The time’s gone really quickly, but I’ve been working on my third novel, Human Zoo, for about two months.
My original goal, when I found out I was moving to Canada, was to write multiple novels by the end of 2022. As with all creative plans of mine, the reality has transpired to be much different. It’s almost October and I’ve almost finished the second draft of the first novel I’ve written since I moved here. Slower progress than I’d hoped for overall, but Human Zoo has turned out much better than I’d ever dreamed it could.
I don’t mean to blow my own horn, but I think Human Zoo is a pretty good novel. It is by my standards, at any rate. I won’t give anything away, as I haven’t sent it to any beta readers yet, but suffice to say the clue as to what it’s about is in the title. Pretty obvious, eh?
Human Zoo warped, shape-shifted, and evolved from the original novel I’d set out to write. In the end, it transformed as a prequel of sorts to the second ever novel I wrote, Like Pigs. Both are set in a dystopian Britain in which fascists seized power. The novels address separate issues, but their themes are very interconnected.
So, my second draft of Human Zoo is almost complete. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Before long, I’ll be in a position to approach literary agents and publishers with it.
Once Human Zoo’s second draft is complete and beta readers are mulling it over, I’m going to shelve the project for a while, so I can return to it at a later date with fresh eyes.
I have already started on the sequel to my first novel, The Black Rook, which will be traditionally published sometime soon. So that will be my focus for much of the rest of 2022. I would also like to try and draft another standalone novel at some point soon. Not sure how or if I’ll ever have the time, though!
Davey Cobb 