NaNoWriMo is around the corner!

And no, I’m not participating. Again.

Not in the normal way, anyway.

I’m such a rebel.

It always sounds like a blast. I promise. I am envious of the people who can set aside the month of November and type until their fingers fall off. I’m assuming these people don’t have to homeschool their children or travel to family or have to cook Thanksgiving dinner or anything like that. (tips hat to anyone who manages to win Nano WHILE doing those things… you are my hero).

It’s just that… I apparently don’t start books in November.

Like, ever.

Maybe once.

I’ve participated in Nano 8 times. (not counting some camps) And I’ve won exactly once.

That gets a little discouraging, Y’all.

So I’ve stopped bothering to try. Instead, I’m happily over here being on the sidelines cheering on mah author buds and doing my own Rebel Version of Nano… in which I continue… editing!

I love the authorly energy that exists on the interwebs in November, and I will be participating… just in my own way.

I’ve just had to come to accept that I will draft new stories when I draft new stories and it’s probably never going to be in November, and that’s just something I’m gonna have to deal with.

However, I am still participating in Christine’s KNOW THE NOVEL linkup because I can, and because I am working on my stories. I’m just not drafting. Rebel, remember?

So, what am I working on?

I will be spending November editing book 5 of the Turrim Archive: Towers of Might and Memory.

For those of you who are new, or have forgotten, I am currently working on a 5-book fantasy/gaslamp series that I plan to rapid-release starting sometime in 2023.

Here is a handy graphic with the titles of said novels!

How much of this will happen during NaNoWriMo?

I am HOPING to have the editing done before the Christmas holidays… and if I could finish by the end of November and take all of December off, that’d be swell. We shall see.

Without further ado…

THE QUESTIONS

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

Well, hm. This particular novel was the logical next book after the previous one. I’m not sure I can really pinpoint exactly what sparked the idea for THIS novel, as it’s the final book in the series. What I really have to do is go back to the beginning.

Like Inigo Montoya.

The whole Turrim Archive series wasn’t actually my idea in the first place… it was Derek’s (my husband). ALL THE WAY BACK in 2004/2005 when we were just newlyweds, I was working on writing Minstrel’s Call, and Derek kind of got inspired to try his hand at writing his own fantasy book. He built the world of Turrim and spent a ton of time on the history of the world and the logistics of how things worked. Two of the main characters: Dalmir and Grayden, were also his creations.

However, after wrestling with the story for about a year or two, he decided that writing it wasn’t his cup of tea and he asked if I would be willing to.

I declined this generous offer over and over again, worried that if I didn’t write the story “correctly” he would be hurt or offended.

When I finally explained my reluctance to him, though, he said I could do whatever I wanted with the story and the world. I didn’t have to keep any of his characters or ideas… he just wanted me to write a story in Turrim (at the time he was calling it Aelon Ere).

He has been instrumental in the plotting and planning of this whole series. He has helped me with so many places where I’ve been stuck or trying to figure out what to do in the initial drafts and outlines for these books. So, while I’ve done a lot with the story that wasn’t in his initial vision, he definitely deserves a lot of the credit when it comes to the overall design of these books.

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

The basic gist is this: Our heroes are in a race against deadly assassins to uncover a lost orb of power that may tip the balance in the war between the Igyeum and Telmondir. Or it could spell doom for them all.

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

It’s a gaslamp/fantasy set in a world where technology has been artificially accelerated by the use of powerful orbs. For example; they have airships, but no electric lights. The setting is akin to the early 1800s England or New England, but Turrim is very much its own, completely fictional world not at all related to our own.

Some of my favorite things about the setting have also been the things that have caused me the most headaches. I wanted this to feel like a complete world (even though it’s small) so each of the 6 countries has a different culture and topography. Which meant I had to think through six different unique cultures, and I had to be pretty thorough, because I have main and secondary characters who come from each of those countries!

The world is also split down the middle, which made things a little more tricky. There are TWO currency systems, for example.

The Igyeum - is the eastern half of the world, comprised of Palla, Malei, and Vallei.
Telmondir is the western half of the world, comprised of Ondoura, Dalma, and Telsuma.

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

Grayden - a young man from Dalma whose family farms orchards. In book 1, he leaves home to attend his region’s military academy, and he gets caught up in the war before it even begins. Grayden is a fairly serious young man, but he enjoys joking around and pulling off a good prank. He misses his family, but loves being a part of something bigger than himself, and he loves that he is helping keep them safe by joining the Defenders.

