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Wednesday 29 October 2014

What's Up Wednesday

It's time for What's Up Wednesday, a weekly meme run by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow. Here's what I've been up to this past week!

What I'm reading

Blue Lily, Lily Blue.*sigh* I can never get enough of Maggie's writing. Sooo good!

I've also been reading some books by my fellow CQ authors, including the hilarious urban fantasy The Book of Bart by Ryan Hill, which is narrated by a demon; The Curse Merchant by J. P. Sloan, another great urban fantasy which I think fans of the Dresden files would enjoy; and God's Play by H. D. Lynn, a great take on shape-shifters and magic.

And I read The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley, because I've been in the mood to read more high fantasy, science fantasy and alternative-universe fantasy - and wow, does this deliver! God, the world-building in this. I'm envious.

What I'm writing

I finished the first draft of Book 2! *dances* This one's 76K and took 34 days (though I was editing/in Iceland part of that time). I'm pretty pleased with that! :D

I've also been doing more worldbuilding/research and re-outlining for Book 3. I'm in two minds about NaNo because this one's going to be tricky, and I also have Darkworld edits AND two book releases to prepare for... but I've added Shiny Book 3 to my NaNoWriMo profile anyway. And, uh, I sort of accidentally started writing it.

Did I mention I love this series?!

What works for me


Although I fast-draft, I do sometimes go back and edit if a particular issue is really bothering me. I was really close to the end of my draft, but there were a couple of plot elements that kept nagging at me because something felt off. After struggling along for a couple of days, I finally decided to go back and fix the problems, and the words started flowing again!


What else I've been up to


Not much outside of work/writing/sleeping (damn you, winter and SAD, making me tired all the time. *cries*) But I have some exciting things coming up soon. I'm revealing the cover for Fear's Touch: A Darkworld Novella on Halloween (seems appropriate!), and for Walking Shadow (Darkworld #2) I'm organising a cover reveal, book blitz, blog tour and Facebook party. Sign-ups are now open here! :)

For Halloween, I've also written a Darkworld short story exclusively for my newsletter subscribers, from the perspective of the villain in Darkness Watching! (I think I referred to this as "Secret Micro-Project" at some point earlier this year. Not gonna lie, it was probably too much fun. :P) Now's the perfect time to sign up!

There's also a fun sale over at Curiosity Quills, in which Darkness Watching and lots of other titles are reduced to 99 cents! ^_^

21 comments:

  1. sounds like you're really on top of things! i'm playing with the idea of nano... 2/3 done with the draft, we'll see

    and i just started a newsletterish blog - i haven't sent it to my waiting list, yet. i was wondering - do you get feedback from your newsletter? any advice?

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    1. Feedback from readers? I sometimes get replies if I share covers or ask if readers want to review my books, if that's what you mean?

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  2. I can't wait to read Blue Lily, and yeah, Maggie's writing. *awesome* Sounds like you have all kinds of cool writerly things happening!

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    1. I love her writing. Hope you enjoy it! ^^

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  3. Yay for finishing up a draft of book 2 and NaNo and all the things. You are so ahead of the game - love it. :-)

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  4. Good luck with NaNo! Next time I'm over on the boards, I'll add you as a Buddy. :)

    I'm almost done reading a YA ARC called THE WALLED CITY - enjoying it!

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  5. I can't wait to read BLLB! I've been hearing awesome things about it. If only I could get through the Stephen King I'm reading. :-) Best of luck with NANO, Emma!

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    1. That Stephen King book sounds really good, but I imagine it's taking a while to get through! Thanks! :)

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  6. If something is bothering me during the first draft, there's usually no way I can continue I don't go back and fix the problem, at least partially. My brain refuses to move on until I do.

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    1. With me, it depends on how serious the problem is! I like to write straight through otherwise I risk never finishing, but sometimes I do need to backtrack.

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  7. I'm super excited for NaNo this year! Good luck!

    Your series looks really cool, I'm glad I found my way over here! :)

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  8. I REQUIRE BOOK 2 RIGHT NOW!

    :D

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    1. Haha, I'd send it over, but I'll need to do at least one editing pass before it's fit for other eyes. ;) Also, I think my brain might explode if I send out another book while editing two others... Soon, though! Soon! :D

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  9. looks like you have a busy month ahead of you. Good luck. :D

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  10. Congrats on finishing your draft! And good luck with NaNo. You can do it!

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  11. Woot! You're rocking it with the fast drafting. I aspire to be as amazing as you. :)

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