5/20/18

Given the number of questions (and quite a few demands) regarding when Ge-Mi: Part Two is coming out, I know many of you are anxious for the second half to be in your hands.  My answer for the last few months was "I'm working on it", but progress has been painfully slow.  That's finally changed.  I wrote 6k words this month and have planned the next part out.  The story is basically at the halfway point where all the set up is complete and now it's time for the drama to really begin.  Drama isn't easy to write because of the complexities that go into it, but it keeps my interest better than set up.  If I can keep the momentum going, I can really make a lot of progress in this story. 

Last month I went through The Sentinel's Prophesy one last time to try to smooth out some of the bumpy bits and set the story aside.  The plan was to pick it up mid-May--so as soon as I get a free moment--and give it one last thorough edit.  I'll get it formatted for submission and then I'll see whether LT3 will accept it. 

The problem with continuing work on Ge-Mi or Prophesy is that I got more edits and those take precedence.  Instead of going for round two, it appears Ground of Insurrection went directly to copy edits.  That makes sense, given most of the questions I had were simple ones that could be answered by any editor.  I've started going through them and it's fairly straightforward.  I've made a lot of progress so far.  They're due at the end of this week, and I should have them completed on time.  Ground of Insurrection is coming out really soon, so make sure you get your pre-order in before June 13th: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...

I also received the first round of edits for The Coup and the Prince.  I wrote the story to be short and sweet, but apparently I was a little too short and not quite enough sweet.  There are four or five places where the editor recommended I add scenes and there are a couple of other significant changes I need to make.  These edits are going to take time and a lot of work.  Luckily there is still plenty of time before this story is slated to come out in September, but given I know the second round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly will be coming my way very soon, there might still be a bit of a time crunch. 

Speaking of Butterfly, it is now up for pre-order at LT3.  You can get it for a 15% discount:  https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...  I have seen the first draft of the cover, which is lovely and I can't wait to share it with you.   Butterfly is also up on Goodreads for those of you that like to mark books as "want to read". 

4/22/18

It only took me an extra three weeks, but the edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly are finally back with LT3.  They need to go back to the editor for another round, but I think (I hope) I was able to make a lot of progress this time around.  We'll see how I did when I get round two in a month or so.  Right now I'm going to take a deep breath and try to let the stress of overdue edits finally fall away. 

Of course, now that those edits are done for the moment, I'm sure the second round for Ground of Insurrection will arrive.  Insurrection is starting to head quickly towards release day, and getting the edits complete is a big step towards making sure June 13th happens.  I'm not expecting anything too crazy for this second round, so it'll hopefully go quickly.  Don't forget, for the rest of April LT3 is having a huge birthday sale and you can pre-order Insurrection for 40% off: https://lessthanthreepress.com... 

With editing done for the time being, I can finally turn to writing again.  There are so many stories to work on, but right now my muse has the next scene planned for Dragon Spy, book seven in my Supernatural Consultant series.  Lumie decided he needed to come say hello and I have a hard time saying no to Lumie.  It should be fun to write and I'm hoping that will also help me get further along with planning out this story.  It's been stalled for a while because I'm not entirely certain how I want to organize it all.  I also want to get back to finishing Ground of Resurrection, but I've lost the momentum I had a few months ago.  Basically, whichever story grabs my attention and keeps moving forward is the one I'll be working on. 

4/11/18

This past month has been a bit crazy, so I haven't been able to keep you all updated with news as I learn it.  I do have a lot of fun things to share!  First, I have potential release dates.  They're subject to change, but as long as I get all my edits done on time (which as you'll see below I'm not doing too well at) they shouldn't change too much.  Mark your calendars:

• Ground of Insurrection: June 13, 2018
• If A Butterfly Don't Fly: July 11, 2018
• The Coup and the Prince: September 5, 2018

Insurrection has already gone through one round of edits.  I'm expecting the second round to appear sometime this month, which should finish up the editing process for this story.  Insurrection is now available for pre-order at LT3 for a 15% discount (plus more because of LT3's birthday sale), so you can get your copy now.  It's also been listed on Goodreads if you want to add it to your to-read list: https://www.goodreads.com/book...

