First I want to thank all of you that asked when the this third installment of Atalanta was coming and apologize for its lateness. Portions have been written for over two years but there are/were several reasons for the delays. Logistics played a big part in the delay as Atalanta was being considered for canon at one point but after deliberation she was turned down and that's okay. 18 months ago my daddy passed away and that drained my creative urges for a time.

An area of writing that probably doesn't get the ink it deserves is the credit an editor deserves; for me its huge. Ashleigh graciously edited the last installment; Book 2 and is on board editing this third book. So a great big thank you and shout out to Ashleigh; Ashleigh Thank You.So finding an editor was key.

An odd part of writing, at least for me, is that my character Atalanta has a mind of her own and I know when I cross that line my creative juices dries up.Neither of us (me and Atalanta) wanted to be at Whateley and I even wrote 50 pages starting from the last scene in book 2 and her arrival in New Mexico skipping Whateley but it didn't feel right. For one it felt like we were cheating, cheating readers of promises implicit or implied and both Atalanta and I of opportunity for growth in a situation neither of us considered ideal. As in real life events are not always to our liking but during those times we usually learn something important even if that lesson is to endure.

I don't write using an outline; many of her misadventures are as much a mystery to me as it is to you but that also requires me to absorb myself in the story line.

I originally planned to start posting chapters late last month and to break a soft rule to not start posting chapters until a story was finished or nearly so early but then my muse woke from her sleep dusted off her whip driving me mad with her demands. Honestly had I not scheduled paying my bills at the first of each month my lights, cable, and internet would have been disconnected. I haven't even checked my emails for two weeks that's how relentless she has been. I have written 18k in the last three weeks that may not sound like a lot at first glance but I review details of a scene, then write it or portions of it and then sleep on it and then rewrite it.Even worse are my keyboarding skills never progressed beyond hunt and peck method.

I hope to post the first chapter of 18 representing the first third of the book today then send what I have written to Ashleigh to edit, then I have to write a scene to connect the two parts as this section took off on its own. I don't have a schedule yet as I don't want to put too much on Ashleigh but I hope to have what is edited posted in about 2 months.

I know this rambled a bit but hopefully it helps to explain the delays and why my writing style doesn't help. Thank you for your support and encouragement and I really hope you enjoy this story.

Katie