Black Friday Book Sale 2024!

 

Hello, all! Happy day-after-Thanksgiving!

As per the usual, I'm here to let you know that all of my books are on sale in ebook form for just $0.99 as part of the Black Friday Book Sale! This sale runs from Black Friday (today, November 24) through Cyber Monday. In it, you'll find literally hundreds of clean and Christian indie reads from authors like Kendra E. Ardnek, Sarah Beran, H.L. Burke, Savannah Jezowski, H.S.J. Williams, myself, and many others. The sale includes free and $0.99 ebooks, as well as some special deals on print and audiobooks. I've put links below that will take you straight to my sale listings, but you can also click here to browse the whole sale.

Blood in the Snow

Mechanical Heart

Through a Shattered Glass

Bastian Dennel, PI:

The Midnight Show

Gilded in Ice

Mask of Scarlet

Daughters of Atirse

Song of the Selkies

Illusion's Reign

Have you checked out the Black Friday sale yet? Which books in it are you eyeing up? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Hello, friends! It's time for another Taleweaver's Desk update; as always, this is the part of the blog in which I check in with an overview of what projects I'm working on (and not working on) and what might be coming soon — starting with the most active projects on my desktop.

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 14: November 2024

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Project Kingfisher

What is it? A fairy tale retelling (or possibly series of retellings or series of mixed retellings and original stories) with a Chinese-inspired setting.

Status: In the planning stages; will start drafting the book soon.

This project has a little bit of a funny background — I'd semi-committed myself to write a retelling of a particular fairy tale for an event coming in a year or two, but I was halfway thinking about pulling out because I wasn't excited about the particular version of the fairy tale the event organizer was hoping I'd write and I had so many other stories on my plate. Then I got a little spark of inspiration from the idea of a Chinese-inspired setting with steampunk vibes (like a Chinese equivalent of what you see in some Ghibli movies) and a bigger spark of inspiration when a friend mentioned that the main couple could potentially draw on some character types I'd been writing in my just-for-fun side project, and now I'm a little obsessed with this story and storyworld.

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: Still making progress on the tournament arc!

I have written a good portion of the current arc, but hit pause again to focus on other things that took priority because I had a buffer and we had several weeks in a row when we weren't meeting. My group seems to be enjoying the story, which is good, and they hit it off with some of the NPCs I really hoped they'd like, which has also been fun. I do need to get back to work on this sooner than later, though, or else my buffer will run out again . . .

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits (and a useful excuse/motivation for prioritizing those edits).

Secret Star Book

What is it? A secret. An experiment. The product of my having read/watched/otherwise enjoyed a lot of media in a couple specific genres (outside my usual one) in the last half of 2023 and first half of 2024.

Status: I am dabbling in this as I have the time and desire to do so. Right now, that mostly looks like worldbuilding and fleshing out characters.

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I still love this story, but I don't know when I'll get back to it. Currently, that happening in the next twelve months is looking somewhat dubious.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time and will probably continue to do for a good while.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? The longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it. Originally was a classic epic fantasy, but is getting a genre change.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. I've decided that I'm going to try changing it to a different subgenre, and I'm excited to work on that, but I don't think it'll happen in the next six months.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said. Book 4 will be Jack and the Beanstalk (yes, I'm serious); other stories planned include The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, The Nutcracker, Rumplestiltskin, and Pwyll & Rhiannon.

Status: Bastian Dennel Book 4 is next up on my priority list to write, and I hope it'll come together quickly. Originally I was going to write it this fall, but I decided to push it back in favor of focusing on grad school and Project Kingfisher. It is next on the list after that, though. Following that, I'm still expecting The Nutcracker as Book 5, followed by The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, Rumplestiltskin, and Pwyll & Rhiannon, probably in that order (unless the last two get switched).

Future Daughters of Atirse books

What is it? What the headline said, again. Multiple other stories connected with Song of the Selkies. Specifically, I have plans for some variation on Beauty and the Beast (sequel), Tam Lin (prequel), and Pwyll & Rhiannon (sequel), as well as a prequel (about Prince Diarmad) and at least one other sequel (about Uaine) that don't have specific fairy tales but will be written because I want to tell their main characters' stories.

