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Fantasy Romance

Romance Novels

NaNoWriMo 2018

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I will not be doing NaNoWriMo. I know. Blaspheme.

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And any love from your family.

For those who may not be familiar with this, November in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). As part of the celebration, authors join together and attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

No, 50,000 words is not a full novel. Romance novels tend to be around 70,000-85,000 words.

But 50,000 words is A LOT for one month. A LOT. It’s almost 1,700 words a day.

Yeah, a lot.

Many people will tell authors that they *must* participate. That it shows them the pace of a true writer.

Yeah, no. Every writer is different. Every writer’s process is different.

For me, rough drafts are a tiny fraction of the work of creating a finished novel.

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To Love a Prince took me fourteen drafts. Yeah, Fourteen. After I discarded two different false starts.

Seducing the Ice Queen was ten drafts. Better, but still a lot more revising that drafting.

And while I still need to figure out how to shrink those number of drafts further and still have a product I am proud of, participating in NaNoWriMo will not get me there.

What it will do is make me stress even more, steal some of the joy of writing from me, and make my family hate my writing.

The after NaNoWriMo, I am still dealing with the unpleasant side effects while trying to get from 50,000 words to the 75,000+ words of a finished romance novel.

It also does nothing to conquer the editing process.

I’m going to posit that following NaNoWriMo might actually make my editing process more intense as I struggle to get the 1,700 words on the page rather than 1,700 words that make some sort of sense.

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Yes, most first drafts are dumpster fires. But there’s dumpster fires and then there’s industrial dumpster fires.

None of this means NaNoWriMo doesn’t work for other authors.

Whatever works for each writer is a valid form of writing, even if it means typing while standing on their head, or whatever else they may do.

Some authors swear by working at cafes. Or libraries. Or rainbow fields surrounded by unicorns.

I prefer sitting at my old computer desk or curled up in the recliner with my laptop. I like music but I don’t need it. I prefer my lap to be cat-free, but that isn’t always possible.

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Yeah, he’s cute. Until you want him to move.

I like to write when the kids aren’t awake, but again, not always possible. Sometimes I write on my lunch hour. Sometimes while my daughter is in dance class. I have toyed with the idea of dictation software so I can write in the car.

This is what works for me.

That new story I told you about? I’m over 40k words into it. I am hoping to have this first draft completed by the end of November. Then, it’s back to edits for Knight for Valor.

Writing Process: Seducing the Ice Queen

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Many of you said you were interested in learning more about my writing process, so I thought I’d share a little bit about my journey for writing Seducing the Ice Queen. If you’ve read To Love a Prince,  you’ve heard about Lady Daniella Spencer, Prince Eli’s jilted fiancée.

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I had originally started writing To Love a Prince as Daniella’s story, and Prince Eli was supposed to be the villain in it.

Then he started developing as a character. He revealed some of the events in his life that shaped him into the person he was. And how hard that person would fight to be king. Not for the power, but because he wouldn’t see the kingdom his mother died for torn apart by civil war.

Yeah, he still wasn’t entirely good, but he was interesting. And that led to me writing To Love a Prince as it is today.

But Daniella was not treated well in that book. She still needed her story, even if it was a different story than the one I’d originally planned. You’ve read about some of my issues with this story, but in the end, I feel like I’ve been true to characters.

I allowed myself to go where the characters took me. And yes, it was messy. Yes, it took nine revisions before I finally accepted I had to let go and release it into the world. Yes an editor and I had differences of opinion on the story.

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But I still enjoyed Daniella and Callen’s story. They went through a lot, but they earned their happily-ever-after (that’s not a spoiler. It’s my book. You know I always give my readers a happily-ever-after.)

 

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You will never have to worry about this from me!

Interestingly, the character I created to be the villain in their story completely rejected the role. *face palm* No, they didn’t want to do those things, thank you very much. It wasn’t in their nature. Wasn’t who they were.

Yeah, this is why I am so awful at plotting. Characters get in the way of my plots on every book!

