Greetings! Welcome back to the mayhem. I have been absolutely terrible at reading this week, but I started a new book and have been writing a lot, so that makes up for it. Just a small update this week, and then it's back to Scrivener!
What I'm Reading
I just started RUINSONG by Julia Ember the other day and slammed through 150 pages in one sitting, and I would have read the whole thing if I didn't have to get up early the next day. Oh my god, y'all, it's so good. The sapphic Phantom of the Opera reimagining that my little heart has always wanted. It's DARK and it's LEGIT and I cannot wait to devour the rest of it. After I write today, I'm gonna spend the rest of the afternoon buried in that book. Already I know it's going to be a fave. Here's the Goodreads page with the synopsis and such!
I made yet another Barnes and Noble run this week after work (having that store halfway between home and work is so bad for me) and got three new books: HALL OF SMOKE by H. M. Long, CONCRETE ROSE by Angie Thomas, and MASTER OF ONE by Jaida Jones & Dani Bennett. This is also in addition to the two I got last week, LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn and A UNIVERSE OF WISHES edited by Dhonielle Clayton. I need to get reading to keep up with my book buying habits!! This is why I end up reading 3 books at once sometimes lol.
What I'm Writing
I'm still up to my ears in this disaster of a first draft of TRUTHSEEKER, and despite it being a garbage fire, I'm really loving writing this book a lot. I can already see where I'm going to have to make big changes, and I'm realizing as I go along that my MC, Saevel, really gets put through the wringer like every other chapter, so I'm going to need to sprinkle in some lighthearted scenes to balance out the series of unfortunate events that is their life. It's by no means a happy book, and I already know book 2 is going to be worse on everyone, but I don't want to drag down my readers with tragedy after tragedy. Gotta spice it up a bit. Let 'em have some fun.
In a lot of ways, this book is like nothing I've ever written. The plot is more intrigue than adventure, making it a little trickier for me to work out -- I almost have to write it backwards. And for the first time since I was in high school, I'm writing a single POV. I usually have anywhere from two to four POV characters in a novel, with some added interludes sprinkled in too, so staying in one character's head for the whole book is different for me. It makes a lot of things easier -- keeping to Saevel's POV lets me get to know them a lot better -- but I'm so used to falling back on a POV switch when I get stuck that now I have to find other ways to keep my chapters rolling. It's a good challenge, though! However I am already planning another POV for book 2, so it is not a long-lived challenge, haha.
I am also working on a short story, which is not typically my jam because I cannot keep things short (I was the worst student to have in a creative writing class in college), but I'm liking this one so far and I think I finally figured out how to tell a complete narrative arc in less than 7000 words. I used some old characters from a ditched sequel to what became my book THE ORACLE STONE, and getting in their heads again has been fun. Tentatively titled FALSE START, it's a bittersweet story about a sad and jaded storyteller gradually finding his inspiration again thanks to the bright spirit of his long-lost childhood friend. This MC, Sadu, is a complete mess and I already love writing him. I'm excited to dive in and revise and polish this story once I finish the first draft.
That's really all I've got going on! This coming Monday will mark TWO WEEKS until release day for THE ORACLE STONE, and I can't even believe it. They'll be the longest two weeks ever. I am so, so excited for this book to be out in the world.
However! Release date being two weeks away means there's still time to pre-order the ebook! You can do that HERE!!
Ebooks not your jam? No problem! Next Friday, across my social media (insta, twitter, and this blog), I'm going to unveil the little surprise I've had up my sleeve for paperback orders of the book. Stay tuned! I've worked hard on this surprise and I'm absolutely dying to be able to share it. It'll be worth it, I promise!!
Alrighty! That's it for today! See y'all next week!
😎✌🏻 Talli
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