It’s amazing how it’s only been two months since our impromptu “snow hike” and yet we’re already looking at the end of summer–cooler winds, earlier nights. It’s been so busy that we haven’t gotten the chance to get any fishing done (not that we ever catch anything significant, but it’s great to just sit around with a fishing rod and watch the sun set with the family, at least until the bugs come and ruin everything).
I’m still enjoying my writing break. By “enjoying,” I meant doing construction work we’ve neglected since this house first came up two years ago. To be able to afford this house, we had to do a lot of the work ourselves, and lucky enough we found an amazing builder who gave us a lot of support during the process (and never once made us feel bad about our lack of experience. I feel like if the two twenty-something-year-olds we were had gone to another builder, we would’ve been laughed at). Our excavator was the same–he’d do the bare minimum, and then tell us what he needed us to do so we didn’t have to pay him for the labour. I still remember coming home from the office to shovel dirt or gravel around in the dark, or other menial things we really couldn’t afford to pay someone for. Some of my slacks still have paint on them. (I’m also, incidentally, a scatter-brain, not that that’s a surprise for people who know me).
We’re down to just the basement now, finishing up the third washroom for when my nephew comes to live with us in January. I’ve also been getting pressure to get the rec room up in order because apparently the guys want to get a punching bag along with the rest of the workout equipment. And the kids want an aquarium and some sort of small pet (we still haven’t quite decided yet if we want a guinea pig, or a pair of gerbils, or a bunny. My husband says “No,” to everything, of course). And I may be technically jobless but I can, if nothing else, work my ass off. Ah, the things you do for love.
Work on the 2nd draft of The Ikessar Falcon, Book 2 of Annals of the Bitch Queen, will begin on September 4. I also have some editing work to do for World Tree Publishing–there’s a few new upcoming releases: another Regency romance, a YA fantasy, and a werewolf erotica novel. Epic fantasy may be my genre of choice but experience in a variety of genres is always useful–it’s at least helped me become a more thoughtful reader who adjusts expectations based on the author’s intent.
I still have another novel in me before the end of the year, but it won’t be an epic door-stopper. It’ll be a simpler fantasy story with multiple third-person POVs–a palate cleanser, like I’ve mentioned, that will probably end up around 80-90k words and is set in Hafod around the time Jaeth’s Eye started. The characters are all completely new, with their own stories/conflicts, though familiar faces may show up for fans of The Agartes Epilogues.
This will push the Oneira’s Song novella (Oji’s origin story) well into next year. But I really can’t wait to get started on this particular novel, because I want to clear my head before I go back into Annals of the Bitch Queen. This particular novel is partly outlined and should be finished by November if I keep to my schedule.
