It’s Coming!

My second book, Norcliff, is now available on Amazon for pre-order as an ebook!

Click here to see the book on Amazon.

Here is the summary:

A GREAT LOSS
Erin Hart is devastated when she loses her fiance and parents on her wedding day. To get her parents back, she must choose between bowing to the demands of the neighboring Mortons or gathering what allies she can and fighting to free herself from their clutches.
A POWERFUL FOE
The Mortons hold Erin’s parents hostage and won’t brook any refusal to comply with their wishes. Ardent Morton has demanded Erin’s hand in marriage, and with it, the control of Erin’s home, Norcliff.
A LOOMING THREAT
Erin must travel to the capital to seek help from King Ulrich and the nobles at court, but with bandits harrying Arndale from the north, what aid can Erin hope to receive?

Here is where you can find early copies:

eARCs are available on NetGalley

I will be hosting a Goodreads Giveaway in November

The book comes out December 1st!

The Final Editing Stretch

This November, I’m making a final push to finish editing my second novel. It’s going surprisingly well, considering I also have two projects due for the final term of my MBA. I’ve also started up a list of literary agents to query to in the hopes that one of them might decide to represent this novel. They’ll probably all reject me, but at the moment it’s exciting to think of the possibilities. I’ll try to hold onto that to motivate me for as long as possible, although I’m sure the discouragement will creep in soon enough.

I’m really proud of this second novel. It’s just what I dreamed of writing as a child reading fantastical adventures and thinking of how much I’d like to make one of my own. I love the characters, the adventure, the overcoming of obstacles, and the romance. I’m especially proud of the last two lines. I can’t wait to share them with you.

Spring

I’m almost done with my master’s degree now. One more term should do it, I think. It’s been a wild journey, but it’s also mostly been enjoyable. Once that is done, I plan to do more writing as my free time once again grows. It’s been a quiet few years as I focused on my work and my studies.

I’m in the middle of editing my second book, and I’ve been in the middle of it for a while now. This book’s becoming has lingered so long that a member of my family who was alive when I started editing is now dead. I like the fact that this book can serve as a bridge to fond memories of this person, my grandmother. I actually did some editing while sitting with her, the last time I saw her well. She was glad that I was writing. She loved books.

So much has changed since I started writing this second book. I guess I’m writing this blog post to say that I’m waiting. Waiting for spring to come. Waiting for my work to ease. Waiting to write again.

Happy New Year

I’m looking forward to 2022. A lot happened in 2021, and most of it was good. I hope that’s the general trend for the year to come as well. My goal this year is to finish putting in all the edits for my second book, so that it’s ready to get sent out to literary agents in the unlikely event that one requests the manuscript. Then I want to send out ten query letters. Yes, that’s right, just ten.

The last time I sent out query letters, I got incredibly stressed out each time I saw an email from an agent in my inbox. They were all rejections, but that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was the anxiety that came with seeing the email in the first place. If it was a request, that was opening the door to more torturous hope, difficult work, and related agita, and if it was a rejection, it was another person who didn’t like my work quite well enough to invest in it.

I’m still going to send out query letters for my second novel, but I’m not going to subject myself to many of them. I had a blast self-publishing last year, even though barely anyone read my book and even fewer bought it. I really won’t mind self-publishing again.

In related news, I just want to say a quick word about supportive professors. I had a law professor a couple of terms ago who encouraged me to send out query letters for my first book, even though I was hesitant to step in those waters. If he hadn’t encouraged me, I doubt I would have done it at all. He’s pretty awesome, so let’s hear it for awesome professors!

While I am of two minds about the traditional publishing process, part of me still hopes for it to happen for a book of mine one day. I suppose we all hope foolishly for things. Maybe it’s wise to have a little foolish hope.

A lot of people say new year’s resolutions are foolish, too. So, let’s be a little foolish. Set a goal for the year. Who cares if you achieve it or not! Just try! You’ll be glad you made the effort, just like I’m glad I sent out those query letters. And celebrate how far you’ve come. You’re great. Remember to tell yourself that once in a while. Happy New Year.

Communication

I am trying to connect with you

My brain to your brain

Each packed separately

Within walls of bone

I’m using words

The only way to get them to you

is by the opening of your eyes.

Please open them, now

your mind, too

if it’s not too much trouble.

I will open my heart in return

as well as I can.

Let these words build a bridge

between you and me

across space

and the vast gulf of our differences.

Writing On

I’m in the middle of two big writing projects now. I am wrapping up editing for my first fantasy novel in what is turning out to be a series, and I have started writing the second in the series. It’s exciting, because I’m doing exactly what I feel I’m meant to be doing, what I’ve always wanted to do. Ever since I discovered fantasy novels at my town library, I’ve wanted to write one. And now I have. And I am. The covers for the first two novels are already illustrated, and then…we’ll just see how far this story goes.

I thought I would participate in NaNoWriMo again this year to motivate myself to keep going with these books, but life is getting in the way a bit. Oh well, I’ll just keep writing when I can.