Ring of Darkness was another book that took a very long time
to arrive in its current form. I think I had the basic idea, of an arranged
marriage and a magical threat, cooked up some time in Jr. High (yeah, they call
it middle school now—whatever). In fact, I have another partial manuscript
lying around somewhere with a similar plot seed.
The story itself, though, didn’t come to fruition until
about 1993. I remember writing big chunks of it while I was at home on
maternity leave with my now 18-year-old son. I would type with one hand while
he was nursing in the bend of the other arm. I had set a goal at that time of
writing at least one page in my steno notebook (about 220 words) every day, but
even a paragraph or two felt like a major accomplishment. (I was obsessed with
steno notebooks back then. I wrote everything in them, because they fit in my
purse and I could carry them anywhere. I gravitate to Moleskines now for the
same reason.)
The very first version of this book I shared with an online
group I belonged to at the time (still belong to, actually). The read it
chapter by chapter and provided feedback. When I finished and had done my
editing pass, I sent it out to a few publishers, with no luck. It went into the
drawer for a while after that.
I know I fiddled with the book off and on for a while, but
the revision I really remember occurred in the winter of 2001. Ring of Darkness
was the first book I dove back into after 9/11, and served as part of my
emotional recovery. I don’t recall what changes I made, but I remember being
profoundly relieved that I could write at all. It had been hard to put words
together for a while.
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