My Yearly Update

It's been over a year since I posted last, and many things have changed.  I took about a year off from writing, which was really hard on my spirit, to be honest, because I love writing and that has never changed, no matter how many new things life has brought me.

I went back to school and I'm in the process of starting a new career of SOME sort.  Not sure what the next few years are going to look like.  BUT.

The fact remains, that I will keep writing.  It's a part of me, telling stories, and that will never be shaken.  I enjoy writing as a creative outlet, and I like writing stories that I know I'll enjoy reading myself.  I'm actually rereading the final book in my Five Tribes series—Universis—right now.  My stories are my own, but I love sharing them for others to read and enjoy.

I may not be a big social media person (sorry, I'm never going to be one of those authors engaging on Instagram or trying to get people to review my books), but if one of my stories has found you and you enjoyed it, I'm glad.

Last January, I released the second book in my Colonial Outcasts series, I Heard Small Kingdoms.  I consider it a completed duology, with the potenial for a third book that I have partially outlined.  Right now, though, I'm finishing a contemporary romance from my other pen name.

So, what's next?  A book that has come tickling into my brain and refused to leave, of course!  I can't tell you everything, because spoilers, but I can tell you there is Five Tribes magic in play, and an alternative version of our world.  I didn't expect this book to employ Five Tribes magic and I still haven't worked out if it will involve their world directly or not.  I had the whole book outlined, but I realized that it's going to have to be one long book instead of two, and that threw me for a loop.

I currently have about 20,000 words written, and I'm guessing this sucker will clock in at 100,000.  So it's going to be a long journey.  But I'm writing consistently again, and I'm hopefully that the rough draft will be finished in the coming year.  *fingers crossed*

In the meantime, here is the cover of the second Colonial Outcasts book and a blurb.  Happy Reading!

Five years after the crash landing, the survivors of Maris 3g grapple with the harsh realities of their new world. Rae Fontaine, driven by a mysterious voice, ventures beyond their known territory to seek answers about the planet and the fate of other potential colonies. Meanwhile, Beech Wilder joins a fledgling colony in the north, experiencing firsthand the challenges of establishing a new life on this alien world. As he navigates loss and the growing threat of Grady, a ruthless leader, Beech fights to protect his community. Amidst the struggle for survival, these characters must confront both inner demons and external dangers, forging their paths in a world where hope and resilience are tested at every turn.

Busy Busy Bee

This past year has gone by in a whirlwind!  I have found myself meaning to come on here several times to update you on my bookish progress, but then I disappear again and forget this semi-regular blog still exists.

Today I come to give you good news and bad news.

The good news is, I have two books to release (one in a week, and one in six months).  They are ya sci-fi/colonization/survival books in a duology (maybe a trilogy.  I have a third story in mind, but it depends on the response the books get.)

I am also working on two books (one of which is the Five Tribes adjacent book I mentioned last year) and plotting a book.

Writing is happening and I haven't disappeared completely.

The bad news is, I'm doing school right now, which is going to significantly cut into my writing time.  When I first started writing, my kids were babies and I had a chunk of time in the morning where I could write and edit.  Now they're big and I'm moving into a different space of life where I decide what I want to do.  Obviously, I would love to just write, but it doesn't pay the bills. haha  It's a nice addition to my fun money, but I'm interested in getting out into the world again, because that's where I get all my story ideas, in any case.

The next year of my life will be particularly busy, but like I said, I have two books that will get released, hopefully giving you a bit of something to cling to while I slowly work on finishing the books I've started.

Here is the book release happening next week:

Description:

They were society's cast-offs, a prison population, sent from a dying earth to discover whether an unknown planet was habitable. After a planned mutiny on board the colony ship by one group of prisoners, the delinquents find themselves crash-landed on the planet, abandoned by the other adults. Stranded on a harsh, alien world, they must fight for survival while evading the ruthless criminals who betrayed them. Former privileged teen Cale Kincaid and conflicted mutineer August Bismark find themselves leading a band of survivors as they navigate the treacherous landscape. With no food, no supplies, and little practical survival knowledge, will they be able to live through one night, much less survive long-term?

Happy Reading!

