I am so excited to tell you about my latest publishing venture! Amazon recently announced a new program, called Kindle Vella. It’s not officially launched (early speculation has the launch of Vella happening in June), but it’s going to be a really cool approach to serialization of novels.
Readers will be able to subscribe to books through Vella, reading episodes at a time in serialized format. Serialization is nothing new—it’s what Charles Dickens did, after all!—but the coolest part of this venture is that authors and readers will get to interact. I’m posting each chapter of my book for Vella with author’s notes recording the inspiration, history, and fun facts about each section, and you will be able to read and write comments as you read—and your comments will help influence the ultimate result of the book!
Blood & Feathers is a YA fantasy novel. It’s a little bit Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, a little bit historical with influences from Hadrian’s Wall—although my characters are keeping out monstrous birds rather than blue-painted Scots.
I’ve been working on this book off and on for years—I drafted it before I wrote A World Without You, but between having a baby and kicking off different series, I took a lot longer to develop Blood & Feathers.
I actually have two different endings drafted for this book—which is where you come in.
When Vella launches, Blood & Feathers is going to launch with it. The first ten chapters are already up to be launched, and after that, I’ll be posting 1-2 chapters per week. And each chapter will have Author’s Notes from me, and a comment section where we can interact. I’m going to be online with Vella to talk about writing process, characters, and anything else you want to chat about.
But I’m also going to be taking your suggestions into developing the end of the book. There’s even a chance this could grow into more than one book—it all depends on what you, the reader, want from the story.
(And if serializations aren’t your thing, don’t worry! This book will also eventually come out in paperback and as a traditional e-book.)
As I said above, Vella isn’t launched yet, but I wanted you, my readers, to be the first to know about this exciting new venture! I’m so eager to get to write a book alongside you, and to join Amazon for this cool way to bring authors and readers together. If you’re the type of reader who likes to dig into a story, revealing all the layers of background, you’re going to love the notes I’ve developed for each chapter. If you’re a writer who wants to see how a story is crafted, you’re going to love peeling back the layers and seeing the development process.
And if you just want a really cool story where monstrous birds attack people over a magical wall and some dark magic has be invoked but maybe isn’t worth the price of safety…Blood & Feathers is definitely for you.
Once Vella launches, you’ll be the first to get access to this brand-new, never before read story of magic, love, and adventure. I really hope you join me on this project—I’ll see you at the launch!
Story Analysis, In-Person Retreats, & Learning from a Real Editor
Join Wordsmith Workshops as we discuss editing with a major NY publishing editor—Abby Ranger (psst! She’s worked with the brilliant Amie Kaufman, among other bestsellers and award-winning writers! JUST LOOK AT THE AMAZING AUTHOR LIST SHE HAS!). We’ve had this seminar in the works for months, and we’re so excited it’s finally going live. Abby’s talents in honing in on exactly the right edits needed to make a work sing are astounding, and this workshop is going to be perfect for writers on any level. I’m taking notes, that’s for sure!
We’ve also recently announced live, in-person retreats! In February 2022, Wordsmith is back to our 5-day in-person retreats! We’re over-the-moon excited to finally be breaking free from Covid, and we’re celebrating with a retreat to Orlando, Florida! This all inclusive retreat includes workshops, critiques from both Cristin and me, lodging and food from our own private chef…and you have the option to stay extra and join us for a trip to Disney’s Galaxy Edge—Star Wars World!!
February 2022 may seem like a long way away, but we’re already close to selling out, so if you’d like to join us, reserve your spot now!
Don’t forget that while we wait for the country to get vaccinated and while we are excitedly planning in-person events for next year, we still have a plethora of online workshops and options for you to participate in. My own workshops are available online now—learn how to take your book from idea to completed, revised draft with the actual methods I use to draft. Or sign up for a book coaching experience where I work one-on-one with you to outline, draft, or revise your work.
I’ve recently launched a new program called Story Analysis. I think it’s the perfect middle ground between critique and coaching. I am perhaps best known for my work on plot structure, so in the Story Analysis program, I’ll critique your first 25 pages of writing, your query, and your synopsis—and then we’ll get on Zoom for an hour and chart out a full picture of revision and development for your total story. You’ll start the revision process with a solid, actionable plan of how to take your manuscript to the next level, or you’ll have a solid outline for how to see your initial idea to completion.
Story Analysis is a brand-new offering designed to really boost your own empowerment in writing. It’s exactly the kind of program I wish I’d had when I was first starting out!