I’m running way behind on editing and writing Holiday Heat; it’s already July and I’m just now posting the six words. Last month was busy though, what with TASSP, the June edition, and the second print volume. Plus, getting my PMP took a lot of work. Still, here are the six words for July:

• THAT — 648 to start, 611 to finish — removed 37
  • Last month it was 613/552/61. Since “that” is the word I overuse most, it helps sometimes to chart my progress. However, in reviewing the July edition, there were far fewer “that” instances to remove, which suggests that my writing is getting better — or that I’m getting lazy. Could be either.
• JUST — 236 to start, 218 to finish — removed 18
• VERY — 150 to start, 139 to finish — removed 11
  • Most of these were actually forms of “every” or “delivery”.
• WHICH — 66 to start, 60 to finish — removed 6
  • Removing “which” is hard, because I usually replace it with “that”, “just”, or “only”, all of which are words I’m trying to use less often. It’s annoying.
• REALLY — 87 to start, 77 to finish — removed 10
  • I’m still trying not to use “really” as an adverb, and instead only use it in dialogue. Success has been mixed.
• ONLY – 71 to start, 69 to finish — removed 2
  • I have a tendency to replace “just” with “only”, which is why I do “just” second and “only” sixth.

My next step for June is to put the book into the Kindle Creator app and turn it into a manuscript so I can create a pre-order page. My artist has the cover model choices for July; she just has to put together the actual file. In the meantime, if you want a printed copy of the series, volume 1 and volume 2 are now available.