Status: The Beauty and the Beast sequel, which will focus on Mirren, will probably be the next of these books that I write, and I plan to tackle it after I write BDPI #4. Aside from that, I continue to bounce ideas around with my friend, both to expand existing ideas and create new ones.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series and later in the world's timeline.

DOSA Files #2 Story

What is it? A story for the second DOSA Files anthology, set in the world of H.L. Burke's SVR books.

Status: I have an idea, probably featuring Steelblood, Quantum, and Ava again, but it still needs to percolate a little more before I can write it. I think I can get it down if I can just divert enough mental resources to speed up that percolation, but I have not managed to do that yet. The deadline is getting close, though, so I really need to get on this.

What projects (writing or otherwise) are you working on currently, and how are they going for you? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! Welcome back to another Taleweaver's Desk update, in which I provide a broad view of what projects I'm working on (and not working on) and what might be coming soon. At this point, I don't think these posts need a lot of introduction, so let's jump right in with what's on the desktop.

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 13: August 2024

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Illusion's Reign (Daughters of Atirse #2)

What is it? A Goose Girl/Puss in Boots retelling, the second book in the Daughters of Atirse series, and the prequel to Song of the Selkies.

Status: Two rounds of edits done; starting on the third round of edits and formatting.

In case you missed it, Illusion's Reign (formerly known as Onora's story or Daughters of Atirse #2) now has a title, a cover, and a preorder link (and also a Goodreads listing)! It will release September 27 as part of the Arista Challenge Lost Kerchiefs group release. Information on how to sign up to be part of the blog/social tour or request an ARC is coming soon, so keep an eye out for that! In the meantime, I'm hard at work getting the book ready. I got some really good feedback from beta readers, which resulted in a lot of the climax lead-up getting heavily edited or rewritten — I think for the better. The next round of edits will focus more on word- and sentence-level adjustments, followed by formatting and proofing. Timeline-wise, I'm in a pretty good place with this book, so as long as I don't get cocky, this release should be a lot less stressful than the one for Song of the Selkies (in which I was working up to the very last possible minute).

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: Finally making progress on that one adventure I've been procrastinating on!

I continue to regret deciding to try an overly complicated plotline like the one I'm attempting next, simply because it's a pain to prep . . . but I hope it'll be worth it once we're actually playing it. At the moment, most of my D&D writing/prep time is going towards making NPCs, as there are a lot more than usual who need actual stat blocks or sheets at the outset of the story. That said, this is still getting the short end of the stick when it comes to dividing up my writing time — it's very much a spare time project. Thankfully, we progress slowly enough through adventures that this hasn't been much of an issue . . . not yet, anyway.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits (and a useful excuse/motivation for prioritizing those edits).

Secret Star Book

What is it? A secret. An experiment. The product of my having read/watched/otherwise enjoyed a lot of media in a couple specific genres (outside my usual one) in the last half of 2023 and first half of 2024.

Status: I am dabbling in this as a sort of just-for-fun project as I have the time and desire to do so. Right now, that mostly looks like worldbuilding and fleshing out characters.

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I still love this story, but I don't know when I'll get back to it. Currently, that happening in the next twelve months is looking somewhat dubious.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is one of the most likely books to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to Atirse and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? The longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it. Originally was a classic epic fantasy, but is getting a genre change.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. I've decided that I'm going to try changing it to a different subgenre, and I'm excited to work on that, but I don't think it'll happen in the next six months.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said. Book 4 will be Jack and the Beanstalk (yes, I'm serious); other stories planned include The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, The Nutcracker, Rumplestiltskin, and Pwyll & Rhiannon.

Status: Bastian Dennel Book 4 is next up on my priority list to write, and I hope it'll come together quickly. My tentative plan is to start it somewhere in the area of mid-October or early November, though if everything with Illusion's Reign goes really well, that timeline might be moved up by a week or two. After that, I'm looking at The Nutcracker as Book 5, followed by The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, Rumplestiltskin, and Pwyll & Rhiannon, roughly in that order . . . though I might end up switching the last two. It's hard to say, but they're far enough away that I can probably figure it out when I get closer.

Future Daughters of Atirse books

What is it? What the headline said, again. Multiple other stories connected with Song of the Selkies. Specifically, I have plans for some variation on Beauty and the Beast (sequel), Tam Lin (prequel), and Pwyll & Rhiannon (sequel), as well as a prequel (about Prince Diarmad) and at least one other sequel (about Uaine) that don't have specific fairy tales but will be written because I want to tell their main characters' stories.

