Work, work, work (in the best job ever)
Updates on books + opportunities for writers
This newsletter is absolutely riddled with information, but I want to make sure you don’t miss these key things: a new writer’s workshop (with a $10 off coupon code), a new workbook (out soon!), and a new free short stories and voting on my new novel.
Blood & Feathers: Time for some thrilling heroics
Thank you to everyone who’s been keeping up with my first (but not last!) serial novel, Blood and Feathers! You’ve kept it in the top 100 of all YA serials on Kindle since it’s release (and often in the top ten!) and your comments on social media and my Patreon have been so awesome to read.
Thanks to your voting, I’ve completed two different behind-the-scenes short stories, free for everyone to read. The first is “The Legend of Edwind”--a bit of a background on the mythology of the world, detailing the origins of magic. The second is “The Cost of It All,” a short story showcasing one of the mysterious side characters, Raye. Again, these are both free and you can read them now!
So what’s with this voting stuff? I wanted to make Blood and Feathers interactive, and to that end, I’m taking polls from readers. Some of them are what kind of bonus content they want, such as the above free short stories. But I’m also asking some…leading…questions about specific characters and events (for example: this poll). That’s because the ending of this book could go one of three ways. Your votes will determine the main character’s choices.
I couldn’t make it as simple as “vote if you want the happy ending!” Nope…I’m putting you, the reader, in the position of Sine, the main character. Do you trust one character? Do you think Sine should look for information in this area or that area? All you know is what Sine knows--although with the bonus short stories, you do have a bit of an edge on her. But how you vote will change how Sine acts, and how Sine acts will change the end. One end is…very dark. One end has a shimmer of hope. And one is pretty much happy. Can you vote in such a way that you’ll give Sine her happily ever after?
The voting is going to get more intense and frequent from here on out. We’re at about the half-way point of the novel, and next week, the biggest turning point happens. It’s basically the lynchpin--everything after that moment will change…everything. It’s also the only event that was entirely set in stone and was not going to change regardless of votes--I played Fate for this event.
Everything after? Is up to you.
You can start reading for free right now on Kindle Vella (and you’ll get 200 free tokens if this is your first serial on Amazon that you’ve read). You can also read the entire book (with longer author notes and more detailed background on the research) from my Patreon. It’s easy to catch up now, and then you’ll be primed to vote on the final scenes, which are gearing up to be…pretty wild!
A New Workshop + A New Workbook for Writers
Between serial novels, hired work, and getting my own projects out the door, I’ve been tinkering at ways to write faster. Finally, after a year of work, I’ve really honed in on what works (at least for me!) to write a complete novel draft in a month. And I’ve got it done in time for NaNoWriMo!
First up, a workshop that’s designed to teach you how to organized your story idea into a plot structure and outline that will help you fast draft. Start planning your NaNo novel (or any other project) now, and then draft it with me in November!
This workshop is going to be so much fun, honestly. I’m legitimately excited to dive in! Every Tuesday in October, meet me live on Zoom at 8pm ET. Each session, we’ll get one step closer to fully outlining your novel, with guided instruction on making sure your idea is marketable and “big” enough, plus focused structure ideas on the plot, character, and world. We’ll have built-in work time followed by peer reviews of your ideas, so you get instant feedback on what’s working or not. By the end of October, you’ll have a complete outline that’s already been tested and fits traditional story structure.
Then keep it going through November, where we’ll continue to meet every Tuesday to work on our novels together. This is going to be Word-Lab style write-in sessions--focused, pomodoro-driven writing bursts where we’ll check in. You’ll also get a discount for November’s Word Lab if you want to stay super-focused!
Space is limited, so reserve your spot for this October-November workshop now!
And speaking of discounts, if you join my Patreon at the writer level, you’ll also get a $10 off coupon for this workshop. The coupon code is here: just sign up for the “writer” level of patronage, and you’ll see the discount code in the post.
Bonuses include:
a free e-book copy of Blood and Feathers in the format of your choice when it’s done (plus the posted chapters, so you can read as you go for free)
behind-the-scenes on research, writing advice that frequently includes discounts or bonuses like this
and you’ll get to join me as I write my next novel, The Museum of Magic, with the help from even more voting, dice rolls, and tarot cards--it’s a completely interactive experiment of a novel!
…and a new workbook, too:
The newest addition to the Paper Hearts family is the Fast Draft Workbook--a combination of chart, focused questions, and guided outlines to create the structured story outline that will help you write your draft quickly.
Members of the Fast Draft Workshop above are going to get digital versions of this book (print versions if the supply chain works out!), and they’ll get their copies early. This book will release in mid-October, though, in time for you to plan your own NaNo novel (or anything else), so keep an eye out on my social media for more information!
Upcoming Seminars for Writers and Aspiring Authors
In addition to my own Fast Draft course, Wordsmith Workshops is hosting a seminar this Monday on how authors can use social media, network with influencers, and develop strategies to advertise their books or build their base.
Bridget is the co-founder of Storygram Tours (you may know her from her epic swirly book stacks!) and a frequent presenter at author conventions. She’s taking over Monday, September 20th, so reserve your spot to watch live or watch at your own convenience at a later time!
Next month, we’ll be talking to Jessica Khoury on how to design book covers--and she’s going to design a book cover live during the conversation. (And I’m excited because it’s going to be a cover for my short story collection, The Future Collection!) Jessica is the owner of Lizard Ink Studios, and she’s also the one who designed the new look for this newsletter, my website, and my social medias thanks to the branding package she made for me. You can pre-register for Jess’s seminar in October here.
What I’m working on now…
Blood and Feathers serialization, on-going now at Kindle Vella and Patreon
Museum of Magic, a YA fantasy with witches and witch bottles: pre-planning stage (you can see the behind the scenes of this pre-planning process at Patreon, and some snippets are being posted on TikTok or Instagram as well)
Secret adult science fiction project 1: outline complete
Secret adult science fiction project 2: currently drafting, about 25k words in
Adult historical novel: on submission to editors, wish me luck!
YA historical co-written fantasy: preparing to submit to editors
New story idea (paranormal with ghosts): mulling over. Not sure if it has teeth or not, but I’ve put up some paper on the wall to see if I can sketch a story from it.
Short story — science fiction: on submission to a magazine, wish me luck!
As you can see, I’ve got several projects running at once! To that end, I’m likely going to close to critiques and coaching services soon…if you’d like to book me for your project, you can find out more here before I close down to meet deadlines.
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
I’m so glad you are so busy! Here’s wishing you luck with all your submissions! —Lois