Ten Years In The Making

I have a confession to make.

It’s horrifying. Are you ready to be horrified?

Here we go.

Ten years ago, I wrote the first half of my two hundred plus page novel in the notes section of my iPod touch.

No, I’m not kidding.

Yes, it was every bit as bad as it sounds.

By the time I finally succumbed and switched to a computer, I spent almost as much time scrolling as I did writing.

You know, because it was all one impossibly long document visible only through a tiny iPod touch screen.

It makes me overwhelmed just thinking about it.

What happened was this. Ten years ago, I graduated high school and promptly went on a week-long road trip with my dad to a school up in Idaho where he was lecturing. The night before we left, I started playing around with a story that I had been thinking about for a while. A medieval fantasy story about a bodyguard-turned-gladiator who is forced to gamble on his own soul to save his partner from the ring.

And, because I was leaving for Idaho the next morning, I wrote the beginning on my iPod.

Would I ever do this again?

Absolutely not.

Was it worth it?

Well . . . I’ll leave that to you to decide. Ten years later, I am still working on this book/series. (There are five!) And at the beginning of this year, my lovely editor and I began moving toward getting the first one ready to release into the world.

I’m panicking. It feels like I’m letting my baby out of the house for the first time.

Okay, my ten year old child that I should have set free a long time ago. But these things take time, okay?

Anyway, the books are ready, and this year, we are running through all of the many tasks necessary to get them released into the world. Edits, a few last revisions on chapters that need an update, cover design, interior artwork . . . I’m having way too much fun.

There’s gonna be a map, y’all. I have an artist lined up already.

I’m wildly excited.

There are a lot of steps ahead of me, so I’ll be sure to share all the exciting things as they appear! I’m crossing my fingers for a 2023 release date and promise to keep you updated.