Status: The Beauty and the Beast sequel, which will focus on Mirren, will probably be the next of these books that I write, and I plan to tackle it after I write BDPI #4. Aside from that, I continue to bounce ideas around with my friend, both to expand existing ideas and create new ones.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series and later in the world's timeline.

DOSA Files #2 Story

What is it? A story for the second DOSA Files anthology, set in the world of H.L. Burke's SVR books.

Status: I know I want to write something for the second anthology; I just haven't figured out what yet. A few people have told me that they'd like something else featuring the Save {Point} characters, though, so right now my thoughts mostly lean towards trying to figure out a new Situation to stick Steelblood, Quantum, and Ava into. (Or it might just be Steelblood and Quantum, if I do a prequel . . . we'll see what happens.)

What projects (writing or otherwise) are you working on currently, and how are they going for you? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! It's time for another Taleweaver's Desk update, in which I provide a broad view of what projects I'm working on (and not working on). This time, astonishingly, I have no questions of formatting or scheduling, just story updates — in all the categories, for once — so without further ado, here's the post. 

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 12: May 2024

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Daughters of Atirse #2

What is it? A Goose Girl/Puss in Boots retelling, the second book in the Daughters of Atirse series, and the prequel to Song of the Selkies.

Status: So very close to being done with the first draft.

I remain a bit behind where I'd like to be with the first draft (and by "a bit behind" I mean that I really wanted to have this drafted at the end of last month, but life and other projects got in the way. I am within a few chapters of being done, though — six at most, I think — which is very definite progress. Aside from delays and generally being tired, though, I'm still enjoying this, and I think it's shaping up well. Lots of good character dynamics in this one, at least in my (admittedly biased) opinion. My plan is that once I finish the draft, I'll take a little bit of a break, do light edits, and then send it off to betas for review.

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: Procrastinating on the next adventure, just a little, but I completed a different adventure in the meantime.

I have been theoretically "working" on the next adventure for about an age and a half (read: several months), though for part of that time I was actually writing a different adventure that I forgot I would need. Or, well, I didn't forget; I just failed to realize that the party would want to actually go somewhere on foot instead of calling for a teleport. Now I'm back to warily eyeing the complicated thing and mildly regretting my life choices . . . not enough to fully change my plans, though.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits (and a useful excuse/motivation for prioritizing those edits).

Berstru Tales series

What is it? The longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it. Originally was a classic epic fantasy, but now it might be getting a subgenre change . . .

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. I've decided that I'm going to try changing it to a different subgenre, and now I'm more excited to work on this again, thus why it's been moved from "Shelved for Now."

Secret Star Book

What is it? A secret. An experiment. The product of my having read/watched/otherwise enjoyed a lot of media in a couple specific genres (outside my usual one) in the last six-ish months.

Status: I am dabbling in this as a sort of guilty pleasure project as I have the time and desire to do so. Technically it could have been in "Awaiting Delivery" back in February, but I hadn't realized at the time just how much I wanted to write it sooner than just "sometime."

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I still love this story, but I don't know when I'll get back to it. Currently, that happening in the next twelve months is looking somewhat dubious.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to Atirse and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said. Book 4 will be Jack and the Beanstalk (yes, I'm serious); other stories planned include The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, The Nutcracker, Rumplestiltskin, and Pwyll & Rhiannon.

Status: I think I have a new, reasonably solid series order that I like, makes sense, and allows me to write the books I'm really excited about somewhat sooner. In the process of working out that series order, I also more or less decided that what I had meant as Book 4 and then switched to Book 5 is half in the wrong place — so the half that's in the right place is going to be repurposed for another book, while the rest is being moved further down the series line. I think this will be a general improvement. I'm also looking at writing Book 4 this summer in between working on Daughters of Atirse #2.

Future Daughters of Atirse books

What is it? What the headline said, again. Multiple other stories connected with Song of the Selkies. Specifically, I have plans for some variation on Beauty and the Beast (sequel), Tam Lin (prequel), and Pwyll & Rhiannon (sequel), as well as a prequel and at least one other sequel that don't have specific fairy tales but will be written because I want to tell their main characters' stories.

