2024’s Oops Way Late Writing Update

It appears to be time for my annual ‘oops, I forgot to write an update about my writing progress’ post.

In fairness, I meant to write this post several times throughout this year. But every time I added it to the queue, something came up. Partly, I’ve been working around my hectic release schedule. (Which has felt more hectic this year than in past years.) But it also has a lot to do with the fact that I lost two hard drives this year. (One in April and the second in August.)

My primary goal every week is to keep up with my production schedule. If I don’t do that, I can’t release books on time. And I’m really attached to getting books in readers’ hands when I promise I will. Every equipment failure puts me a little more behind. But my response so far has been to put my head down and soldier onward. (More about that in another blog post.)

That means that despite the setbacks, my writing progress this year has been fairly steady. My efforts last year to ‘catch up’ my schedule were largely successful. So this year’s goal has been to maintain the schedule I set without overworking myself or flirting with burnout. (It’s harder than it sounds!) Some of the more business aspects of being a full-time author have certainly fallen by the wayside. (And I have felt the effects of that.)

But this post is about what I’ve been writing. So let me catch you up on my projects!

Finishing the Aruvalia Chronicles

Most of my last update was devoted to this epic 15 book fantasy tale that takes place in a modern-day world. I started writing it in 2019, while we were moving house. I worked on it all through the pandemic. And I’m still chipping away at it as I prepare each book for publication.

At this point, I’m pleased to say I’ve finished writing the entire story. From start to finish, it exists in physical form, even if not all of it is polished enough to be viewed by other eyes. When I started this project, I thought it would be 3 books total. When I realized a book in my brain is 3 on paper, I thought it would be 9. But it grew another six along the way.

Writing the Aruvalia Chronicles has therefore felt like a Herculean task. And when I started, it was hard to imagine hitting the end. Now that I have, it feels surreal.

I wrote ‘the end’ of the final book in January of this year. I’m still working my way through edits, and about half of the series still needs to pass through my beta readers before I’ll be satisfied it’s doing all the things I want it to do. Still, it feels good to have reached the far side of this project and see the end in sight.

This series is not only my longest, it also involves the most complicated plot I’ve ever written. Not to mention more action sequences than any other series. There’s been a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, and I’ve had to make a lot of hard decisions about what to include. But it feels good to look back and see how much I’ve learned since I started it.

It’s Never Quite Goodbye

I have a lot of feelings about this series in particular. Though I didn’t start writing it until 2019, I started planning it in 2011, which means it’s been my baby for a long time. It hasn’t always occupied the forefront of my brain. I worked on a bunch of other projects before clearing the way for this one. But that’s still a long time to focus on something knowing you’ll eventually put it aside and move on.

One of the main reasons it took so long to produce the Aruvalia Chronicles was that I wanted to make sure I was up to the challenge. When I first started seriously writing novels, I knew I lacked the skill and finesse required to handle the situations I wanted to depict. And while writing is a thing you learn by doing, I wanted some practice before I dove headlong into the complicated nuances of Domerin’s story.

I’m glad I took the time. The action sequences in the Celestial Serenade are far better executed than those in Dream Things True. And working through both of those series made it a lot easier to plot and execute the epic struggles of the Aruvalia Chronicles. And while I’ve never shied away from tackling tough emotions or philosophical questions, my handling of both has become far more deft over time.

I’m aware that every series I write is always going to be better than the last one. That’s just how writing works. But I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for this one and all the lessons writing it taught me.

I’m far from finished with these characters. They have a lot more story to tell me. But I’m prepared to polish this particular series and set it aside in favor of other adventures.

Looking Forward

My planning always has to be a little farther ahead than everything else. I always need to have the next novel outlined well before I’m ready to start it, so my brain can start processing the necessary information. Now that I’ve finished the Aruvalia Chronicles, I’m planning to briefly revisit the Celestial Serenade. (More on that another time!) But after that, I hope to start something entirely new.

Since I write both sci-fi and fantasy, I try to balance between the two. If I’ve spent a lot of time on science-fiction, I like to dig my fingers deep into fantasy with my next project. These genres tend to blend quite readily, so it’s often hard to find the dividing line. But since I’m only dipping my toes into sci-fi after finishing Aruvalia, my next project will be something of a blend.

I don’t have much to say about it yet. This project has been particularly hesitant to share details with me. But the working title for the project is called “Ghost Path.”

This is a story about a place that sits between realms. A non-space, without kingdoms or cities – but not without citizens or rules. The characters of Ghost Path have lost their way, fallen between the cracks of the universe and ended up in a place where no one wants to stay for very long. Their only chance of getting home lies in following the path of the infamous Ghost Train which stretches the length of this mysterious realm.

Each has their own reason for falling from grace, and each has a task that calls them home. But that doesn’t mean this realm will part with them so easily.

I’m looking forward to digging my fingers into the world-building for this story and discovering the characters it follows. After that… Well, let’s just say Domerin is bound to come back, but not in his current form.