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!

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

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:)

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.

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!

Hey, Guess What?

If you guessed that I'm done with the rough edits and have passed the roughish draft of Ignis off to my host of beta readers for feedback, YOU'D BE RIGHT!

(This is you)

(At least I hope this is you.)

So yeah, I've given them a end of June deadline for feedback, so by July I will be really trying to finish rough edits by August.  Unfortunately, that means that I won't get the book to my proofreader until at least August.  I would not count on this book till October, everyone.  *fingers crossed*

I will post again when I have the cover to show you. 

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Reading!

Cause for Celebration

Hey kids, it's happy dance time!!!

(yes, this is exactly how I dance)

I am happy to report, that Ignis is finished!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

It's pretty much exactly the length I thought it would be, 120k.  Well, actually it's 126,000ish words, but considering I'll probably be doing a LOT of cutting, come editing time, my first guess will probably be the more accurate one.

What can I say about this book, guys?  It's my favorite yet, I think.  Probably because EVERY. SINGLE. THING. that I've been laying out for the past 3 books is finally coming to pass.  Reveals that I've been holding to my chest, relationships that I planted as a tiny seed will finally blossom, events that I've been mulling over since I planned this book will finally blast through your brains as you read them.

Exciting times.  

It was probably the toughest one yet for me to write (I know I say that every time) because of all the build up.  And I'm not gonna lie, the last 5 chapters of this book wrung me out like a wet washcloth.  Just for the sake of my ability to edit, I'm going to have to put this thing aside for like a month and let my brain breath.  

But it's finished.  And it's glorious.  And I'm sooo sooooooo soooooooo happy with where I took the characters this time around.

So yay!

2017 Start of the Year Post

Well, it's a new year, dear readers, and you know what that means...

(Well, maybe some light partying, ya'll.)

But seriously, 2017 is going to be so awesome.  First off, I am sooooo close to being done with Ignis.  Like, Luka has 5 sections, Zyander has 2 sections, and Nikka is finished off for the rest of the book.  OMG OMG OMG.  It will need a bit of tweaking, which is when it goes off to the betas and I can get rolling on finishing up another project, which will hopefully only take a couple months before IT goes off to the betas.  Then I'll start the editing on Ignis, and maybe even start on the first few chapters of Universis, for the sake of continuity, just to make sure I'm on the right track.  But YAYAYAYAY, Ignis is almost done.

This was a hard book to write.  I made a LOT of hard choices in this one, which you'll understand when you read it.  Hopefully, you'll all stick with me through the last book. *nervous chuckle*

Secondly, I've picked out my WOTY (word of the year): EXPECTATION.  As in, I have the expectation that good things are coming.  I have the expectation that I'm going to kick ass as a writer this year.  I have the expectation that I'm not going to let anything hold me back.  It's a great word to put you in a proper mindset for writing.  "I have the expectation that inspiration will strike and I won't be stuck on this scene anymore."

Thirdly, time to fess up about my finishing series list.  Here is the final account:

1. The Lotus War books.  There is no good reason for why I haven't finished this series.  The main character is AWESOME.  The world is AWESOME. AND I OWN ALL THREE BOOKS.  Like what is wrong with me?
2. The Lunar Chronicles.  I loved these books, but for whatever reason whenever I look at how long Winter is, my brain fails.  But this year I will read the last book!!!
3. Under The Never Sky. I got partway through the last book and just quit.  What is wrong with me??? I really liked the other two books.  *sigh*  I have a problem.
4. Dust Lands.  I really loved the first book in this series, but the second book and its sibling drama (not to mention that whole rapey type scene at the end) really turned me off.  Still, I do want to find out what happens to Saba, so I need to buckle down and finish that one.
5. The Fifth Wave.  I was absolutely blown away by the first two books in this series, but I admit I am terrified of what might happen in the conclusion.  I will face my fear and read that book when it releases in FOUR DAYS??? EEP!
6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Honestly, why in heaven's name haven't I finished this series?  I freaking LOVE Laini Taylor.  Is it just that I'm a coward and I can't face how it might end?  Not sure.
7. Penryn & The End Of Days. Okay, I'm just afraid that Pen and Rafe don't end up together, so if someone could just spoil that detail for me, I'll finish this series posthaste.
8. The Heir Chronicles.  It's been so long since I read the last one that I really can't even remember what happened.  I just need to see if they have it on recaptains or something.  Because I loved every one of those stories. :)
9. Lumatere Chronicles.  I read the first of these books, but honestly, Finnikin didn't excite me very much.  But EVERYONE AND THEIR BROTHER keeps telling me I have to read the other two because they are amazing.  So I added this series to my list.  

I was going to bust through the last Dust Lands book, but alas, I got laryngitis and THEN the flu, and I just read whatever I felt like for like 3 weeks. 

