June Book Updates

I’m going to be perfectly honest. This book update is going to sound a lot like excuses. But life has been pretty crazy, so some of my deadlines are getting pushed back.

My 30th birthday was last Friday, and it was so great! I spent my actual birthday with my husband, mom, and sister. My mom sat up a home pedicure spa, and my husband made a fancy fondue dinner. I had a 90s themed Zoom party. Let me tell you, I was really feeling the butterfly clips.

On Saturday, my mom and one of my best friends had organized a walk-up birthday party. I sat on my balcony, and my friends signed up for a time slot to come say hi! (Time slots to ensure social distancing.) We even lowered down cupcakes and goodie bags.

Aside from that, writing has been hard lately. I’ve had some anxiety and really struggled with a lack of motivation. So, here are the book updates.

The Sage’s War

I haven’t even opened my line edits from my editor. And I had to wait to book proofreading because we had a ton of expensive vet bills. (Seriously, what are the odds of both dogs developing masses within two weeks of each other? Two different types of thankfully benign growths.)

I am finishing up some freelancing projects, then I will bust out the line edits. I am now aiming for a September 1st release if I can get proofreading done in time. That depends on my editor.

I’ve thought that maybe the reason I haven’t opened my edits is because I’ve been in Hell’s Revenge mode and couldn’t jump back into Elandria. But I think the real reason is I’m not ready to end my time in Elandria yet. It’s the last book in the trilogy. Even if I revisit the world later on, Amarice and Quinn’s story is complete. These are my babies. It’s hard to send them off.

Hell’s Revenge

I finished part one of Hell’s Revenge, so the first half of the book is done. Sort of. I know there is stuff that I need to change and cut. I keep toying with the idea of working on that before starting part two or just writing my way through the whole story and editing later.

If I really buckle down, I think I can get the entire first draft done by July 31st, which was my original goal. If not, I’ll be pushing the deadline. We’ll see.

But y’all…it’s so fucking good. I love this book so much.

Looking Ahead

It might only be June, but NaNoWriMo will creep up before we know it. I’m an ML (regional volunteer) so I have to participate. The beta draft of Hell’s Revenge will be done by then, which means I’ll be project-less.

I have a new series in mind that I’ve been musing over for a few years. In fact, that’s what I was going to start when Hell demanded to be written first. But I would need to start research in September, and I’m just not sure that’s plausible. And I always participate in a fanfic gift exchange that I usually start in October.

I also kind of love the idea of only having one major publishing project to work on. That seems like a nice mental break. I might wait to start the new book series until after Hell’s Revenge is published. (Let’s be honest, I can’t go that long. I’ll probably make it until the book goes to the editor.) So there’s a chance I might spend NaNo writing fanfiction because I find that more way less stressful.

So keep an eye out for updates! And here are some birthday pictures.