Arriving at the Station Late

I fear I may be too late. For those who don't know, I am writing a book. Actually, I have been writing a book for a few years now. I know, I'm pretty slow, right? Well, I just couldn't get the right... way, I guess of doing it. The right tone, the right plot, the right characters, the right everything. Just recently I finished rewriting what I have so far (for the third time) and I think I finally have the story exactly where I want it. I like my book again! I'm pretty sure I can finish it now. But there is one problem.

I fear I may be too late. You see, the book (really books, its a series) are based on greek mythology. I tweaked the stories so its a bit like superheroes meets ancient epic. I love it, I think its going to be a very exciting Young Adult Fantasy series. But now...

Have you ever heard of Percy Jackson and the Olympians? Its a kid's book series about a kid who finds out he's a half-blood, a demi-god, related to one of the greek gods. And from there is thrown into a whirlwind adventure where he discovers the myth world secretly hidden inside human culture, right down to Medusa cooking burgers, pens that transform into swords and a camp run by Dionysus. This gave me a little pause a few years ago and I read the first book. To my relief, Rick Riordan has taken greek mythology an entirely different route from where my books are going (whew!) But the problem with it is ... its becoming a movie. Not everyone know books, but a lot of people know movies. And just as this greek myth movie is coming out, Clash of the Titans is scheduled to release as well!

What if no one wants my books because by the time they're done, greek myth has also already been done? I feel like I'm going to be one of those sub-par vampire novels that came out after Twilight hit it big, just another shlob riding a success's coat tails for a little cash.

Crap! Why did I wait this long? I'm pretty sure, if I had just hunkered down and done it, I could have finished this book a couple years ago. But I procrastinated and now... I don't know.

What do I do now? I'm going to finish them no matter what. Even if they never leave my own house, they'll be something I can read to my kids one day. But I was hoping maybe this was something I could get into. Now I feel like the train has already left the station and somebody else took the ticket that was waiting for me.