I will still finish them, of course, but right now I've got other things (library things) on my plate, so there's that.

So that's the lay of the land here in Norcal.  I'll post as soon as the rough draft is finished becuz PARTY TIME, until then...

Happy Reading!

Ask The Author: Readers Rock!!

I usually try to make these entries light and amusing.  I mean, I've read a lot of author blogs, and the ones that keep things short and sweet are the ones that I enjoy coming back to again and again.  I think, however, that I will fail utterly today.

Words have power.  I think we know this.  We go through our days, bombarded by words (especially we who are bibliophiles) and many times, unfortunately, those words are not kind.  They do not help us or uplift us, instead they bring us into darkness.

This all sounds like I'm trying to be deep and introspective, but really I'm just trying to say is... I don't think we're always aware how much power our words have in this world.

As a writer, I struggle all the time with the idea that people are reading my words and are affected by them.  Like wow!  People read my words and respond to them and some even hate or love them.  That is AMAZING to me.

Today, I want to honor my fans who send me their messages.  If you've sent me an email, I've read it (probably twice! haha)  If you've left me a comment, I've noticed.

You may not believe in the power of YOUR words, dear readers, but they affect me all the same!  Many times I feel such strong gratitude for all of you.  I know you are out there, but sometimes, I admit I forget.  I feel like I'm writing words into the void and it's such a great reminder to get pulled back to earth by your kind words.

Thank you.  Thank you all.  It seems like such a small thing to say when your wonderful words left me in happy tears, but thank you.

And in return, I offer this news:  I'm at 84,276 words for Ignis.  I have a bit of middle stuff to clear up, and a few ending chapters to write after I figure out how to fit Luka's storyline into the main storyline, but I'm really happy with the progress I've made, considering how busy I've been over the past 4 months!

I will make a post later about my reading list progress (and there has been some, so yay!), but for now, I just wanted to say how much I love and appreciate my readers.   What you do for me is magic!

Hello From The Other Side (Of Christmas)

Uh... I think it's too late to say Happy New Year, so Happy Valentine's Day!  I guess.

Things are busy over here.  Over the holidays I (of course) got less done than I thought I was going to.  Such is life.
I'm still going.  I finished all my query stuff and I'm pessimistic about what the results will be, because I'm a pessimist.  I mean, the odds of success are like... 1 in 10,000 or something.  So it may be that in about 3 or 4 mths, I just put out another book.  I mean, I think I've learned by now that I tend to write stuff that is a bit... unusual.  Which is good for those of you who are fans, but for strangers I bet they scratch their heads and wonder what in the world goes on in my imagination.


I wrote a short fic for funsies, because nothing else would help me get over my angst over The 100 (if you don't know what I'm talking about WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??? IT'S SUCH AN AMAZING SHOW!!!  GO WATCH IT ON NETFLIX NOW!!!), but I'm finally getting back to Ignis which has been haunting my dreams with its insistence.

I'm hopeful it will go quick.  I'm so close to finishing up this part of the Five Tribes that I can almost taste it!  Just typing that feels good.

Finally, I chose my word of the year, which is STEADY.  Because lord knows I need some steadiness in my life right now.  Steady pace.  Steady intentions.  STEADY PROGRESS. STEADY RESULTS.

I think it's a good word for me.  That's all for now.  My time is pretty tight these days, so I'm putting most of my free time into writing.  (Yes, I know, it's all good news over here, isn't it?)

Happy Reading!

Ask The Author (the audiobook edition)

Laura asks:

Are you planning to have an audible version of Terris? I'm excited to read it - and am reading / listening to the first two books right now!

Well, Laura, as much as I do hate to disappoint my fans, the answer to this question is no.  And now the super fun explanation as to why.

So, I got the AMAZING Em Eldridge to narrate my books in some kind of cosmic blessing that I still don't quite understand.  I had signed up with ACX (which is like the indie author's marketplace for finding a narrator/producer for an audiobook).  She did the first book and the second and Audible even kicked in like $2500 extra for her.

It used to be that an author and a narrator could make an agreement that they'd make the book together and share like... 70% of the profits, I think?  Then ACX decided to slap both the creators in the face and knock that down to an absurd 25%.  So I ditched ACX and never looked back.

Now virtually every good narrator on ACX is payment only (which is how it should be, since they got royally screwed over) and believe it or not, I don't have a cool $3000 lying around my house, waiting to be spent on audiobooks.  I've got two kids, and a house payment... there are plenty of other places for that money to go!

I considered a kickstarter at one point.  I really want you guys to have yourselves an audiobook if you want one, but I'm not sure I even have the audience to fund the thing.  I'm no Amanda Hocking.  So, Laura... I'm sorry to say that the audiobook isn't happening.  Wish I had a better answer. :(


Happy Reading (errrr... listening)!

