"Vultures" - Is it finished?

This seemed an appropriate blog post for today. It's in response to an interested reader (I love interested readers):

Yes, it is. "Vultures" started in 2004. It took two years and 8,432 revisions (I'm not exaggerating much) to come close to being finished. In early 2006 I stuck a printed copy on the bookshelf where it did a great job of collecting dust. I knew it still had some problems, but I was so close to it I couldn't tell what they were (I couldn't see the forest for the trees).
I queried literary agents a couple of times, but never got anybody to look at it. When I saw this contest come up last October I signed up right away; the rules gave me seven days to submit. I spent those seven days reading and revising. I realized that the problems I had with the manuscript were minor chronology issues that were easily fixed (I was relieved). I'm sure there are some minor typos, too, since I was the last person to look at it, but generally I was happy and sent it off.
I won't post links here (not doing so well with that;)), but if you're interested you can go over to my blog and look at October's Archives to read about some of that process. There's one entry over there, "Plot Threads," that talks a little bit about the planning process for "Vultures" and for another novel that I was doing prep work on.
I'm very glad to hear that you liked what you read so far (the excerpt on amazon is 5,000 words). I won't say much more, but I will add that if you like it so far, you won't be disappointed in the rest of the book (about 50,000 words). The plot is tight and the ending does not disappoint.
I'm excited to have made it this far in the contest. There are some other good books over there, too. I started to read a few with the intention of reviewing before I realized that I have no hope of being objective. Even though I'm an avid reader, I am too emotionally vested in my entry to provide fair and rational feedback for a competitor.

As for Amazon reviews: I was just informed last night by a friend that unless you have made a purchase at amazon.com in the past, then you cannot write a review. At first I was disappointed, but then I realized that might actually be a good thing: It just tightens up the reviewers. If you’ve made book purchases from amazon, it’s a good bet that you’re a reader and just by that virtue, you’re vested in an honest review.
So, if you ARE an amazon customer, please write a review. If not, please know that I appreciate your cheers and encouragement. I appreciate (need) every bit of feedback that I get.
Writing is an effort of isolation. Most of the time, that’s okay with me. Sometimes, it’s hard to maintain the necessary momentum. Occasionally, feedback is the kick in the azz that I need to keep plugging. Taking “Vultures” to the semi-finals (so far) has served as much needed validation for the work that I’ve done. And continue to do.
Thank you very much for the feedback. I'd be interested to hear detailed reactions, too. If you want to, you can post it here or you can email me. Hearing others talk about my writing helps me to improve (so, yes, I want positive as well as negative).

I think I’ll go post this over on my blog for today’s post…..

Thank you for your interest!