Status: Lots of plans, and I only write so fast, but I spend enough time brainstorming these with a friend that I should have them pretty well planned out by the time I actually get to start drafting.

Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow

What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that's not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor's palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes).

Status: Won't be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series and later in the world's timeline.

What projects (writing or otherwise) are you working on currently, and how are they going for you? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! Welcome to the first Taleweaver's Desk update of 2024! To conclude the scheduling saga of the last few of these posts: I think I'm going to stick with doing these quarterly for now, as I do have some new developments to report, but a three-times-per-year schedule isn't entirely off the table yet. I also have a question for y'all: frequently, the "Shelved for Now" and "Stacked on the Side" sections don't actually have any changes from quarter to quarter. (This "Stacked on the Side" section does, but it's an exception.) Do you like that I include these for context and record-keeping purposes even when there's not really any major changes? Or would you prefer that I just include the sections where there's an update? Please tell me in the comments after you finish reading. And on that note, let's get on with the update.

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 11: February 2024

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Daughters of Atirse #2

What is it? A Goose Girl/Puss in Boots retelling, the second book in the Daughters of Atirse series, and the prequel to Song of the Selkies.

Status: About 50k words into the first draft.

I'm a little behind where I'd like to be on drafting this, as I wasn't able to start until the beginning of January and my writing speed in the last couple weeks has been . . . not what I'd like it to be. That said, I am really enjoying spending time with these characters and their story and their slowly-unraveling secrets. Onora is proving herself to be an enjoyable-to-write (if very stubborn) main character, and the second-most significant character is her cat, who is delightful. I love him very much. (On a side note, I just realized that, since Gilded in Ice, I have been alternating between significant-cat books and no-cat books, which is . . . interesting? We'll see if the pattern holds.) Another aspect of this book that I'm really enjoying is the faith element. I've said that Song of the Selkies was my most Christian story, but Onora's story is a step even further than that, with Onora's faith forming a major part of her character arc. (I say this not in the sense that it's a salvation story, for the record, but in the sense that she spends a certain amount of time wrestling with a particular aspect of her faith, and only when she resolves that wrestling can she start to really solve other problems.)

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: Working on the next adventure . . . slowly.

I am running out of time to write the next adventure, but like a fool, I decided to do something complicated and then prioritized it under pretty much every other writing project. I know what I want to do; I just have to figure out how to make it work. I've made progress, though! I probably have a session's worth of material, if push comes to shove, and once I finish the next step in the writing process, I'll actually have a lot of the hard part done. I just have to, y'know, finish that next step.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

Bastian Dennel, PI #5

What is it? Originally Book 4 in my Bastian Dennel, PI series, now book 5. Bastian takes on a murder mystery involving far too many Families.

Status: Drafted; in need of a rewrite. I need to write the new Book 4 before I dive back into this, unless I decide to do something weird, but it's still pretty high on the priority list. I'm looking at a 2025 release, if all goes well.

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I still love this story, but I don't know when I'll get back to it.

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits (and a useful excuse/motivation for prioritizing those edits).

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Dust of Silver

What is it? Classic-ish fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with Rapunzel, the first book in what has the potential to be a rather long series. Also, a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago that won't let go of me because CHARACTERS.

Status: Several chapters into the rewrite, though those several chapters haven't been touched in a few years.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to Atirse and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? A classic epic fantasy series and the longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. There's a particular character who's getting a whole new arc, and I'm really excited to write it . . . when I have time.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said. Book 4 will be Jack and the Beanstalk (yes, I'm serious); other stories planned include The Little Mermaid, The Goose Girl, The Nutcracker, and Pwyll & Rhiannon.

Status: I continue to poke at series order, trying to produce something where there's not a huge gap between books but also I don't have too many stories too close together and I can write the stories I'm most excited about sooner.

Future Daughters of Atirse books

What is it? What the headline said, again. Multiple other stories connected with Song of the Selkies. Specifically, I have plans for some variation on Beauty and the Beast (sequel), Tam Lin (prequel), and Pwyll & Rhiannon (sequel), as well as a prequel and at least one other sequel that don't have specific fairy tales but will be written because I want to tell their main characters' stories.

Status: Lots of plans, and I only write so fast, but I spend enough time brainstorming these with a friend that I should have them pretty well planned out by the time I actually get to start drafting.

Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow

What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that's not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor's palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes).

Status: Won't be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series and later in the world's timeline.

Miscellaneous Short Stories

What is it? A potential story for H.L. Burke's DOSA Files anthology and a few other ideas that are ping-ponging around in my head.

Status: The DOSA Files story needs to get written in the next month and a half or so. (Technically, I have until the end of April, but I don't want to wait until the very last minute, since I'd like to run the story through beta readers.) I have a couple weeks off from grad school in mid-March, so I may try to fit it in then; otherwise, I'll jump into it at the start of April. I'm also toying with the idea of trying to write some other short stories that I've had in my head for a while so I can maybe do an anthology of my own sometime, but we'll see how that goes.

What projects (writing or otherwise) are you working on currently, and how are they going for you? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

December 2023 Doings!

Hello, all! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, both the season and the day. I can definitely say that my Christmas season didn't go quite how I expected it . . . but that seems to have been the theme of 2023, so I can't say I'm entirely surprised either. We'll get to that in a bit, but first, writing! In which I have some good news!

Writing!

• I finally finished drafting Bastian Dennel, PI #4! Last month's assessment of being within a chapter or two of finishing wasn't quite correct; I actually had more like three and a half chapters left before I could call the draft done.
• But those three and a half chapters have been written! And I don't think they turned out half bad. I'm quite pleased with the last two, actually. The others will need some tweaking, but so do large swathes of the rest of the book, all for the same reason. And the point is that the draft is done, so now I can do that tweaking . . .
• Except not literally now because I have other projects that I need to work on first. And I'm also very likely going to make this book Bastian Dennel, PI #5 instead and write a new (much shorter) book as #4. But that's neither here nor there. The point is, the book is drafted! Huzzah!
• I actually finished the final chapter on Christmas Eve — I'd intended to write maybe 500 words and then go to bed early while the rest of my family watched A Christmas Carol. But then I realized that another few hundred words would wrap things up, and then I could have a proper, guilt-free break for the rest of my sister's visit . . . so I did not go to bed early, but I think it was worth it.
• That's all the writing I've done so far this month (I say "all;" it was a very respectable 8,700-odd words), but I will be writing my New Year's Eve short story in the next few days. Or, possibly, I've already drafted it by the time you read this post, depending on how things go and how much of it I feel like writing on my phone.

Reading!

• My reading this month can be pretty neatly divided into "Christmas" and "not Christmas."
• On the not-Christmas side, I finished my reread of the Illuminae Files with Gemina (just as good as I remembered, and I also realized there's kind of a Die Hard reference or two in there — besides the whole situation being very Die Hard-ish) and Obsidio (better than I remembered, though my memory was still very good — it's one of those books that's more enjoyable on the reread, because you know it'll come out all right and you can appreciate all the twists and turns instead of just being stressed). I also read To Destroy an Illusion (not as good as the Austen Fairy Tale, but still a very interesting twist on some obscure fairy tales) for review purposes. Also, it's not pictured because of a Goodreads issue, but I reread DragonSpell as part of a readalong some friends of mine are doing, and that was lovely. I forget how good those books are.
• The non-Christmas highlight of my month was, of course, Behind the Curtain, the latest — and, arguably, best — in W.R. Gingell's Worlds Behind series. I loved pretty much everything about this book, but the best bits were getting to know more about Camellia's past and seeing Athelas connect more with both her and Harrow. I especially loved the growing bond between Athelas and Harrow, and there's one particular scene — but that's a spoiler, so you'll all have to read it to know what I'm talking about.
• On the Christmas side, we had several rereads: Christmas in Talesend (which nicely filled the one-night gap between finishing Illusion and the release of Behind the Curtain), Hogfather (one of my favorite Discworld novels, and certainly the book I've read most in the series), and A Christmas Carol (read via the Dickens December Substack). Also in this category is my current read, A Superhero for Christmas . . . which I really should have read before Christmas, but I was busy.
• Finally, we have two new-to-me reads: Greenglass House and Twelve Days of (Faerie) Christmas. Greenglass House is a middle-grade novel, good but not amazing. I liked the mystery and the setting, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it first when I was closer to the target audience's age.
• Twelve Days of Faerie Christmas, on the other hand, was an absolute delight. It's a sweet, fun Christmas romance involving lots of fae magic and schemes and a very clever take on the gifts of the Twelve Days of Christmas song. Every bit of it is a delight, but the ending most of all. I will absolutely be rereading this one next year, though I may do so after Christmas instead of before so the timing lines up properly. (I could have done that this year . . . but I was really excited and didn't want to wait.)