*Insert Picture Of Head Hitting Desk Here*

The first two weeks of November have been JAMMMMMM packed, because it is that nano time of year and I decided that this would be the perfect time for me to get myself started on Ignis.  Last year I did a side project (that I'm still currently revising) and even though I do have another side project about 1/2 way planned, I wanted to get right back into all the Five Tribes stuff this year.

Originally, when I started this, I gave myself one year apiece for these suckers.  That was gonna be 5 books in 5 years.  But... yeah, I keep getting caught up in other things: books, plot bunnies, LIFE.  And well, I failed utterly.

But we're getting close to the end here, folks and this book number 4 is gonna be a DOOZY.  Like, I've been wanting to write this particular book since the very beginning of the series and pretty much every tiny seemingly insignificant detail you may or may not have noticed over the course of the books so far will be brought back into play for this book.  Did you notice perhaps a sword or a figurine or a character and thought, "Why in the heck did she talk about that only to drop it and never bring it up again?"  Well, all your questions will be answered in this book and then some.

Of course, me being me, I will only end with more annoying questions.  Because there is still one more book to be written after this one.

So far, thanks to the awesomeness that is nano, I have written about 30,000 words (about a quarter of the book, if you can believe it.)  So, by the time nano is over, I hope to have almost half of the book finished (in draft form).  My estimate for the book this time around is about 120k.  That's modest by Kate standards, but don't worry.  This book will be action packed!

So yeah, by the time nano is over, I'll have Nikka & Zyander 2/3rds of the way done.  My plan has been to only write those two perspectives for this book and then work on Luka.  If you finished Terris, you already know why I would write that perspective completely separate from the other two.  If you haven't read Terris, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

So there you go.

In summary: 30k and 9 chapters into Ignis.  Will be almost halfway done with the book by the time nano finishes.  Halfway done with my final edit for the side project and halfway done with the planning phase for the OTHER side project.

And somehow I'm still supposed to get all the other crap in my life completed.  Which is why I'm regularly up at 4:30 in the am, guys.

Happy Reading!

The Power of the Reader

I came here to post good news: my book is with the proofreader and half-way through editing!  Yayayayayayay! Things are looking good for a September publication.  I also have my book cover.  Which I'm happy to share with you all.  Here you go!

I won't give any hints on what happens in this book, but as you might guess from the cover image... Luka figures rather strongly into the storyline.

As I said, I came to tell good news, but along the way I got sidetracked.  I found some long-lost comments that got sidelined for moderation and decided to "get rid of the spam" as it were.  Except, they weren't spam!  They were lovely comments from my readers, telling me how much my stories have meant to them.  They brought tears to my eyes and made me remember again why I keep doing this.

Because, honestly, I do ask myself sometimes (mostly when I'm doing line edits. yick).  Why do I keep doing this? It's hard.  It's long and complicated.  It's time consuming.  And it's just a story, right?

But you all have reminded me, time and again, with emails, with comments, with goodreads messages, that my silly little stories mean something to you.  That you want to know what happens next.  That you still wait for the next edition.

Which makes me excited that I'll be able to share it with you soon! Happy Reading!

The BIC (Big Inner Critic)

Lots of writers talk about their inner critic.  For most of us, it's that loud, cranky voice the comes in objecting to every word of the current manuscript we happen to be working on.  In my case, it's the annoying harbinger of doom that comes around whenever I'm editing.  And kicks my butt the entire time.

The good news is, I have completed the first markups of my rough draft for Terris.  The bad news is, I haven't made any changes yet.  Oh Lord.

But since I've put in multiple hours this weekend, I'm now giving myself a mini-break in the form of imparting my editing wisdom to all of you.

1)  If you have a Kindle, USE it. (No, I did not get paid by Amazon for this promotion.  Although, wouldn't that have been nice!) It's often way easier to read these things in book form and get an overall idea of where the plot is going rather than line-by-line in a word processor.
Yes, a lot of authors print out their work on paper and do it that way.  Okay, that's good, but it might cost you a pretty penny if you're an indie author like me and your book is 130,000 words long, like mine is.
2) Why use paper and a red pen when you have Kindle Touch and highlights?  OMG, highlights are the best!!! They're like a red pen, except you can add notes to them.
3) Which brings me to my next point... hey, guys, did you know about Kindle's word completion software for notes?  It's awesome!  Let me explain how it works.
You highlight a passage, and add a note and type in what you want.  But Kindle's word completion software has a memory for your most used words.
So if I type in "rewrite" into kindle and select it when the word comes up, it remembers my choice for next time.  Now all I have to do is type in "r" and rewrite pops up right away.  So it's pretty much perfect for editing, as long as you remember what everything means.
rewrite, repetitive, more, huh, confusing, transition, new (for new line)  I use these words all the time for my editing, and I do it only having to type in one letter before the word pops up. So great.
4) If you're not sure about how the words sound, then you need Free Natural Reader.  As the title suggests, it's free.  What it does is take text and read it out loud to you.  If I'm not sure about a passage or I'm worried that I missed something in a conversation, I put it in natural reader and I can tell where the rough parts are.