I received the first round of edits for If A Butterfly Don't Fly, so that story has started moving forward too. At first, the edits for Butterfly didn't seem to be too bad, but then I found where the editor asked me to add in a new chapter.  The reasons for that new chapter are solid, so I started writing it, but it's been fighting with me and now the edits are late.  LT3 was kind enough to grant me an extension for the edits, so I'm hoping to have them done really soon.   

The reviews for Kelpie Blue have been beyond stellar.  Everyone that has left a comment has agreed that Blue, my lively Kelpie with the sharp teeth, is adorable and the story itself is a ton of fun.  If you've read Kelpie Blue, it would be awesome if you could pop over to Goodreads or Amazon and leave a quick review.  

As for writing, unfortunately edits take precedence.  That means I didn't finish writing Ground of Resurrection in March like I had hoped.  However, that doesn't mean I can't plan the rest of my stories out mentally.  The main characters in Codified, the third book in my Magnified series, have been stuck in the basement and I've been struggling to figure out how to get them out.  I think I've come up with an idea, but until I see how it flows on paper I don't know whether the idea is a viable one.  In Ge-Mi: Part Two, they've all arrived at the graveyard, but I need to figure out the ceremony there in order to get them out of the graveyard and into the scene that really starts the romantic drama.  I think I'm starting to get a good idea of how to move it forward, but until the edits are out of the way I can't work on it. 

1/17/18

Three day weekends with very few plans are a wonderful thing when you've got edits that need to get done.  I spent just about every free moment this past long weekend editing Ground of Insurrection and was able to finish it early.  I've just sent it back to LT3.  They do need another round with the editor, but I don't foresee any serious difficulties arising.  Additional news about potential release dates, covers, and everything else will hopefully be forthcoming at the end of the month.  I'll keep everyone in the loop as I learn more. 

I was checking the links on my website this past weekend and I realized the Satisfaction Guaranteed Anthology is no longer.  According to my records it went out of print this past September.  I totally missed this fact.  Heartbeat, my story from the anthology, is actually the prequel to my Trickster's Eye series.  I gave it a read-through, fixed a few small issues, and have resubmitted it to LT3.  I hope they will accept the story a second time. 

I don't know how long I'll have until the next round of edits appears, but I'm hoping to get some writing done in the interim.  I have three stories open on my computer right now: Ge-Mi: Part Two, Ground of Resurrection, and my untitled Coliseum Story.  I have plans for what happens next in all three and all three are clamoring for me to write them.  Whichever one screams loudest at me will win, but any writing at all is good progress.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. 

1/13/18

I have received the first round of edits for Ground of Insurrection.  A glance through says they'll be very straightforward, so hopefully I'll have them completed and back to LT3 for a second round quickly.  The editor said the story was "fantastic", which I was overjoyed to see.  This story gave me some trouble as I was writing it, trouble that is unfortunately repeating itself as I'm trying to write the sequel, so hearing it did turn out well after all that was really wonderful.  Now that the edits are moving along, LT3 can start planning release dates.  I expect to learn a tentative date for Ground of Insurrection sometime after I return the edits, so I had better get to working on them now because I'm as anxious to learn the release date as I'm sure you are. 

I don't really have all that much else to share with you today.  It's been a while since I posted anything so I wanted to say hi and to let you all know that I am trying to work on some of the stories you're anticipating.  Mostly I've been planning, which doesn't sound super exhilarating, but is absolutely necessary to move my stories forward.  For example, in the next Supernatural Consultant book (tentatively titled Dragon Trick, but that might change) I know the ultimate goal of the story, but I haven't quite figured out how to get the characters there yet.  I can't start writing again until I figure that bit out. 

I've been plucking away at Ge-Mi: Part Two as well.  I've said it before in regards to this story, but I'll say it again anyway: it's slow going.  I'm setting up so many little things right now that will have an impact all the way to the end and I really want to get them right.  That means the story is only growing by a few hundred words each time I work on it.  That's better than nothing at all, but it's not a lot in terms of how much I still have to do. 

Aside from that, I'm patiently waiting for the next round of edits for Kelpie Blue to appear.  I'm hoping they'll wait until after Ground of Insurrection is back with the editor, but as March and the imminent release date looms closer, I know they'll have to appear soon.  We're also nearing the time when If A Butterfly Don't Fly should begin the editing process (especially since it was accepted for publishing at the same time as Ground of Insurrection), so I expect that story will also appear in my inbox sometime in the near future.  There's so much to look forward to!