So, I let the character be themself and reworked the story around them. The book is better for it, and now the character who was supposed to be the villain wants their own happily-ever-after!

And as it is prone to doing, my brain has been ignoring editing as it starts thinking through this new story.

Short Story: To Catch a Dragon

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To Catch a Dragon

Ndrek sat behind the bar and studied his mid-afternoon customers. Some had started drinking early, others had rented a room for the night and were just starting their day. Nothing terribly interesting among the entire lot.

Boredom itched.

Perhaps it was a good time to start work on the new spell he’d discovered.

As he slid off his stool, the door to the bar opened and the man that entered stooped to get under the door frame. Sir Leopold’s shoulders matched his height, and the gold dragon on his breastplate seemed to glow in the dim light.

The archetype for the Knights of Valor.

Now was more definitely not a good time to work on the spell.

Sir Leopold grimaced and lifted his boot off the sticky floor.

“To what do I owe this…” Ndrek paused. “Honor?”

The Knight leaned against the bar, his back to the wall as his faded blue eyes surveyed the tap room. “Don’t believe for a minute you’ve settled down as a barkeeper.”

“That is not what brought a High-Knight to my humble establishment. Perhaps you came for a Fire and Brimstone? My establishment is said to make the very best.”

Leopold stared at the pristine glasses behind the counter. “At least those are clean.”

“Too much cleanliness would scare away my best customers.”

Leopold’s eyes narrowed. “Not what I came to see you about, though I probably should.”

“Your presence is not conducive to my business. What has brought you here so you can be on your way?”

The Knight ignored the jab, reached into his cloak, and withdrew a sheaf of papers imprinted with the wax seal of the dragon church.

“A writ?”

“Interested?”

Ndrek sucked in a breath as he studied the sealed documents. “You have an army of Knights blessed by Dracor Himself. Why would you have need of me?”

“We’ve been issuing more of them lately. Not enough Knights to oversee all of Tamryn and the eastern provinces.”

“Then you need more Knights.”

“That’s up to Dracor,” Leopold said.

Ndrek bit back his quip about fickle gods. Knights were notoriously touchy about such things.

“Figure you’re getting bored about now. This’ll keep you busy and out of trouble. Pay’s not bad either.”

Ndrek grinned and took the papers, but he frowned as he read them. “This is a goose chase, as you Tamarians say. Dragons have been extinct since before men walked these lands.”

“Locals of Kelleran don’t agree with that assessment.”

“A dragon.” Ndrek rocked back on his heels as he tried to wrap his brain around the idea. “Are you sure?”

“Nope, but that’s where you come in.”

“Would not the followers of the Dragon God Dracor wish to be first on the scene?”

“Already sent a contingent of Knights.”

“They did not return?”

“Of course they returned. They didn’t see any dragons, and they didn’t find any proof that there’d ever been any.”

“Then why send me?”

“Found a few things that made some folks worry there might’ve been a dragon. Knights couldn’t tell if it was real or a hoax.”

“Would not the Knights know this best?”

“Dracor might take the form of a dragon, but dragons are magical beasts. Or they were.”

“No wizard was with the team you sent?”

Sir Leopold shook his head.

“So you think I will be able to tell for sure.”

“That’s the reasoning, anyway.”

Ndrek stared at the bundle of papers, including the generous payout. Far more interesting than tending bar.

Sir Leopold pushed off the bar. “I’ll send Knight Kailis over. She was on the original expedition. And Priestess Vaiya.”

“Was she on the original expedition as well?’

“No, but I figure if you find a dragon, you’ll want the healing skills of Priestess of Thalia on your side.”

Ndrek frowned. “You think there might actually be a dragon.”

“Doesn’t much matter what I think. It’s what you find that counts. I’ll send Knight Kailis over in the morning.”

The High-Knight nodded to him and left the bar, leaving Ndrek with the writ in his hands.

If Sir Leopold thought it was a goose chase, he wouldn’t be sending Ndrek, a Knight, and a Priestess of Thalia to investigate.

Sir Leopold also hadn’t become a High-Knight by being wrong.

Update: September is Still On!

