A Writer's Week #144: The Next Chapter

 First off, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post. Work has been crazy busy for almost the past two months has made it rough to focus on much of anything else.

That being said, I have managed to attend a lot of book shows and craft fairs on the weekends. I always enjoy these events because I get a chance to,meet and talk with readers, fellow authors, and the general public. I am looking forward to the upcoming four shows I'll be participating in through the end of 2025.

I have also been working on the final edits for my upcoming novella, Fire & Ice. My test readers have given me lots of great feedback, and I've been able to incorporate that. Now, I'm in the process of formatting the final manuscript. It's shaping up to be a great little book.

Artist Emily Hurst Pritchett has given me the preliminary drawings and map. Today, she sent me a preliminary color draft of the cover. Everything is looking great, and I'm really excited to see the final versions!

Here are a rough drawing of the Dragon Home map and,some sketches of potential chapter headers:

Pretty neat, huh? I really think everyone is going to enjoy this story, which takes place on Ang, one of the Dragon Islands from book three of the Deliverers Series. Right now, the book is on track for a January, 2026 release.

 

I have also begun planning the second book in the Dragon Islands Legends series. It's going to take place on the island of Jongchin about 500 years before events in Fire & Ice, and will feature a 16 year old girl by the name of Shadra. She is part of a nomad clan that lives on the steppes in the center of the island. They are competing for grazing land and hunting territory with the warlike Serpent Clan.

Shadra is a tough, independent young woman who has her own ideas on how to deal with her clan's rivals. It will be a challenge, because the serpents are ruthless, they coat the tips of their arrows with a deadly poison. I'm looking forward to,start writing. However, I need to flesh out the rest of the plot. I'll be sure to fill you in on my progress. Until then, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace

A Writer's Week #142: Mission Accomplished...Almost

 The recent Labor Day weekend was very productive for me--perhaps the most productive two days I've had in my writing career. You see, I finished the first draft of my novella, Fire & Ice. What is noteworthy is not so much that I finished the draft, but that I wrote almost 8,000 words in two days to do it.

In the past, when I set a writing goal, it's been for 2,000 words in a week. I think the reason for this sudden flood of output has been that all the remaining plot snags figured themselves out all at once and I had some time free of interruptions. Really a perfect storm.

So what does this mean? It means that I've completed a novella of about 19,500 words and that I will soon look to get final edits and rewrites completed as well as commission cover and chapter art as well as a couple of maps. I still really love Daniel Vogel's map of the Dragon Islands, but I think this novella (hopefully series of novellas) needs a new version. I am also planning to have a map of Dragon Home done so we can finally see the layout of Ang's capital city.

The Dragon Islands have so much history. It's a place with so much storytelling potential, that I could easily lose myself in its history. I think young readers will feel the same. I stumbled upon the idea of writing a series of novellas when I read fellow author Kelly Jarvis' wonderful novella, Selkie Moon. 

It awakened me to a new method of storytelling--more than a short story and shorter than a novel. It got me thinking that perhaps this might be a good way to entice preteens to read more. The attention span of all Americans is decreasing rapidly. A novella might just be interesting enough to get them to start reading without the time commitment necessary for a Harry Potter-length book. Who knows, once they get into it, they might just move on to longer books and more involved adventures. Hey, it's worth a shot.

As always, I will keep you updated on the publishing process of my latest work. I will also fill you in on my plotting for the second novella in the series, which I'm thinking will involve smuggling in the Dragon's Neck. Stay tuned.

Peace.