12/03/17

What is it about getting a big stack of edits that makes me want to run the other way?  I don't know if this is a me thing or an authors in general thing, but edits suck.  They're this necessary evil staring at me from the abyss.  I know I have to work on them, but I can't help putting them off.  What this means is I took one look at the edits for Kelpie Blue, gulped, and then scurried back to the safe realm of writing.  I have completed writing The Red Apple Witch when I should have been working on my edits. 

Those of you that have been following me for a while know that The Red Apple Witch is a fairy tale I started writing soon after Cinder-Elle came out in 2012.  Every once in a while I poked at it, but for the most part the story lay stagnant in my computer.  Then I had the idea to combine a bunch of my fairy tales into one compilation and I said to myself, I have to finish this one too.  Well, I've finally done it.  The Red Apple Witch still needs a lot of editing, especially the older parts of the story, but I am so glad to finally say it's complete.  This means I have five fairy tales complete and just about ready for submission, one tale that I need to rework the ending (Thunderbird), and two more that I need to write.  I recently read through A Heart's Dream, which I've been stuck on for a bit, and realized the reason I was stuck was I was trying to force the story to be 30k words when it was really only calling for 15k.  The other story I need to work on is Trip Trop Trail, which is a Billy Goat Gruff retelling with a twist.  I have the main points figured out, but I can't decide whether I want it set in the modern day (which would be the only one of my fairy tales in that setting) or if I should do a more fantasy-like setting instead.  Once I figure that out, I'll be able to start writing.

Supernatural Consultant, Volume Two came out recently.  This is the second print compilation of the series and it picks up where Volume One left off.  It includes Dragon Detective, Dragon Soldier, Dragon Adventure, and Dragon Home.  You can buy your copy at LT3 today and it's also available at your favorite print retailer (but it's cheaper for you to buy from LT3). 

Kelpie Blue is also available for pre-order at LT3.  They're having a very nice sale right now, so you can get it for 32% off: https://lessthanthreepress.com/books...  It comes out on March 21, 2018, which will be here soon.  (And, yes, I have been working on those edits.  Don't worry.)

11/22/17

There are so many wonderful authors out there participating in NaNo.  I see them posting their word counts for the day/week/etc and I am very impressed by everything they've accomplished.  I wish I could emulate them, but I've tried and in the end I decided that NaNo just wasn't for me.  Being on a specific schedule where I have to write X number of words per day with the intention of completing a story by the end of the month doesn't work for me.  Having that much structure instead stresses me out.  I see how much I didn't get accomplished the previous day, add that word count to the amount I didn't get finished that day, and it all starts piling up.  In the end, all I get out of NaNo is stress-induced writer's block which translates into equally ineffective December writing. 

At the same time, I can't say that I've managed to significantly increase the word counts of any of my stories even though I haven't been doing NaNo.  I've done some planning for my stories, including the final fairy tale story I need to write.  I have also read through my currently out of print story Heart's Tournament.  I gave it a minor edit and decided to resubmit it to LT3, but then I came to a dilemma.  The reason I didn't immediately resubmit it when it first went out of print is that I had always planned to write the sequel.  I still haven't written said sequel, but I have started planning the prologue.  The question becomes, do I resubmit now in the hopes that I'll actually write the sequel this time, or do I write the sequel first and then submit them both together?  There's pros and cons to both options, but what it really boils down to is that I already have too many ongoing projects on my to-do list.  Until I finish a few more stories, I really can't start writing this sequel.  Either I have to resubmit and (if LT3 accepts it again) hope I get the sequel completed before it goes out of print again, or I have to hold off for what could be a few years before I resubmit with the sequel attached.  I'll let you all know what I decide. 

I started working on The Red Apple Witch after that and I was just getting into it when I got an email from LT3 with the second round of edits for Kelpie Blue.  Turns out that while some of the things I fixed last time worked, a number of the changes I made either weren't right or didn't change enough.  Technically there's less to do this time around, but it's still a big project.  The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can return to writing.  Please wish me luck.