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A quick progress update on the status of my in-progress romance novels as we all sleep off the holiday either at home, because we’re lucky, or back in the office if you’re like me and have to work today.

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  1.  The first draft of Gabriel’s novel is complete!

Okay, yes, it’s a first draft. And yes, it’s very rough. Most of my first drafts are. But it’s done, and it’s a lot longer than most of my first drafts. We’ll see how that goes later when I start revision.

 

2.  I received and read through the feedback on Seducing the Ice Queen.

My Beta reader was fabulous, as always.  She helped me identify a weakness that, when I’m done fixing, will make the hero more fleshed out and the story stronger. Helped identify a few other areas that need to be cleaned up, too, but I’m starting to feel a lot better about this WIP.

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3.  I am making the changes to Ice Queen now, and I hope to have them done before July 21st.

They are good suggestions, but not easy ones. Still, they’ll make the story better.

 

4.  I’m thinking about cover design for Seducing the Ice Queen.

If you’ve seen any covers you think would be inspirational, please send them my way!

 

5.  I’ve been toying with the blurb for Seducing the Ice Queen.

I worked with a professional to write the blurb for To Love a Prince, and she gave me some tips on how to build one. I’m planning to map out her advice, have a cocktail (her recommendation), then tackle it on my own. I still think I’ll hire her again to help me with this one. I really liked working with her. Yes, she wrote the blurb, but she taught me a lot, and I figure it’s an investment in both the book and my own skills

Things on my “To Do” List

  1. I’m waiting to hear back from my editor.

    It’s my first time using this editor, and I’m both nervous and excited to work with her. Once I get her comments, I will start working on another edit. Depending on the extent of her comments, I think I will still be track for a September launch date.

  2. Alexander and Katherine

    These are two new characters floating around my thoughts. I hadn’t planned on writing this story next, but they are rather insistent. Their story is already taking shape, and I’m not sure it will be ignored.

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    Maybe. If he’s lucky…

Update: Creative Endeavors

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While I may have posted a bit about our home remodeling adventure, I am still working very hard on my creative projects.

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I first saw white doves instead of smoke. Not sure what it says about me.

I’m on track to have the romance novel about Daniella and Callen ready by this fall. Yes, the same Daniella from To Love a Prince. She needs her own happily-ever-after.

 I finished my fourth round of revisions on this story and sent it to my editor and beta reader earlier this month. This is my first time using this editor, but I got her name from a blogger friend, so I am hopeful. My beta reader is amazing, and she’s done a better job than paid editors I’ve used.

I am both excited and nervous to hear back from them. It’s always hard to let your baby go. Yes, it’s not perfect. Yes, their honest critique will make it better. It’s still hard to hear, even if it’s needed changes.

While I’m waiting for their edits to come back, the short story I wrote about Sir Gabriel didn’t shake him out of my head. Rather, it wove him deeper into my thoughts. So, rather than work on the novel I’d been planning, he’s getting his own story. I’m 100 pages into it already, so it’s going to be a full length novel rather than a novella.

 I’ve started to think of stories for Eli and Auburn’s children, but I’ve put those plot bunnies in a pen for now.

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The creative joy of the plot bunny.

I think I will save them for a future series called the Sleeping Dragon or the Dragon Wakes.

 I still have several more story ideas for future novels in the Knights of Valor series, and I’ve had more ideas for the the series I started that involves dragon brothers and their riders.

Ideas aren’t my issue, but time sure is! The day job is quieting down as we head into the summer months, so hopefully I will have more mental bandwidth for writing and editing.

My goal is to release one more book this year and three next year.

Yes, I put that in writing. Hold me to it!

 

 

The Day After

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Yesterday was release day for my debut novel.

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For those of you giving it a chance, thank you for taking the time to look at my work and giving me the opportunity to at least try to entertain you. It’s what all those years of work is about.

And if you get a chance, I would really appreciate it if you’d stop over  and leave a review. Reviews are hugely important for indie authors. It’s how we get our work noticed, and how we get Amazon to take us seriously.

And thank you again.