Hi, guys!
I’ve done something I maybe shouldn’t have. Or maybe I should have. Who knows.
At any rate, I’m excited about it. Lol.
I started writing a new story.
Yes, I should continue writing my sci-fi series, and I will. But it’s going back on the back burner for the time being. I’ll still add to it and work on it as I go, but this other story is calling me.
You see, I’m not a technology person. I’m a magic person.
I’d much rather plan out a magic system and create gods than calculate space travel times mid-writing session. There’s a reason most of my books are high fantasy.
I just love magic.
I love the idea of being more than just…human. That’s why the humans in most of my fantasy novels have access to magic or abilities. That’s why I write about humanoids (elves, orcs, and races I make up).
It’s also why this new story has NO HUMANS
.The characters are humanoids. They have pointed ears because I fucking love pointed ears. But they also have antlers and access to magic and all sorts of awesome shit.
I mean, these people redesign a fucking landscape, and I’m excited about it.
I know that doesn’t sound as epic as it actually is in the book, but I promise, it’s to die for.
Btw, after this book comes out, reread this blog. I promise that joke will hit differently. Lol.
You may think I’m a bit twisted for it.
But let’s be fair. If you read any of my books, you probably think I’m a bit twisted.
Anyway, the point is, sometimes you just have to write what you want to write. And this story is what I want to write.
I’m not condoning the abandonment of every project after it loses the “oooh shiny” effect of a new story. You do actually need to finish stories.
Which means actually writing them.
But I’m always worried that it’ll show through if I’m writing one story while my heart beats in another.
And I know I’ll knock this one out pretty quickly because it’s a fantasy romance story and I fucking love fantasy and romance. Plus, all the major scenes have already played through my mind.
I’m already 5,000 words deep (started handwriting eight days ago, started typing six days ago). The world is built, the Gods and magic system are in place, both mortal races have been created, and the main cast is assembled.
I have a title and ideas for the cover. I even made a little thing on Canva, stockpiling images I’m going to photoshop together for the cover. Lol.
And a kickass playlist is under way with songs specifically chosen for the story.
Basically, I’m pumped!
I’ve been in a loop of editing for months, trying to prep all my stockpiled manuscripts for release now that I’m officially self-publishing everything. I’ve done a round of editing on one story, then another, then another, then went back, and started the loop again, and then threw in a round of edits on a different one and…
Well, I’ve been feeling like an editor rather than an author. (Really, I’m a broke self-published author, which means I have to be an entire publishing company rolled into one person.)
But I was feeling like a fraud, like I wasn’t a real author because I was spending so much time editing and so little time writing.
I was even worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything or that I wouldn’t be able to write it if I did come up with an idea.
Yeah, I worked on The Regonia Chronicles off and on to keep the insanity at bay. (Seriously. Writing, creating worlds calms my anxiety. It gives my overactive mind something to focus on besides how terribly every aspect of my life could go wrong. ) The bits and pieces I wrote for Regonia, the chapters I added helped.
But the creative energy has been building.
And now, it’s all pouring out. Lol.
Don’t worry though.
I’m not screeching to a halt with my release prep. I’m still editing and all that.
The edits on Where Darkness Leads are pretty in depth, honestly. I wrote that one several years ago and I’ve learned a lot since I wrote it. Which is good for the stuff I’m working on now and for my edits.
But it also means that this round of editing is going to take some time.
Where Darkness Leads is going to take some serious work to whip it into release-ready shape, and…I have to write, too. I can’t just edit for months on end.
That ain’t me.
So, this super ambitious “release one of my stockpiled manuscripts every three months” plan I came up with (btw, I never officially announced that tentative release schedule, but that’s roughly what it was going to be) will likely have to be a bit more spaced out.
All beta reader feedback for Salt and Silver (to be retitled later, but this one has the wolf shifters and the demi-demon MC) has been received and considered. Necessary adjustments have been made.
I have all the swag I ordered for The Gem of Meruna, but I’m waiting for my book order to get here before I announce the giveaway. Holiday rush and all that means that the printing is slow and the shipping slower.
But it’s coming.
As with the giveaway when Soul Bearer released, winners will be chosen from Facebook, Instagram, and my email subscribers. And yes, there will be an extra prize for the winner chosen from my email subscriber list.
I’ll be officially announcing the new title for my post-apocalyptic story later this week. Once I do a final sweep for typos, I’ll be formatting, adjusting the cover size for final page counts, and revealing the cover to all you lovelies!
Keep an eye out for it. I’m pretty psyched about how it turned out (much thanks to my husband and my writing friends for all their feedback during the cover creation process, btw).
After that, I’ll have an official release date and set it up for preorder.
If you’ve been looking for a dark, dark, DARK post-apocalyptic romance novel, this is the one for you. Just saying. A book group I’m in requires a list of triggers on any book posts, so I was thinking through the list…and it’s almost all the triggers.
That wasn’t my intention when writing it, but that’s what happened. I didn’t even realize it until thinking through the list, either.
So…yeah. Readers beware, I guess? Lol.
Whew…that was a lot. As you can tell, I’ve been incredibly busy. They’ve been cutting back a little on overtime at work, so that’s helped me get stuff done. But it’s still been a hell of an undertaking.
But you know what?
I’m making my dream happen.
So I’m going to keep pushing and doing…all things bookish.
Just as you should do what you need to do to make your dreams happen.
Keep reading. Keep writing.
Later.