Ends and Beginnings
From one book to the next
It’s hard for me to believe that Blood and Feathers is coming to an end. When I started serializing it this summer, it felt like giving new life to an older book, taking the different drafts and experimenting with the format. Now that the final chapters are almost here—the final votes for the ending are coming in now, and I’m going to be tallying them and writing an extended epilogue to meet those reader demands—it’s a very sunrise/sunset moment!
I was able to serialize this book so quickly in part because I’d drafted a version of it, had the world building done and the magic system sorted out. Votes revolved around the main character and who she should trust—surrounded by spies and with enemies at every front, it was no easy thing to know which person was a worthy ally.
As I wrap up the final chapters—which should be done by the end of the month—I’m going to start working on compiling an ebook and print book for readers who want to read the final version. This epic fantasy my longest book yet, especially with the additional novellas and background information readers voted for! You can look to find it in the new year, perhaps with a new cover…
Speaking of new covers, The Future Collection got a bonus story added to it, as well as a brand new cover! If you already purchased the ebook, you can refresh the purchase in your e-reader of choice and it should automatically download with the new cover and the bonus story.
This brand-new cover was designed by Jessica Khoury of Lizard Ink Studio, and you can watch her make the cover in a special Wordsmith Seminar here! It was honestly so cool to throw a bunch of sci fi stories at Jess and see her come up with literally the perfect cover for the collection. I am in AWE of her talent, and I loved seeing her work to build such an amazing concept!
Like I said, this new version of the book is now in print for the very first time, plus features a brand-new, never-before-seen story called “Malfunction.” In this brand new story, a woman signs up for a ten-month solo gig working on a space station alone. After a few weeks, though, she finds out she’s pregnant. With no one on board the station and no way home before the gig is up, she has to decide what to do next…
And speaking of Wordsmith Seminars… (I’m doing so well on my transitions with this newsletter, no? Haha!)
This month’s Wordsmith Seminar is with the astounding Kacen Callender! Kacen has basically authored every genre for every age range and excelled at it. They’ve written Middle Grade and got the National Book Award. They’ve written YA and won the Stonewall Honor. They wrote an adult fantasy that got named one of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time. Kacen is, quite simply, brilliant, and they’re coming to Wordsmith to teach our last seminar of the year—a special workshop focused on the craft of writing.
Wordsmith will be taking a break in December, but you’ll be getting one more newsletter this year from me—including a giveaway and some information on a very cool trip I’ll be taking in December, so don’t miss the next newsletter!
Meanwhile, as I wrap up Blood and Feathers, I’ve got my eye on my next serialized novel. They’re addicting, and so much fun to write! If you follow my Patreon, you’ll get sneak peeks on the development.
(Side note: if you’ve ever considered doing my Patreon, this month is a great month to join—you get to read the entirety of Blood and Feathers and also get a free ebook and free viewing of the seminar that created the cover, all in one go. That’s a pretty epic deal!)
Anyway, my next serialization is going to be about witches and England. I’m writing it one chapter at a time, but it’s going to be a little slower since every chapter is going to have a mixture of Dungeons-and-Dragons-style dice rolls, tarot card pulls, and votes to determine what the characters explore. It’s…an ambitious project, and you can scope out the past episodes on Patreon to see how vast this thing is getting—from the very first chapter, there are dozens of paths that this story can go on.
I’m considering it a blend of DND and Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novels—except all done collaboratively, based on chance and votes! This project will start at the end of December, with a new chapter every week.
I’m going to keep this little bottom footnote of current projects updating constantly because it’s kind of exciting (at least for nerdy me) to see how this progress!
What I’m working on now…
Blood and Feathers serialization, ENDING THIS MONTH, available at Kindle Vella and Patreon
Museum of Magic, a YA fantasy with witches and witch bottles: pre-planning stage, chapters starting soon. Follow me on social media and Patreon for behind-the-scenes.
Secret adult science fiction project 1: currently drafting: 45,000 words written, will finish by the end of the year
Secret adult science fiction project 2: currently drafting: 35,000 words written, hoping to finish by January/February
Adult historical novel: on submission to editors 🤞
YA historical co-written fantasy: 🤐
New story idea (paranormal with ghosts): outline done, planning to start it in the new year
As always--thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m happiest when I’m working, and all I really want to do is tell stories. Thank you for listening. <3
How in the world do you write two books (+) at the same time?