Hello, you delicious people!
I thought it would be a good idea to start doing semi-regular blog posts to update anyone who is interested on the progress of my current works. I think writing a novel and especially self-publishing is very much a vacuum that writers live in. At least, it is for me. I typically write a book (and edit) for two months. Which means, during those months, I can sequester myself away and just write. But that doesn’t really work, does it? I can’t go weeks without posting on social media or wherever. And it’s also not really fair. I’m assuming at least some of you want to know what’s happening in the process. Because I think that’s part of the magic of self-publishing. The reader becomes such an integral part of the process. You’re involved from the very beginning. It’s a fast-paced whirlwind, and sometimes I forget you’re on this ride with me.
Well, I’m resolving to fix that. So I thought these updates could scratch that itch for those of you who want to sit next to me and wave your hands in the air for this rollercoaster ride.
So my biggest project right now is Keepers, which is the second (but stand-alone) novel in the Canaan Island series. This series is my women’s fiction romance genre hop. Some of you might be like, WTF women’s fiction? But I’m steering toward calling it that because calling these books contemporary romances just doesn’t work for me. The heart of these books is friendship. And dark issues. Yes, there’s steamy romance and love. But it’s only another layer to the story. These books are about women. For women. So yeah, that’s why I’m kinda shifting gears and calling it that.
Right now, I’m at 52,000 words in the project. I’m aiming for 80,000. I plan to have that finished by the 30th.
I have the blurb finished:
Stevie Reynolds was a buzz-worthy reality star before moving to Canaan Island to escape Los Angeles and her fame-hungry parents. But not all her demons, like her penchant for wine and bad decisions, are escapable.
Completely broke and fresh out of rehab after her DUI, Stevie gets an offer from her hotshot LA ex to star in his home renovation show with Canaan’s favorite son, Cade Cooper. Stevie returns to the reality business for Cade, who’s relying on the show to help pay for his mother’s cancer treatments.
Stevie refuses to break Cade’s sensitive heart, but she can’t keep herself from falling for his kind smile and easy laugh. When the producers push her to risk her shaky sobriety and Cade’s credibility for the sake of ratings, Stevie is ready to quit—until her ex threatens to reveal an intimate secret from her past.
If her secret is leaked, Stevie will lose everything she loves on Canaan Island, including Cade.
You can add it to Goodreads here if you so desire.
And the cover is done! Najla Qamber, as always, crushed it. I plan to reveal the cover much closer to the release date.
The release date is November 14th. I do plan on doing a pre-order, but it won’t go live until the weekend before. So it’ll be a quickie. But there will be a pre-order available for the third book as soon as the second book goes live.
The plan as it stands right now is to set Fakers (book 1) free a week or two before the 14th. Keepers will release at $1.99–a discounted price. Book 3 will be available for pre-order at $2.99–full price. This could change, but as for now, this is my plan.
As for Book 3. I’m just calling in #3 because I don’t really have a title yet. My schedule tells me I’m supposed to have a good chunk of this book done, but I don’t. I’ve scrapped my previous outline for it and started over. This book is tough. Violet, the main character, deals with extreme social anxiety and agoraphobia. She also has a condition that makes her eyes very, very lightly colored and will leave her completely blind by the time she’s thirty. Her issues are hard to handle because I have to find a balance for her.
So I’m literally 1,000 words into this book. Next month, I’ll be drowning in daily word count deadlines to get this thing to my editor by the middle of November.
If you think I should be panicking, you’re right. I am. I’m just not acknowledging it. Because when I start to freak out about my word count and not being on schedule, I hit massive writer’s block. MASSIVE. This writing lock down is what happened to me during Monster Mine. And I can not have it happen to me again, because it really, really affected that book.
If I’m being completely honest, and I will be here, my fear of not getting that book done on time and the state of mind I had worked myself into ruined that book’s ending. I know it’s not right. I know I could have done better. But I screwed it up because I screwed myself up. I wasn’t kind to myself. I didn’t allow myself to find peace in the process of writing a book I love. Instead, I forced. And it shows. That ending has issues.
So, no, I’m not panicking. I can do it. I love Violet’s character. And once I figure out her story, I’ll sail straight to that word count final goal with ease.
That pretty much wraps up what I’m working on right now! I hope this made you feel like you’re a part of this process with me, because you are. Every one of you. I promise I’ll do better about letting you in from now on.