The last book in my Enchanted Path series comes out tomorrow and I was interviewed by one of my favorite blogger, Ari Meghlen. Enjoy and while you're at it check out her amazing blog.
The last book in my Enchanted Path series comes out tomorrow and I was interviewed by one of my favorite blogger, Ari Meghlen. Enjoy and while you're at it check out her amazing blog.
It’s been a long time coming. No one tells you that when you start a series it’s going to be a part of your life for years. Mine has been with me over a decade, through many iterations—it started off as Mother Goose Mysteries—and somehow became this safe place I went to as a writer. I know all the characters, though full confession, I sometimes forget the names of my tertiary characters or the color of someone’s eyes. I’ve visited the locations both in my waking and nighttime dreams. And I’ve woken up from a deep sleep having to write a line of dialogue I knew was missing. I don’t regret those nights. I do regret the nights I refused to wake up and write it down and then forgot everything except the fact that I’d had an incredible idea and let it slip away.
Now I’m closing the door on all that comfort. I’ve finished the last book in this series and I’m eager to move on to the next project (already in the works). While I can’t definitively say I’ll never revisit the world I created in the Enchanted Isles, it’s time to get excited (and uneasy) with a different story.
But before I do, with much ado, here’s the last book in the Enchanted Path series. A Mage’s Path is the realm-hopping conclusion of Inez’s story full of excitement, magic, romance, loss and discovery. I know all writer’s say it, but it doesn’t make it any less true:
I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it (hopefully more because there were some days…)!
Have you come across this demarcation—a description of a novel with peppers to explain how “spicy” the writing gets? It’s a handy indicator.
Have you come across this demarcation—a description of a novel with peppers to explain how “spicy” the writing gets? It’s a handy indicator. If you don’t know, according to farofeb.com:
0 – Cozy, no heat (otherwise called “clean” but that sounds judgy regarding the rest of them)
1 – Low Heat, kisses and some intimation with a fade to black
2 – Smoldering, sexual tension, some spice but not graphic, mild language
3 – Hot, more detailed spice and language
4 – Scorching, very detailed spice, graphic language to describe sexual acts
This is all without venturing into erotica, but sometimes the line between scorching and erotica can be blurry in my opinion. For the record, I don’t mind spice in my reading and sometimes I prefer it because it means it’s likely not a YA book, which I’m currently not interested in.
But that’s not what this post is about. It’s about being a writer when the peppers loom. Some of the people who read books 1 and 2 in my Enchanted Path series didn’t read book 3 and likely won’t read book 4 because of spice. One of the subplots of my series is a growing relationship between the MC and her childhood friend. I’d call it slow burn, but then some readers expect that to happen within one book instead of an entire series. It starts between 0 and 1 then grows over the series to between 3 and 4.
How do I account for this at a time when readers essentially want to know everything they’re getting in a novel? Is this a case of the journey being more important than the destination? Do we really need signposts for a meander? These aren’t textbooks or dictionaries. I read for relaxation and to disconnect with the outside world. Then again being an avid reader, I sometimes count on those quick trope descriptors to save time.
There’s no easy answer. Reading is a personal pursuit and so is how you approach it. In the meantime, I hope those of you who don’t mind 3 or 4 peppers, grab some milk and read A Mage’s Path coming November 30th.
I decided early in this blog that I wouldn’t apologize for long absences because it was inevitable. Blogging has always been in service of my writing. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve loved interacting with the blogging community I’ve become a part of and I've made wonderful friends. But I also know that when I have a limited amount of time to pursue writing, my fiction gets priority every time. This is all to say, I’ve been away because I’m writing.
I decided early in this blog that I wouldn’t apologize for long absences because it was inevitable. Blogging has always been in service of my writing. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve loved interacting with the blogging community I’ve become a part of and I've made wonderful friends. But I also know that when I have a limited amount of time to pursue writing, my fiction gets priority every time. This is all to say, I’ve been away because I’m writing.
As you are aware (at least that’s the hope because if you're not, I have to up my marketing game), the next book in my Enchanted Path series, A Mage’s Path, will be the last (more on that later). It has taken longer than expected and while I can’t rule out some subconscious aversion on my part to end something that’s been part of my life for over 10 years, I’m really happy to finish it. Right now, the finished manuscript is out with my editor.
Thanks to cover artist, Jack Baker, for his wonderful design
This year I’m trying something new. Instead of focusing all my writing attention on one project, I’m working on three. A Mage’s Path in in final edits. The second novella in my paranormal romance, The Cemetery Circle, is in its second draft phase. And a new book, which will likely be a duology is being “world-built” and outlined.
So, yeah, I’ve been busy.
But I haven’t forgotten about Fairytale Feminista. Fellow blogger, Ari Meghlen, gave me an idea for a new series of posts I hope to write soon. In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me on my writer website and learn more about finishing my first series.
