Currently Working On...

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am usually working on several things at once. All based upon mood or a scene that suddenly pops into my head. Most of the time, I prefer random scenes showing up. One of the most productive writing techniques for me is what I call "patchwork" writing. A scene appears, I write it down, and then I try to write to get to that particular scene (which often changes by the time I get there). Then another scene appears, I write it down, and I try to write to connect the two. In this way, I have guide posts. Point A and Point B are there, I just have to get them to join up. And that's the fun part. Another way I write is strictly from start to finish. Depending on my mood and how invested I am in the project, this can be super fast and fun. It's the watching everything unfold and being dragged along by the story itself that I love. Unlike patchwork writing, this lets me experience everything as the characters do and I get the same surprises the characters do. It's like my subconscious is one step ahead of me in the writing process and I just get to read the book. It's great. Unfortunately, writing sprints like this are very, very rare because they're an almost manic experience. The book will become so all-consuming that my real life obligations will suffer. It's inevitable. So wishing for this when I have time to write isn't a bad thing, but this often comes on when I'm already overstimulated and it's a weird juggling act to balance relationships, friendships, jobs, and family while being actively stimulated by an imaginary scenario.

That said, there are at least four projects I am currently working on, so I'm going to talk about them now. (Disclaimer: I don't know when they'll be finished, if they'll ever be finished, or if they'll ever be published. But this is what I'm doing.)

1. Demon Kin: The Lovers

For Noa Belin, Fading Training Academy will always be home. After years spent on a nomad's journey, she can no longer escape the place she was called back to. Between a sudden career shift and a budding romance with an Arist, it's enough for her to consider putting down roots.

When the past comes knocking, however, it doesn't ask for permission when it starts to tear her world in two. Torn between following orders and doing her duty or throwing caution to the wind to save the man she loves, Noa's decision will shape the future of all Demon Kin.

For those of you completely unaware: yes, this is a sequel to Demon Kin: The Queen. Despite being listed in the book already, no, it is not finished. When I first started, it was fun. Really fun. Because this is, actually, a romance novel. From the beginning, however, I knew where the plot was going to go and how it would end. This is very much a patchwork writing operation. The problem here is that there aren't enough patches between where the story currently sits and the climax. So, it has stalled. That doesn't mean I don't open it at all, but rather that I open it, read a whole bunch of chapters, get in all my squeeeeeing ... and then hit the end and do that writer thing where I go, "Oh yeah. I have to finish this." Needless to say, it'll be a bit.

2. The Merchant's Daughter

Mahari would do anything for her family. Including sell herself to save her father’s life.

Vadin is desperate to clean up the mess his father left behind. Even if it means polluting his own legacy.

A contract is signed between a desperate merchant’s daughter and the king that doesn’t want her. She will make herself a place in his harem while he makes use of the connections she once possessed. As he attempts to set alliances in stone, she is unaware of the actions being undertaken to set her free.

One year. Three tasks. That is the offer Vadin makes to the merchant, Ketan, to get his daughter back. Untouched. A clause that both men are eager to keep Mahari from discovering.

With her freedom on the distant horizon, Vadin decides to use what knowledge of the world Mahari possesses to further his own ends. Grateful to hold onto some part of her old life, Mahari settles into the role of sometimes teacher, sometimes advisor, and often times one of the few who sees the man instead of the king.

Neither of them will be prepared for what one year together will do for them.

There are some books that will take me years and years to write. They are the epitome of a 'side project'. Before, it was XXY, which took me 3 years of very noncommittal writing. I'd get in the zone, throw out three chapters, and then clock off it for months at a time. Well, now the current fancy is TMD.

Honestly, I don't know what year of production we are in. I do know that TMD has been started three different times, which is unusual for me. Normally I'm stubborn and force the story to a conclusion before beginning an entire rewrite. This time, I caught some trouble spots early enough on that I decided it was best to just cut my losses and begin again. Hopefully, this greater attention to the direction of the story means that there will be less rewriting or alterations that need to occur during editing.

That said, I know exactly what inspired this story: the 1999 movie Anna and the King starring Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. Or, more notably, the song "How Can I Not Love You" by Joy Enriquez which appears on the soundtrack. The song in itself is about a forbidden love. In the case of TMD, the king himself makes a relationship forbidden, but Mahari is unaware that there can be nothing between them. Also, kuddos to my friend Connie who had me describe this as "A merchant's daughter offers herself up to a king's harem, but he doesn't actually think she belongs there, and of course it's a romance. What do I name it?" She's the one that gave it the simple, perfect, poignant title of The Merchant's Daughter. (Sidenote: TMD has open polyamory and queerness.)

3. Metaphysical Attachment

A cover I made for Metaphysical Attachment while procrastinating actually writing it.

Isolde Sterling is in hiding. In the world of Gladden University of Magick, even a weak vessel for magick outranks the most skilled hollow. Having grown up with the need to pretend to be hollow, Isolde has just about had enough. Unfortunately, a small act of revenge has caught the eye of someone she cannot afford to have know her secrets.

Cáel Blackwell is a Legendary. In ages past, his ancestor helped to overthrow a tyrannical king, thus forging their nation into what it is today, complete with an aristocratic Tribunal set to govern with logic and law. It is a position that allows for no freedom and exacts the price for every decision made. The one decision he cannot legally make is fraternizing with members of other Legendary families.

So it's a good thing Isolde isn't Legendary... Right?

As a hollow, Isolde is able to move through life with discretion. As a vessel, she can finally live up to her potential. Is the reward worth the risk? What does she stand to gain by revealing the truth? What will it cost her?

Honestly, I thought MA was going to be more fun to write. In the beginning, it really was. Lots of fun banter and one-upping happened on page and it was a joy to see Isolde discover what it meant to share her own truth with someone she chose to trust, versus those chosen for her. When I first started it, it was initially dual perspectives, with Cáel having alternate chapters to Isolde's. After a time, I realized his chapters were strictly filler and didn't progress the story much. So I reworked some of his scenes into Isolde's perspective and made her a solo narrator. (That said, I'm totally adding some of his onto the site as bonus content when this book nears publication.)

So far, the most difficult part of writing MA hasn't been throwing together a world or adding things to the pinterest board, but in writing out a story that I pretty much already know what's going to happen in. You see, MA, unlike most of my books, has an outline. It's a loose one, certainly, but very much in existence. In this way, I'm not married to anything I jotted down in my session to throw things at the wall and see what sticks, but I'm also aware that this story definitely unfolds along those lines. Therefore, it's less fun to write, even when it has its patchwork moments.

That said, I have definite plans to finish it. It's a New Adult romance with a modern fantasy setting. I won't claim it's new or different, but it's somewhat adjacent to cozy fantasy at this point. Some days, that's the exact kind of thing I want to read. Plus, the world I've created is just too cool not to revisit time and again. So there may be more stories of the same vein in the distant future.

So, there you have it. Three major projects that I'm currently working on, all in various stages of "doneness". Out of them, the only one I plan to finish in any kind of reasonable time is DK:TL. After I get more realistic about prioritizing publishing. On that note, I think I'm going to go get some writing done.