Wynn - Grayden’s best friend from back home, also gets into the military academy. Wynn is an engineer who loves to build things. When he gets focused on a project, it consumes him and he has to see it through (often forgetting to eat). He’s a bit socially awkward and has a hard time in crowds or with a lot of noise. He is the oldest of seven. His father traveled a lot before settling down, and Wynn has grown up on stories of his father’s adventures… so he yearns to see the world.

Beren - from Telsuma, this serious young man meets Wynn and Grayden on the way to the military academy and they all become fast friends. Beren sees the world in stark contrasts of right and wrong, and has a hard time with “gray areas.” He is good-natured and friendly, but gets cranky when pushed to his limits.

Dalmir - An old man who lived in a tower in Grayden’s home town. Nobody knew he was up there until Grayden climbed up the window and plopped through his window. Something about Grayden made him come down and he is now involved in rather a lot that is going on. Can’t say much more.

Marik - An airship pirate captain from the Igyeum side of the world with a pretty murky past. There are things about Marik’s past that he has tried to hide and run from, and he’s got a deep vendetta against the Ar’Mol (leader) of the Igyeum.

Raisa - Part of Marik’s crew of airship pirates. Raisa becomes a much bigger character in later books… featuring as the main character in book 4: The Prisoner and the Pirate. I can’t go into too much detail on her because: SPOILERS but I love Raisa to pieces and can’t wait for you to meet her.

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

The Ar’Mol - leader of the Igyeum, he is bent on conquering Telmondir and ruling the entirety of Turrim

The Ar’Molon - the Ar’Mol’s right hand man. It is whispered that he is the true power behind the scepter.

Lorcan - A madman in the employ of the Ar’Molon… and basically a bio-terrorist. But it’s tricky.

Roald - An assassin trying to beat our heroes as they race to recover a lost artifact that could help them win the war.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

This is where the character arcs all come to fruition and the characters really step into their own. I always love that part of finishing a series, seeing how far the characters have come and watching them become who they were meant to be. I also am just excited about finishing this round of edits and moving into some more of the fine-detail work that comes next as I get this series ready for release.

Sorry, just had to get an Eliot gif in here somewhere. He’s doing his sarcastic excited face, but I’m ACTUALLY excited about this book. For realz.

There’s a lot that excites me about this series. Some of the things I am most excited about happened completely by accident and are a little spoilery, so I can’t say too much about them… but I will say that in amongst the steampunk and sci-fi… a little glimmer or two of “high” fantasy snuck in as well. This series absolutely refuses to stay in a neat little category, and you know what? I’m cool with it. Maybe everyone will love it. Maybe it’ll be super niche like the movie Cowboys and Aliens. Either way, I’m just looking forward to releasing it into the wild.

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

It is a 5-book series, and I’ll be working on book 5.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

Editing!

But when I’m drafting, I’m definitely a plantser. I like to have enough of an outline to know where I’m headed, but if the story wants to surprise me with something, I totally let it!

9. Name a few unique elements about this story.

Let’s see. Fantasy/gaslamp is a pretty tiny little genre that sort of gets to play in all the sandboxes. It’s a world that has airships, and yet the most technologically advanced weapon is a crossbow. There is a creepy guy who is using an ancient power to do genetic manipulation and creating some pretty terrifying monstrosities. There is even a murder mystery in book 3 that is one of the main plots!

One of the more unique things that I love about this series is the blend of “magic” (which is not a word that will actually show up in any of the books) and technology. I love that this is a world on the cusp of basically an industrial revolution. And I love that I’ve already got ideas for a follow-up series in which we get to return to this world maybe a hundred years into the future and see it vastly different in terms of tech and politics and things.

It’s also one of those stories where, yes, the villain is trying to conquer the world, but he’s not trying to destroy it. So it’s high stakes, but not world-ending stakes, if that makes sense.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

Well, here’s the original map… as you can see, it doesn’t have the correct names on the countries… I need to update those, and add in a lot more detail.

Or rather, Derek needs to do all that. I don’t do maps. LOL

Here’s an aesthetic I made for Marik, my airship pirate a while back!

And here’s an aesthetic I made for Raisa… who is the main character in book 4 (the book I’m currently editing - hoping to be finished with this book tomorrow!)

Here is a sampling of the music I’ve been listening to first when drafting and now while editing these books:

Yuuuuup. And I’ve got ALL the Firefly/Serenity vibes going with this series.

And that’s all I’ve got for this first round of KNOW THE NOVEL! Many thanks to Christine for creating this link-up and for keeping it going this year! I hope you enjoyed reading about my up-coming series! I’ll be back in November with round 2 to let you know how it’s all going!

Do you have any questions about the Turrim Archive? Anything you’d like to know more about? Let me know in the comments!

Know the Novel: Part 1