Duck Boy is an urban fantasy. The writing of that book was difficult because one had to figure out a logic to the world that the main character inhabits and make sure it all worked, and all made sense. In this sort of novel one has to think through plot decisions to a large degree. A large part of the mental effort of a book like this comes from this sort of thinking.

But this book also required a great deal of research. I don’t know if the reader can tell that the text uses a lot of information from the alchemical tradition and its history. That was a lot of reading, too, I can tell you.

The book on the way, Kill Shot, is a work of historical fiction. Of course, it uses a ton of research, too. But, it was easier to work with the information. The story simply had to follow the historical outline I imported into the story. It was a much faster write. The plot was simply less complex, probably because it didn’t involve the fantasy element.

This is my emotional recollection of both experiences. What is your sense of the difference?