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A Fabulous Writing Update

Hey folks!


Apologies that it’s been a minute since I last updated, but I’ve got some fun writing things going on that I thought I’d talk about. Mostly, I’ve now added another project, but I’m really excited about it. It’s very much a turning lemons into lemonade situation.


About this time last year, I was finishing up the first version of “Queen of the Wood.” It didn’t feel quite right, so I went back in and made some changes - namely, aging my characters down from 38 to 22 and then fleshing out some things. I entered it into the Wattys this year but still felt like it wasn’t there yet. I decided that if it didn’t make the shortlist, I would go back in and turn it into a YA novel. Apparently, starting work on “Everyone Talks” opened the floodgates, and now every idea I have for a book is YA. I didn’t get on the shortlist for the Wattys, and while this stung a bit, I browsed through “Queen of the Wood” and realized exactly why it didn’t. It was way too busy, and there was so much going on. I also think there were some parts that weren’t matching up after I went in to make changes. 


So, I’m basically tearing it up and making it an (almost) new story. Sort of. The main storyline is still the same, as are the characters. I’m setting it in high school, which is the biggest change. I’m keeping most of the big moments but moving them around. And some things just aren’t going to work in the new version, while other things are going to work better. I’m also going to flesh out the characters way more. Everyone has a very detailed backstory now. The chapter summaries are almost done - I’m still a little stuck on the last several chapters connecting where I am to the ending, which is likely going to have some major changes as well. But I’ll figure it out. I’ve also finished the first chapter and plan to recycle a good amount of the original story, though it will all need to be rewritten, of course.


But it’s got a brand new cover already made, and I’m considering changing the title since it is a bit of a departure from what I originally wrote. I’m still playing around with that idea. I can’t seem to come up with anything that really fits outside of “Queen of the Wood.” 


That said, I’m still also writing “Everyone Talks.” The plan is to work on both concurrently since I’ve often struggled to work on one thing at a time. I started on “The Whitehall Affair” before I finished “Something Wicked,” and was also writing a failed attempt at a dramatic romance that, years later, is still two chapters shy of being finished. (I still want to finish it even if I don’t think it’ll ever sell.) I’ve gone in and done some re-plotting with chapters I’ve yet to write that I think make it more exciting.


Definitely motivated to get to work on these new changes and get them out. Unfortunately, this means I’ll be taking a break from posting “Everyone Talks” on Wattpad. I’ve been so busy the last few weeks that I’m actually caught up to what I have written. But I honestly think I need a bit of a break from the pressure to constantly post.


However, I’m still doing book things! “Something Wicked” and “The Whitehall Affair” are both available for purchase in an indie bookstore in Yukon, OK, called Knight’s Nook. On top of that, I’m participating in an upcoming horror/thriller book festival at another store in Guthrie called A Novel Idea Bookshop. It’s on Oct. 24 from 6-9 p.m. If you’re in the area, stop by! I’ll be there selling both books and chatting. It’s my first book event as an author, so I’m ridiculously excited. 


And that’s about it writing-wise. Hopefully, I can get better at keeping this thing updated. I’m planning to post the new first chapter of “Queen of the Wood” in my next post. Just need to get a bit more worked out with plotting and write up a new synopsis. Why are those things so hard?


Hope everyone is enjoying their spooky season! 



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