Francis and the Goth 26 March 2015
I hate working titles. Sometimes, though, there's just nothing else to do.
Now that Red is truly done (after finding and removing a last - I hope - six typos and editing faults after six rounds of beta-reading, editing and proofing!) I can turn my attention back to my YA-Romance-and-a-little-bit-of-adventure novel, a full-length novel this time. It's been sitting gathering dust since October. Basically, a rebellious and independent young goth girl called Jazz runs into a mild-mannered and conservatively raised Francis, with interesting results for both of them. The novel is at around 30k words now - but I'm afraid I took a wrong turn and may have to rewrite a section. I'll add an update in, I suppose, about a month.
Red and the Wolf 31 December 2014
As Charlie Brown would say, bleah! Now, I'm offering absolutely no disrespect to my very kind, unpaid, incredibly helpful and objective beta readers, the first two of whom have already responded, but just, bleah!
I knew this was going to happen, I simply tried to pretend to myself it wouldn't. Red and the Wolf is not ready, it's not nearly ready. Aaaargh!
All right, I'm getting over it now, I'm going to stop screaming. I'm sure I said something earlier about the painful process of editing, and yes, it hurts.
Oh my wonderful prose, so carefully written, and I'm told it's 'too purple'. (Thanks, Mike). The worst thing is that it is. Too purple. Dark and stormy night purple. That's what comes of trying too hard. So, dear reader, have sympathy. If you're an Indie who's been edited, you know the feeling too!
It looks like I'm going to be doing a substantial revision, but I'm glad it's not a total rewrite. Rachel has given me some incredibly helpful suggestions on plot and characters which I am going to incorporate. What it comes down to is that it certainly will not be finished anywhere near the end of January. That's fine; I want it to be right when I publish it. If you're following this and you've been waiting to read it then I'm sorry. I promise it will be worth the wait!
Red and the Wolf 21 December 2014
I've finished! At least, the complete beta mss. That's on its way to a few beta readers as I type this.
For those of you who would like to know more, here's the draft blurb and the possible final cover art:
This tale of the dark, twisted truth lurking behind the
children's fairy tale will set its fangs in you and not let go. You thought you
knew the story of Little Red Riding Hood? Think again. Think hard. Do you
really want to know the truth? Some books are better left unopened.
What incident so scarred the psyche of a community that it
preserved the memory over generations? What really happened when Red delivered
the cookies to Grandma's cottage? How did the woodcutter arrive just in time?
Careful research into the origins of the folk tale in Eastern Europe has
revealed the frightening truth. This book presents those findings in the form
of the story of what really happened so long ago.
___________________________
I'm approaching final draft of Red and the Wolf, a dark retelling of the Red Riding Hood fairytale. Only one and a bit chapters to go at time of writing this. Then we start the painful process of editing. All the same, I hope to be able to get this published in January of 2015.
In the longer term I'm busy with an epic fantasy trilogy. Long term, a long way to go. I've spent an age on world creation, and am writing bits and pieces as and when I get to it. I knew this would be a big project, so I'm being patient about it. *consciously unclenches her teeth* The good news is I'm really happy about the world, the characters, the plot - big plot (the story across the trilogy) and the individual book plots. Book titles will be: Katia's Inheritance, Katia's Trial, and Katia's Valour. It's classic fantasy with my own twist on it. No dragons, I'm afraid - or at least, not yet! - but quite a few other interesting beasties.
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