Well, that’s not entirely true. Just no text here. If you know me personally you’d know I’ve been no end of busy with three writing projects and several editing contracts. I believe the majority of my decisions in life can be summed up with: it seemed like a good idea at the time. It just means that I have so much I want to do that I regret that I have to sleep so much. But yes sleep is important. So is food! Although it really sucks when you sleep in and miss the farmer’s market. #priorities??
Ottawa Independent Writers are putting out another anthology this fall. So I’ve been busy editing stories for that. I think we have some gems in there. I also took on a last minute editing job for a fellow author, Susan Jennings. You can find her here if you’re interested: https://susanajennings.com She’s written a lovely period piece set in London during the first world war. It was great to be involved in that project. But all of this editing means I haven’t been doing enough of my own work.
Here’s the synopsis of my progress:
Julianne (working title) – I finished the first draft of this rewrite in December 2018. I’m not entirely happy with several elements of the story though. I want to add in more backstory and introduce a couple of characters earlier in the book. So I’m doing an edit and adding additional material as I go. Slow progress but progress nonetheless.
Emily Dorais (working title) – I’m working on chapter eleven. This is the last ‘write from scratch’ chapter I have left. Then it’s off to flesh out the material I wrote in the UK in 2013 so I can finish the book. I had a lot of reservations about the value of this piece when I picked it up again but I’ve come to the conclusion that this might be more of my innate undervaluing of my work and less to do with the piece itself. So I have put little reminders of the value in my notes and I keep on going. Hoping to finish this one before the year is out.
Terran B and the Asteroid Field – I just finished chapter 3 on this piece. I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by Terry Falis earlier this year so I decided I would map out this novel and give his method a try. I have the majority of the book worked out. I just need more of that elusive time. Do I really need to sleep/eat?
On the back burner – The story of Robin, Hans and Tim from the Pure Red Sand series is about a third of the way complete. I need to work out a couple of major plot points but I’ll get there. This one will move into the ‘In Progress’ queue as soon as one of the three ongoing projects leaves. The collection of short stories, Tales of an Immigration, also from this series is still on the go. I’m thinking instead of focusing on stories of love (not necessarily all romantic), I might add more general topics. If there’s someone you were wondering about, let me know. They may need a story of their own. I’ve also got a couple of historical novels that are in the early research stages. One set during the war of 1812 and the other most likely during the 1920s (location TBD). So as you can tell, I’m good for at least the next decade. Not that it will stop me from coming up with more projects no doubt.
Oh! There’s also a poetry collection in the works. If you’ve come out to see me in person, you know I’ve been selling chapbook collections of short stories as part of a greater piece called The Collected Words. There are two volumes out now and I’m hoping the poetry collection will join them soon.
Anyway, that’s all for now because I really should be writing. Hope you’ve enjoyed the update. If you have questions/comments/invitations to outer space, please send them along. I really enjoy hearing from you. Makes my month actually. 🙂
It's all about the words 