Membership has benefits

Despite any claims to the contrary I may have made back in June, the only habit 've picked up is avoiding doing anything, and that's not new.

Well, a new leaf has been turned, rolled up and dunked in hot water to make a cup of tea. And now I'm fully refreshed in a classically British way, I can move on.

Last night I finally reached what I am provisionally calling the end of Book One of The Carpenter's Apprentice. All the main characters are established, truths revealed, skills demonstrated, bad guys smacked around, cue massive battle and time to get on with the plot.
It's been about 8 years since I first started work on this book, for the BBC's New Talent scheme where they wanted some children's novels as submissions. Kind of glad I didn't advance. I'm sure I would have finished the book back then if I had, but it was much more your generic fantasy plot, with 8 years of procrastination and thought the characters are much more developed and there is a massive overarching plot for the whole world.
It was this giant backstory that had me stumped for so long, it had grown so big and complicated that I lost sight of the smaller story I was actually telling with this book.

Today sees the start of plotting and writing for Book Two, another 45000 words and I should have a completed novel to start harrassing agents with.
However, crippling doubts have crept in, the only reason I managed to finish Book One is a series of bribes, promises and threats I made to myself. To save myself from this I'm collecting a bunch of readers from my gaming clan to read Book One and let me know if it is actually worth my time to continue on with this story, or if it's time to pack it away and make a start on one of the three other projects I have waiting for me to start.