Good morning, dear Reader! I hope that this first day of February finds you well.

I have a few important updates for you today. And one that makes me super sad, but has to be said.

I cannot commit to bringing you February is Fantasy Month this year.

I really wish I could. It is a super major bummer that I cannot do it this year.

But the reasons I can’t do it this year are mostly all good and exciting things.

My family and I are about to embark on a new adventure together, which is all good things, but it does make for some additional work around here for a bit.
I have SOOOOO much authory stuff I am trying to get done (more on that below), and blogging is just going to have to take a bit of a back-burner placement this year in general
I spent the past week pretty much bed-ridden and sicker than I’ve been since the really nasty stomach bug I caught in high school, and that has set me back quite a bit on all the plans (this is the one not-exciting reason)

I hope that you understand. I know a lot of you (like me!) look forward to this event every year, and I wish I could make it work, but I don’t want to put in a half-hearted attempt.

HOWEVER

I don’t want to just leave you hanging and missing all the fantasy goodness. So, here’s the plan: I WILL be sharing some super awesome cover reveals here this month. And I’m about to tell you about a bunch of the exciting things I have going on that you can look forward to in the near future. So hang tight, because there’s been a LOT going on behind the scenes!

AN ECHO OF THE FAE AUDIO BOOK!

That’s right! In case you missed my very sneaky reveal of this little tidbit of information, I’ve teamed up with another super-awesome narrator to bring you An Echo of the Fae in audio form! I am so excited about this project, we’ve been working on it since about October and I am tentatively hoping that all the recording and revisions can be done by the end of March, which means this could be available as early as April. We shall see. We’re through chapter 17 at this point, so we have 13 left to go.

Brenna Colleen Castor has done such a beautiful job bringing this story to audio so far, I couldn’t be more pleased or excited about it, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it, but I’ll wait until we’re closer to the release date!

A WRITING RETREAT WEEKEND

Before I got hit with the worst sore throat I’ve ever had, I managed to get away for a little mini-writing retreat weekend. (That first picture up at the top of the post is a glimpse at my set-up). This Friday night-to-Sunday morning vacation was really fantastic, and I got a ton of good work done.

I wrote 7,055 new words on that Super Secret Project that I still am bound by ancient oaths not to reveal much about, but it’s gonna be EPIC. These were good words, too. I didn’t do any word sprinting (nothing against word sprinting, I LOVE word sprinting, but I didn’t use that technique this time around). This project is now sitting at about 12,000 words total, so I’d say I’m close to a quarter of the way done with the rough draft.

I also used some of that time to get caught up on listening to the latest chapters of An Echo of the Fae that Brenna had uploaded for me.

And finally, I started a final pass through The Orb and the Airship with a fine tooth comb before I send it back to my editor for a final look before it’s ready for proofreading/copyediting! I made it through chapter 9 (out of 47), so I’ve still got a ways to go, but my goal is to be completely finished with this pass by the end of February so that I can move on to my content notes on book 2: Mantles of Oak and Iron.

Whew.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but I got a TON of work knocked out and I feel good about the momentum I started. Even if it did come to a bit of a screeching halt once I got home, I think I can keep a good clip going now that I’m feeling better.

Covers for Turrim Archive!

I’ve also got my cover designer all lined up now for all 5 books of the Turrim Archive. We start designing the covers in earnest this month, but we’ve done a little preliminary work and had some discussions about style and font and things and oh my goodness, I am so excited about these covers. I absolutely cannot WAIT to share them with you, they’re gonna be epic!

Another Christmas Picture Book is in the works

And finally (I told you a ton was going on behind the scenes lately), I have written another Christmas Picture book, and I just began discussions with an illustrator. It’s gonna be a bit on the longer side for a “children’s” book, but I think you’re all going to enjoy it anyway. It’s not fantasy, but you know what… that’s just how I roll sometimes.

Hot chocolate features heavily in the story.

And it’s kind of one of those sweet, sad, introspective type stories.

But I love it, and I hope you do, as well.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that it will NOT be ready in time for Christmas 2022, but I’m hoping I can get it to you by Christmas 2023!

2023 is gonna be a big year, I think.

Okay. I think that’s everything

It really ought to be.

I’m exhausted now and need a nap. (though that could be the whole “recovering from an illness” thing talking)

What have you been up to this year so far?

Any big plans on the horizon?

Are you excited about An Echo of the Fae being an audio book?! Or about any of these other projects I’m working on?

I know I’m gonna be a bit on the quiet side over here this year, dear Reader. But it’s because I’m trying my best and working my hardest to bring you some epic new reads. Please be patient with me!

A Writing Update: January 2022