I Take it Back

 So in the world of unexpected things, I've come across something I didn't foresee myself doing for quite some time yet.  I'm writing a Five Tribes book.  Except it's NOT a Five Tribes Book.  I don't know how to explain it yet, and maybe I'll never figure out how to properly describe it. 

It has Five Tribes magic, but no Five Tribes characters.  Yeah, that's the best I've got.  I'm really excited about it, though, and I hope you are too.

Just wanted to quickly update you.  Now, back to the grindstone.

Happy Reading!

-Kate

New Things

 I have not stopped writing as some rumors have stated.  I'm still here, every day, plugging away.  In fact, since finishing Universis, I have written three books and almost finished plotting two.  I'm just not sure what to do with them yet.

While I figure it out, there won't be much released under my name for a bit.  I'll keep you updated, but I'll tell you right now, none of them are Five Tribes stories.  I don't have any ideas for how to expand on that universe as yet.

I have a sci-fi series in the works, and potentially a "we're in the real world" fantasy series getting plotted.  When I know where I'm going with those, I'll let you know!

In the meantime, you can track me on goodreads to see what books I'm currently enjoying (Murderbot Diaries, anyone??) and keep an eye out for news.

Sorry it's been so long!

Happy Reading!

Buy if you Dare

 Hello all!

I've been dealing with sickness and summer busyness over here so I haven't had a chance until now to update you.  It's done!!!  Universis is available for sale at pretty much every ebook distributor you can get it from: ibookstore, amazon, smashwords, barnes and noble, kobo.  Wherever.

It's yours to view when you choose, but set aside a chunk of time, because this one is a doozy!  I want to thank all of you who have hung with me this far.  It's been a super long journey, but here we are! 

I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Reading!

-Kate:)

Holy Carp!

Finally, after months of work, the edits are finished.  I'm dead, readers.  But the story that I wanted to tell is done and I can't help being immensely pleased by that.  Wow.  Just this series alone was about 800,000 words (maybe more, I haven't done the math lately) and when I started I had no idea where it would end up.

My writing may never be perfect (is anyone's?) but I'm really satisfied with the way it turned out.  There are stories still untold, but those who matter in this journey had their day.

So now it's off to my proofreader, and I'm hoping to have it back in another month or so.  This book is 180,000 words, so it's going to take a while.  In the mean time, I wanted to share the cover with you.  I love it, because it represents everything this story has come to mean to me, and gives a hint about where it's going.

I hope to have more good news for you soon.  Happy reading!

Writing progress!

Well, it's been long enough, that I wanted to touch base.  I got my feedback for Universis, and I'm currently in the middle of revising and editing it.  I'm about 20% of the way finished, and with a book this big, that translates to about 40,000 words down and about 140,000 to go!  I'm hoping to be done after the new year and able to present it to you.  I assure you, it's my biggest priority right now, but trying to get it right has been a massive undertaking.

I have three book ideas in the works, but I'm only adding a note here or there in my writing notebook, because I really want to devote all my time to finishing this series!

I'll update again when the editing is done and I've sent the whole thing off to my proof reader.  I'll also show off the new cover too, because I don't think I've done that yet and I really love it.

Happy Reading!

-Kate

A Final Wish

 Hello readers,

I am happy to report that The Five Tribes series is finished.  Whoa.  I can't believe I just typed that.  This series has been 12 years in the making, thanks to various life hiccups and my inability to write any novel for this series in under 100k (barring that first one, of course).

This book, Universis, is actually coming in at 175,000 words!  I'd love to say that it will get back down to 150k, but I think what with being more descriptive and clarifying some of the plot, it will probably end up around 170k.  But it is chock full of everything you could want: love, loss, change, explosions, new characters, new worlds, and new legends.  This book is the culmination of everything I've been building since the very beginning of the series and I hope it will have the answers you've been asking yourself about the Five Tribes and its existence.

It's hard to know where to end a series, but I've done the best that I can to honor these characters we've all followed for so long, and to tell their story to all of you.  There is an epilogue and some loose threads, and who knows... there could be some books set in this world in the future.  No promises, but there are several characters who still need stories, to my mind.

