being in Hamish’s pov, he’s comfortable in his current setting, walking the same path he’s trod year in, year out. He’s met Darshan, but I’ve not yet shaken his world.

Weaving Hamish’s family into the narrative has been interesting, there’s only nine on his side, but they’re a little closer than Darshan is with his dozen sisters. Gordon, for instance, is turning into something of a wingman. I’ve only introduced a few in the first chapter, but the niece and nephews are lined up to pop in at chapter three.

Although, I’ve Darshan’s pov in chapter two and it’s even more fun given that he’s a complete fish out of water here, shoved into a position he’s unprepared for, barely knows the language, has only been briefed on the culture, surrounded by big hairy men who are definitely the type he falls over himself for and also totally off-limits because everyone knows there are no gays in Tirglas…

*snicker* So glad this isn’t a vlog, I couldn’t even keep a straight face typing that.

Having major cultural differences wasn’t something I played with all that much during In Pain and Blood. Tracker and Dylan are from the same kingdom, after all. But with Hamish from Tirglas and Darshan from the Udynea Empire… things are going to get muddled between them. Fortunately for me, they’re a mature pair of men who do tend to clarify what the other means rather than go off half-cocked.