the sunless world

writing update

At the beginning of the year, I wrote up a list of resolutions. How am I doing on these one month into 2016? Let’s dig in and see!

Write 25K words a month: January was a great writing month for me, with over 40K in new words. I’ve adjusted my February word goal to 20K, though, because…

… I finished the first draft of Flare (about 95K) words and read through the ms. It hangs together surprisingly well (yes, I was surprised!) but I do have some big-picture revisions I want to do before sending it out to alpha readers this month. I’m one (big) step nearer to publishing the third installment of The Sunless World.

All of my current new words are going towards Ghostlight, the first book of The Shadow Lands. Here’s the working blurb:

Trevlyan Shield knew that Arabella Trent was trouble the moment he saw her hesitating on the side of a busy street one morning. But it wasn’t her sparkling eyes or dark ringlets that caught his attention—it was the way the sun shone through her translucent form.

Bella has no memories of the runaway carriage that hit her and left her for dead. Nor does she know why she was found so far from home. Those hours are a total blank in her memory.

Fortunately, Trey is no stranger to dealing with ghosts and other phantasms. But the rules of his profession are strict: spirits must be sent on into the afterlife. Any who linger are susceptible to corruption and being preyed upon by the denizens of the Shadow Lands.

Time is running out for Bella. If she doesn’t figure out how to return to her body soon, she’ll be dead for good.

I’m about 24K into the book, with less than half of the story left to go. Finishing it this month seems a doable goal.

How am I doing taking better care of myself? Eh. This is the one thing that gets easily shoved aside. I’m getting sleep and watching my eating, but exercise is one thing that doesn’t fit into my schedule (and *confession* I’m not fond of exercise so I don’t try very hard, either).

How about you? How’s your year going so far?

Flux is out!

The daughter of a disgraced family returns to restore her name–only to find that conspiracy and corruption threaten her entire city.

I am super-excited about this book. We get to experience the story from Sable’s POV and delve into the events that shaped her. We explore a new part of the Sunless World–and the lush domed cities of Sable’s homeland are very different from Oakhaven and Ironheart! We get to see more magic in action, including Rafe’s growth.

I hope you will enjoy it, too! One of my proofreaders said Flux might be her favorite of all my work–and she has read a lot of it over the years.

Find it now on Amazon.

And if you haven’t already, consider signing up for my mailing list. Subscribers get special sales, free short stories, and other extra content, along with sneak peeks of covers and upcoming releases.

Cover Reveal: Flux

I’m currently in the middle of line edits for Flux, the short novel that takes place between Books 1 and 2 of The Sunless World series. Aside from a few scenes, the bulk of the story is told from Sable’s POV. Not only did I get to explore this interesting character’s back story, but I got to open up another part of the sunless world which looks very different from Oakhaven, Blackstone, and Ironheart.

Check out the cover and blurb below.

Flux PROMO

Actress. Businesswoman. Trend-setter.

Before she was all these, Sable Monarique was the timid, awkward daughter of a disgraced family. After leaving home and crossing the Divide, she reinvented herself in Oakhaven.

But now it’s time to return home.

Her friend, Rafe, is a mage newly come into his powers and in desperate need of training. Sable brings him to the domed city of Monaria, with its giant trees, massive platforms, and impressive magic. While he studies, she works to rebuild her family’s fortunes.

But Sable’s not the only one who changed in the last seven years. New families have risen to prominence. Conspiracies are hatched in the dark. An old flame isn’t the man she loved and left. Sable must navigate troubled waters, before her entire city falls apart.

Coming in early 2016!

october

A new month.

Time to turn another page of the calendar. Fill up its blank squares with the commitments we already have. Rejoice in the free days sandwiched between the busy days. Ponder over how to spread things out so everyone gets a chance to balance active times with quiet times.

Time for me to plan out the month’s writing. Last month, I wrote over 25K. Can I make it to 30K this month? On one hand, beta readers will also return Flux to me with their feedback. On the other hand, there’s also the fall break from school.

I think it over and decide to say Yes! to a 30K month.

I tinker with my daily weights in WriteTrack as I set up the challenge. I want double days on Saturdays and half days on Sundays. I think, if I frontload enough, I can take Sundays off from Flare entirely–and use them to work on fairy tale prompts instead.

I decide to hit the ground running this evening. After a late start–I felt like a general marshaling her troops all day until about four o’ clock–I come up with almost 2500 words.

It’s a good start, better than I’d hoped.

I love October, but today was not an auspicious morning. I huddled on the couch, cold, with rain falling outside, the sky grey and the ground soggy. It was hard to think about WIPs and words, while scanning the news for the latest updates on Hurricane Joaquin. My mind went to much more practical things, like canned food and bottled water and mental counting of candles and flashlights.

But at the end of the day, I have many more words and the hurricane appears to be veering away into the Atlantic. I am grateful for both of these.

The words. Ah, the words. The last few chapters have been all about reuniting, homecoming, facing the past and the regrets, and looking to the future. Good chapters that strengthen bonds, build alliances, reveal new facets.

It’s only a brief respite. I know what’s coming. That smudge on the horizon is a massive storm.

I love October. It comes from spending over a decade in Vermont (or just across the border, in New Hampshire). It’s my favorite month. When I look out the window and see maple leaves turn a muted orange or feel that autumnal combination of chill wind and warm sun, I am homesick all over again for New England. I remember–oh so vividly–piles of pumpkins and apples at the farm stand, scarlet sumac in all its glory, wood smoke rising from a neighbor’s chimney.

I have yet to appreciate and love fall in Virginia the same way.

Three more minutes till October 1st turns to October 2nd. I’m up late, but I enjoy these solitary hours, closed up in my study with music and words. My mind turns to fairy tale prompts again. Cinderella/birthday cake is ready to be written, Little Mermaid/gyrocopter almost there. I will think on them tonight, as I wait to fall asleep.

I will wake up to Friday, which as Weekend Eve, brings its own joyous end-of-week burst of energy. See you in the new day.