So that's my technique for silencing the Inner Critic through hard work and toil.  Next up comes beta reader feedback and then my next set of edits. (yay!)  Finally looking like this book may get wrapped up.

Happy Reading!

So Excited I've Been Spouting Gibberish All Day!

Well, you might have a guess about why I'm so crazypants excited today, readers.  Terris is finished.  Yes, FINISHED.  Yay for me.  I'm awesome.  Oh yeah.
Liz Lemon says, "High Five for you, Kate!"

Seriously though, I know this has been a long wait for you, so thanks for hanging in there with me.  (And for emailing me several times to ask when the third book will be out.)

But it's not all sunshine and roses, I'm afraid.  Right now the book is in three different files (which I have to admit went way better.  Will definitely be doing that again next time.) so I have to put it all together.  Then I'll be rereading the first two books (which is hardly a trial or anything.  lol).  Then I do a first read through of Terris, and look for any parts that make little to no sense, or don't work for the flow, or contradict stuff that I wrote before.  You know, the parts where I sucked at writing.

After I've gone through to make it at LEAST understandable by humans, I'll be sending it out for some plot feedback from my team of people who enjoy telling me all the ways in which I've failed.  (Alright, they're actually very nice people.)

Then comes yet another plot edit.  This is more of a fine tooth comb sort of thing, but I'll still be looking at plot issues, if anything of note comes up with the betas.

Finally, the MS goes to the proofreader for red pen work, and then it will be formatted and uploaded on various sites.

So, we're honestly still looking at August, if I want to be realistic. Or maybe July, depending on how busy I am this summer.  My kids will be gone at their grandparents' for a week, so hopefully I'll be able to push hard during that time period. :)

But I'm thrilled, beyond thrilled to be done.  I'm excited where this book has gone, and ecstatic to pick it up for the fourth edition.  I'm over halfway done with this series, and I'm both happy and kind of sad.  I've devoted so much time and energy to these characters that I really hate to leave them behind.

For now, however, Nikka, Luka, and Zyander are back and they are happy to hold your attention for a bit.

Happy Reading!

George, Mary Sues, and Epic Fantasy

I think I've mentioned before that series are HARD WORK.  If you didn't read that post, I'm just gonna sum it up for you: whining, bitching, moaning, and a little resolve toward the end.  Or if you like that sort of thing, here's the gif:

The hardest part, though, is keeping track of all that character growth that's supposed to be happening.  As I get to the end of the third book (OMG, did I just say the END?  I did.  Check out that wordcount on the sidebar, readers!), I start to think about what the character is going through.  I have a nice peek at where they've been and where they might be headed in the next couple of books.

But mostly, I wonder to myself: What Would George Do?  That's right, when I think about character work, I always go to the definitive expert (in my humble opinion, of course).  He can take the most sniveling, backstabbing character and turn them into a hero by the 5th book.  So, what would George do?

Wellllll... let's just say he likes to make things difficult for his characters.  So, okay.  Why?  Because that's how we grow as people, right?  We grow and we change and we face hardships that melt us down and purify us and turn us into bright, shiny versions of ourselves (or horrifying nasty versions, too).

Luka is probably the best example of this, but let's look at Nikka, who is kind of the reason for this series.  Nikka is a fun character to write, but let's be honest, she can get a bit Mary Sueish.  I mean, she scores a 27 on The Mary Sue Test.  Which, you know, isn't the highest score she could get (50+), but definitely in the mildly Mary Sue range.

And what's so wrong about being a Mary Sue, you ask?  Besides the fact that she pisses off reviewers everywhere?  Nothing much.  I mean, in reality, people will give you crap about your heroine being a Mary Sue, but if she works in your story, you won't hear me complaining.  

Anyway, the reason I don't want a Mary Sue in my writing is because a lot of times, she can turn out flat, if you're not careful.  I consider it my job, as the writer of this series, to keep her from heading down that road, to make things difficult for her.  

I keep George in mind when I decide what to do with Nikka.  I push her, pull her, make her question herself, her abilities, her relationships, and even her gut.  Because even though she is obscenely powerful and full of sass, she is not infallible.  She sometimes reacts too quickly, or has too much confidence in herself and it turns out that she can't just do anything she wants with the powers she's been given.

So yeah, gonna have to keep that in mind during the editing I'll be doing very very soon.  (Hopefully.)

Happy Reading!