July 2023: Annwyn's Metamorphosis, After Wendy's Revisions, and the Months to Come

July has been nuts! With the family vacation behind me, and my son's best friend moving away this week, it's been a hectic and emotional roller coaster.

Yet I still finished the Secrets of Annwyn scaffolding outline and prologue. Given how long Annwyn has taken up real estate in my head, it's freeing to finally get it down on paper. With over 60,000 words in character and plot development, and another 40,000 words in false starts, I'm on track and falling in love with writing again.

After Wendy is coming along. Transcription-style revisions are murder, but I'm trekking along and making it shine. If all goes well, I'll have a polished first act by the Colorado Gold Conference in September.

The kids go back to school on August 14, and I can't wait to have more time to write and create.

On the docket for August: writing 15,000 words of Annwyn; revising chapters eight through ten of After Wendy; editing; judging RMFW's anthology submissions; and perfecting my pitch for Colorado Gold.


Favorite Universal Studios Attraction: Hogsmeade Village

Favorite Re-Watch: Peep Show


August TBR:

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

Eldritch Punks by Oliver Blakemore

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

June 2023: Projects and Tentative Summer Reads

For the past two months, I've been hard at work world building the Doors of Annwyn series, revising After Wendy, and drafting a sci-fi short story. I'm hoping to have the prologue for The Secrets of Annwyn finished by the end of July, the sci-fi story, "A Message from Beyond", complete and ready for submissions by mid August, and the After Wendy revisions nearly complete by the beginning of September.


Favorite read: Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney

Favorite watch: The OA (a rewatch)


Summer Tenative TBR:

Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt (Tor Nightfire ARC)

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

It by Stephen King

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang (Tor ARC)

April 2023: Revising, WIPs, and Upcoming Writing Conferences

This month has been a bit of a mess. I began with a couple short stories and ended with the goal of penning 126,000 words (or so) of The Secrets of Annwyn by mid-August.

Despite my reluctance to begin my epic fantasy series too early, I've since backpedaled, realizing I would much rather write about Cassilyn, Fenwick, and Marlowe than anyone else. I have set a goal of 8,400 words written a week and believe that's manageable—even with the looming summer break at the end of May.

Apart from Annwyn, I've been reading through After Wendy and making notes for new scenes. Fingers crossed I have it revised, polished, and ready to go by September, when I pitch to an agent in person.

I will be attending the Nebula conference from the comfort of my home in a couple weeks and will be attending—and running a workshop—at the Colorado Gold Conference in September.


Favorite Watch: Nope

Favorite Read: The Gemarine Chronicles by JP McDonald


May TBR:

Fractal Noise (ARC) by Christopher Paolini

Demon Riding Shotgun by LR Braden

Conscious Designs by Nathanial White

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne

The First Bright Thing (ARC) by JR Dawson

March 2023: Works In Progress and Upcoming Projects

This month has been interesting. After pushing off Annwyn's first draft, I've focused my creative efforts on smaller works of fiction. I'm currently writing a climate-focused story for an upcoming anthology and will move onto a piece about a clairvoyant soon after.

In April, I plan on revising and adding to After Wendy, polishing my short story, working on Annwyn's cultures, and outlining a vampire apocalypse novel.


Favorite read: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

Favorite listen: The Publishing Rodeo Podcast


April TBR:

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

Fractal Noise (ARC) by Christopher Paolini

Witch King (ARC) by Martha Wells

Looking Glass Sound (ARC) by Catriona Ward

Schrader's Chord (ARC) by Scott Leeds

After Wendy's Untimely Conception

With reluctance, I am pulling After Wendy from the query trenches. The market is saturated with retellings, the word count isn't standard, and it doesn't fit neatly into genre expectations. While I would love to see this book in print sooner rather than later, I am shelving it because I don't feel it would do well as an independently published novel either. While there are romantic elements, I worry there isn't enough for those seeking a YA romance. Instead, it's a coming-of-age story with a romantic subplot and a fair amount of monsters and bleakness. Maybe once the retelling craze has died down, I'll give it another go.

February 2023: The Secrets of Annwyn and the Publishing Conundrum

Last week, I finally nailed down the main plot for The Secrets of Annwyn. This series, which has had its overarching conflict for going on two years, is officially ready to write. I'll be working on a map, my magic system rules and limitations, and character arcs before I begin chapter one next week. I hope to have a running word count to share next month.

After Wendy has proven difficult to sell. If you've been with me since Lipstick Covered Magnet, you won't be surprised by my inability to write to market. I'm hoping that a final revision, to add more monsters and tension, will bump up the word count closer to market standards. If I still can't find anyone interested, I might independently publish. Even if it means I make less money, I'd rather it be available to anyone who wishes to read it.


Favorite read: Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi

Favorite watch: The Queen's Gambit


March TBR (many rolled over from February):

Night's Edge by Liz Kerin (Tor Nightfire)

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (Tor)

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire)

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom)

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini (Tor)

October 2022 Update: Querying Update, Current Projects, and Other News

My fantasy series, The Many Doors of Annwyn, has officially begun. I am 3,500 words into the first draft, and I can't wait to hit over 50k during NaNoWriMo!

After Wendy has been sent to ten agents, seven of which have rejected it. I intend to bump up the word count a bit, to somewhere closer to 60,000, in case that is the reason why it's been shot down. I was also told that there are many classic retellings/reimaginings releasing soon and that it might not be the right time to shop a Peter Pan sequel. But we'll see.

Apart from those two projects, I'm brainstorming for a TV series and am getting excited about an interdimensional travel short story.


November TBR:

Africa Risen

The Name of the Wind

The Fifth Season

The Ballad of Black Tom

Quick Update: After Wendy

Since releasing Lipstick Covered Magnet, I've been working on a YA Peter Pan sequel called After Wendy. I am currently 32,000 words deep and expect to have something ready for beta readers by the end of July. Stay tuned for more details.

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