For now, my plan is to do one rough pass through, where I make sure all the names are correct and double-check my scrivener file for inconsistencies before I hand this sucker off to the betas.  And while that project is marinating, I'll be starting something completely new.  I'm not going to talk about it now, but there will be a post in the near future about what I'm working on next.

Thanks again, to all of you for your encouragement, your comments, your emails, your reviews and ratings.  I've tried to take in as much feedback as I can and really consider what would make the books even better, but in the end, the story will be what it wants to be.  I'm just grateful that some of you have been along for the ride since the beginning and made my writing the richer for it.

Happy reading!

-Kate

Almost Big News

 When you're staring down the short end of 150k, people, it's time to celebrate.  That's right.  I'm at 145k, and that's not the only good news.  I've got three chapters and an epilogue left!!!  That's it!  Then I will do a rough draft editing pass before I send this sucker off to my beta readers.

I am feeling all kinds of good right now, about that.  I will also post the final cover for your enjoyment in an upcoming post (have to have something to look forward to!).

So, yes, good news.  Each chapter has three perspectives, and each perspective is a chapter length in itself, so I'm guessing it will take another couple of weeks to put that part in the bag, and it will probably be a month before the rough edit is done.  I have a lot of clean up work to do and I have to check everything to make sure it fits overall with the previous novels.  But I am seriously hoping for an end of the year publish date.  (I don't want to say earlier and totally fail, but who knows, it could happen!)

Hope you are all well and happy reading!

-Kate

I used to write so often...

 Oh life.  How unexpected you are in ruining all my plans.  Or not.  

Hello, all.  Those of you lingering few that have read my books and thought to yourselves... I wonder what Kate is up to these days, since she hasn't written a single entry in a year.  A freaking year.

Well, Kate has been busy.  Not writing.  Oh no!  She's been homeschooling her children, because of Corona and school closures.  So unfortunately, Universis has taken a back-burner to that mess.  But I did brush it off and look it over and the half of the book that IS written is stuff I like.  So I'll keep it.  There was a bunch of stuff I didn't like, and I cut it all out and started over.  I wrote more stuff that fit better, and now I'm back up to half and spilling over into finishing.  Yes, I can see the end in sight friends.  I'm not sure what sort of ending it will be, but it will be the END.  Because writing a series is hard, y'all.  

Not a fan, if I'm going to be honest.  The planning and the designing and the note taking so I don't mess everything up is exhausting.  On the other hand, watching these characters learn and grow over the past 10 years has been some of the best work of my life.  I will MISS them so much: Nikka, Luka, Zyander, Alea, Surgal, Alys, and the Vixen.  They've been such good friends to me, and I hope they go on to live good lives when I'm not there chronicling them.  I'll guess we'll see what the chances are by the time the book ends, huh?

I've got about 40k words left, but as long as I stick to my goal of 1000 words per day, I should finish this sucker up (barring sickness or major life events) in a couple of months.  So exciting!

In the meantime, I've been planning what I'll do next, and I think it will be very different.  It's only alive in Scrivener for now, because I'm not writing another word that isn't about the Five Tribes.  

Hope all is well with you and your families,

Kate:)

Ooops! Didn't even realize!

Yeah, so apparently the last time I update was last year.  I can't believe how long I've been writing this book. T.T

Look, I'm at the halfway mark!  Yay!  It's gonna be a long one, judging by my wordcount, which is about 90k.  But I am determined that this will be the last one, as I planned, so I'm working hard to wrap things up.

Nothing more than that for now, just getting over the flu, so I'm off to drink some tea and try to write another chapter.

Happy New Year and sorry I haven't updated recently.

Timeline Shenanigans

I basically had two books in limbo for about a month.  One was at 40k and the other at about 37k.  I'm sure you're wondering which one was Universis.  Well, it was the one with the lower wordcount.  Sorry!

Man, how do I get myself into these situations?  Like, what am I doing?  I am great at sitting down and writing.  NaNoWriMo taught me that I can just write, write, write when I need to.  But then, inevitably, something comes to bar my path.

