State of Evensen — March 30, 2025
Update on "Mark of the Shadow" –Progress, Breaks, and What's Next.
Dear Readers,
First and foremost, a heartfelt thank you for your patience over the past months. It’s been a while since our last update, but today I’m excited to share where we’ve been, what’s been happening, and what lies ahead for Mark of the Shadow.
If you’ve been wondering about the gap since November, here’s the story—in November, my co-writer welcomed a beautiful little one into the world (cue the applause and baby coos!).
Naturally, we decided to take a break from our weekly updates so she could adjust to this incredible new chapter in her life. Instead of continuing to juggle weekly posts, we shifted our focus entirely to pushing full steam ahead on the fifth draft of the novel. The idea was simple but meaningful—we wanted to make this story everything it deserves to be.
In fact, I’m very excited to report that Draft 5 of Mark of the Shadow is complete!
Draft 5 is 48,000 words shorter than Draft 4—that’s longer than “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams! Cutting that much material wasn’t easy, but most of it wasn’t serving the story. With those edits, it’s now much clearer what needs to happen next to finish Mark of the Shadow.
To get here, we also tried out a new manuscript analysis tool, and it’s been a game-changer. It helped us spot issues we were too close to see and showed exactly where to tighten, tweak, and bring everything into alignment. We’re excited about how much closer the story is to its final form!
🔮 What's on the Horizon?
Right now, we’re fully immersed in reading, rethinking, and syncing everything across the draft. Bringing a sprawling story like this into harmony is no small task, but it’s one we’re thrilled to take on. Moving forward, you can expect monthly updates on our progress as we work toward our goal to finalize and publish the final draft by mid-October, and we’re more committed than ever to crossing that finish line.
And don’t worry—even with the changes happening, we still plan to post all the remaining chapters from Draft 5, as promised. While this break meant stepping back from the weekly rhythm of posts, it also gave us the space to keep the novel on track for publication this year! Stay tuned. New Chapters will start dropping next week.
💭 Final Thoughts
Thank you again for sticking with us through this process. Writing can be a little messy at times, but your support means the world. Stay tuned for more updates—we can’t wait to share the next steps with you.
Thank you for reading and being part of this journey with me.
Until next time — Read on!
Oliver Evensen 🖋️
P.S. Don't forget to drop me a comment or share your thoughts on social media! Your feedback means the world to me. 💫 Thank you once again for joining me on this journey!