In one of the books I got stuck on a certain scene and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.  I would rewrite it a dozen different ways in my mind and none of them seemed right.  In the end, I knew what I wanted to happen in the scene, when it was all over, so I ended up sort of starting backwards and working my way up to the end result.

In the case of Universis, it was all the timeline switching that was doing me in.  When moving back and forth between three timelines is too much for the AUTHOR to keep track of, you have to wonder what the reader is going to think of all of it.  That's what beta readers are for, right?  Will they be able to keep up?  Only time will tell.

I'm happy to report that I am past my limbo and I've got my mojo back.  All it required was having 4 free hours to just sit down and pull on all my tangled threads.  Now I'm even more excited for what's coming up in the last Five Tribe's book, so I guess it was a good thing?

That's what I tell myself, anyway.

So yeah, I'm currently at 53,000ish words and while it's not as far as I wanted to be by April, at least I'm not lost in a mess of tangled timelines anymore.  I can't believe I'm almost halfway through, guys!!!  Let's pray I can get the latter half done a wee bit faster, huh?

Plodding Away

Well, hello.  Here is my obligatory "Yes, I'm still writing," post.  It's been more than a month, but you won't hold that against me, will you?  Especially since I've been plugging away over here with such determination.

This is about how I feel my skill level is sometimes...

But it's all good news!  I've tripled my word count.  Currently, the book is weighing in at 32,000ish words.  And pretty much all my spare time is carefully, CAREFULLY, working out plotting details.  Just because I have the overall story doesn't mean every detail has been worked out yet.  I mean, even though there are only 3 character perspectives, I've got about 9 people with separate plots and motivations and storylines that have to be touched on and played out.  As I keep telling my writing friend in a whiny voice, "Series are so HARD."  And long series are harder.  I don't know what I was thinking.

So yeah, that's me.  Sitting over here, thinking about how I want to end this book.  Unlike JK Rowling, I didn't write the epilogue before I finished the whole series.  It's funny when I think back on what I was planning for the overall series... IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than that now.  Like, not even close to the shadowy plot in my mind at the beginning of the first book.

The characters have mostly done what I wanted, but the world they live in has insisted on changing all over the place.  Of course, the more things get messed up, the more fun it is to write.  Now I know why Pierce Brown insists on breaking apart all his plotlines in a spectacular way. :D

Next update I'll talk more about my Word Of The Year, but if I keep going this post will be waaaaaaaay too long.

Happy Reading!

Happy New Year!

Well, despite my doubts, I started writing in December.  I know! 

There was a lot of stuff going on up here in Norcal what with the #Campfire and all.  I think I just needed a way to pour out my emotions.

Anyway, that's all good news for you.  As with all my books, I start with the strongest voice in my head first.  Imagine my surprise that it wasn't Luka this time.  Instead, it was Alea.  That's right, people.  She's back.  Her character is going really interesting places in this next book and I wanted you to have a front seat in observing it.  I think she's the only new perspective we'll be getting, though.  I promise I'm not going to be like GRRM and shove a bunch of new characters into my books.

I'm about 12k into Universis (in case you missed it, that's the name of the last book).  I wasn't meaning to be epic with that last title, but it's meaning is what I feel about finishing up this series.  I mean, guys, I've been writing this series for almost 10 years.  My son was a toddler when it started and he'll be in middle school next year.  Holy Hannah.

Universis is my own word, but sort of derived from the Latin word for "All Together", which is what these books will be when it's finished.  It's also what the Five Tribes will be once things settle and Nikka's changes go into affect. 

That's all I'm going to let slip for now, but I will be coming on here to update my wordcount occasionally (hopefully once a month).

Happy Reading!

Casual Update

So, here I am again.  I've gotten enough subtle digs from readers that I felt compelled to come here and let you know what's going on with the book.

To be frank, not any writing, as yet.

I know, I know!  Don't hit me.  I read on one review that I was potentially alienating readers because I can't write books fast enough.  Well, I'm sorry!  I am!  If I could write 8 hours a day, then I would be popping out these suckers right and left but I only get 1.  That's right.  I get 1 hour a day if I'm lucky and if I feel like getting up at 5 on that particular morning and if the entire universe lines up perfectly.  Which it rarely does.

That being said, I have started PLOTTING the last book.  Guys, this book is epic.  I mean, it has to wrap everything up in a pretty little bow, right?  (hahahahahahahaha)  It has to make sense.  It has to make sense for the characters and the world that I've spent 9 (good god, nine????) years building.

So, yes, it's going to take time.  I'm hopeful that I'll be writing by the new year, but until then, I have a lot of careful considerations to make before I go off putting a bunch of sentences together.

So, those of you who are left, thank you for your patience.  Thank you for your reviews.  Thank you for your faith in me.  As always, you are the reason I put in the effort day after freaking day.

Happy Reading!
Kate:)

Hallelujah!! (Or, you know, it's done.)

So, yeah, Ignis is now live on Smashwords, and at some point will be live on Amazon.  Whoohoo!!!!

I shall let Franklin demonstrate my happiness.

Enjoy it when you get it!  Also, I made Compis free for a while, on Smashwords (because Amazon is such a booger about that stuff), so tell your friends.

Meanwhile, I'll be over here writing an outline for the last book. *sob*

Happy Reading!

-Kate:)

Update: *shrug*

I'm not sure if it's good news or bad news?  I've been in touch with my proofreader and she's having issues getting my book finished.  So it might  be done by Christmas, but it might not.

I don't know what this means.  What does this mean?

Since my proofreader is amazingly awesome, I will not complain or be sad.  Instead, I will tell you, it's the last step, crew!  Everything else is ready to go, so as soon as I get it, it will go out there!

Sooo... that's all.  It's kind of a just in case update.  I won't make promises, but I won't tell you all to lose hope for December. 

Happy Reading!

-Kate:)

Another Day, Another Cover

Oh man, guys.  When I first started talking to my cover designer about this book, I was like... "It's not gonna have Ignis colors.  Those were on the first cover.  For this book I want Compis colors, a really pretty purple."  And I wanted a flame, because Ignis.  Then my cover designer was like... "Well, Kate, what if I just do my own thing and make it look amazing?"

Whenever my cover designer wants to do her own thing, I IMMEDIATELY SAY YES, because I know it will be AMAZINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG.

Like sometimes I legit wonder if she's a fairy princess, else how could she do this stuff?

Anyways, the cover is done, and it does, indeed look amazing!!!  Good lord I'm excited.  Also, got word back from my proofreader and she is halfway done, so it looks like this book will be coming to you before Christmas and really I couldn't ask for more than that.  So good news all around today.

Here is the cover.  Enjoy, dear readers.

Huzzah!

Friends, Romans, Bookreaders...

I have finished the edits and the book is even now being perused by my faithful (and super picky) proofreader.  Hopefully in about a month I'll get a copiously red-highlighted manuscript back from her telling me I use prepositions far to often and my writing style is all backwards (this is what she always tells me).

This is me, every time.

But VICTORY IS MINE... in the editing department anyway.  Now I'm trying to keep myself from having a panic attack over how I'm going to finish up this series that I've been working on for like... 7 years of my life.  I've written some very interesting and very DIFFICULT plot points for this book, dear readers, and now I've got to find a way to dig myself out of them.  There are certain aspects I can picture very well, and others that have me trembling in fear.  Ah well.  It's not like I'll ever be done with this world.  I have at LEAST four more books I want to write in it, but I promised myself when book 5 of the 5 tribes is done that I will dive into a completely different world and a completely different writing style.  I will PLAY AROUND and be silly and sad and push myself even further than I did with this series. 

I will have a cover to share with you soon, until then,
Happy Reading!

The Good News, But The Bad News

The good news is I have my book back and have gotten my feedback.  The bad news is, thanks to a job I was working on this summer, added to camping with the family, and another family type meet-up, I am just now starting on edits for Ignis.

I know, I know!  I'm disappointed, too!  If I want to be realistic, the book probably won't be done until December.  I want to hope for October, but I think that is a little too optimistic.  The book is currently around 130,000 words, and there is a lot of fat (and probably a couple of chapters, if I'm being honest) that need to be trimmed.

I will keep you updated, of course!  And I should have a cover to show off soon!

Happy Reading!