Watching!

• Surprisingly, this month didn't involve watching as many movies and shows as it usually does. Most Decembers, we watch a lot of movies as a family, and I also watch a lot of shows on my own because I'm trying to finish Christmas gifts. This year, I only had one gift I could work on while watching something else, and we also had less opportunity to watch things together until Christmas weekend and the following week.
• That meant we didn't rewatch as many Christmas movies as usual, but we did get a few in: A Charlie Brown Christmas, White Christmas, and The Man Who Invented Christmas. I also rewatched 'Twas the Night Before Critmas, the Critical Role Christmas oneshot because . . . well, it's fun, and I haven't watched any Critical Role in a long while.
• We also watched Holiday Inn, which I hadn't see before this year. I don't think I'm going to rewatch that one — I'd rather just watch White Christmas, where I like all the characters, most of the scheming is funny and benevolent (even if it does have an angle of self-benefit) and someone at least tries to have a civil, mature conversation about what's going on instead of just being possessive and manipulative. No, I don't have strong feelings about this at all; whatever gave you that idea?
• The one notable non-Christmas movie I watched was Across the Spider-Verse on the day after Christmas. My sister watched it a few months ago, loved it, and told me I needed to watch it . . . but I have a really hard time watching movies by myself (because if I have three straight hours all to myself, then I have other things that I need to be doing with those hours), so we planned to watch it together while she was here for the holiday. I really enjoyed that! Though I think Miguel is a drama queen with bad logic who doesn't deserve half the hype he gets, either in-universe or from the fandom, and I want to know why more people aren't talking about The Spot, because yes, he had a rather cliche motivation, but otherwise he's such a cool villain, with an excellent progression from being played for laughs to being a genuine threat.
• (I know why he gets the hype both places, for the record. To the fandom, he's an anti-hero with an excellent sense of drama. In-universe, it's because his explanation of things makes all the sadness and tragedy in the spider-peoples' lives make sense and absolves them of any guilt or regret. Of course it happened this way. It had to happen this way. It always happens this way. There was nothing they could've done otherwise, and trying just would have doomed everything. Or so he claims. So, yeah, I get it. I just don't think he deserves the hype.)
• Seeing all the spider-people was cool, though. And Gwen and Miles both had great character arcs, plus I liked how the movie showed the mingled love and tension in their relationships with their respective families. So, good movie.

Life!

• So, December started off well — quite well, even, as on the very first day of the month, I had the pleasure of attending a former coworker's very lovely wedding. Both the ceremony and the reception were beautiful, and the couple made a point of keeping Christ centered in all of it — it's the only wedding I've ever encountered that involved Communion for the whole congregation because the couple wanted to serve Communion together as their first action as husband and wife.
• The rest of the weekend, however, signaled the start of a downhill slide, as my dad came down with a very bad cold on Saturday. My mom and I did our best to avoid catching it, but by midweek, around the time he started feeling better, we were both down for the count, and I was home on sick leave. Thankfully, after several days of rest, we were both feeling better in time for me to go to work the following Monday . . . and then my dad caught the same cold again from a coworker. Thankfully, everyone was healthy again (or mostly so) in time for Christmas, but it was still stressful and frustrating, and it also made doing anything Christmas-y difficult.
• It also made finishing my grad school class difficult (or, you know, more difficult) and solidly shattered my plans of wrapping up my final project early. I ended up doing most of the work on said project on the last two days of the class. Thankfully, a lot of the prep had already been covered by previous assignments, so I was able to get the thing written and turned in on time. And now I am done with grant writing for hopefully a very long time.
• Still, I am grateful that one of the few gaps in the cycle of colds was the Friday of our Bible Study's Christmas party. We always do a baked potato bar and an ice cream bar, and usually the kids act out the Christmas story in a sort of semi-impromptu play. This year, however, we knew we wouldn't have many kids there, so we decided to switch to a dramatic reading of the Christmas story, interspersed with Christmas carols. I helped with a lot of the planning for that; it was the first time in years that I've been so excited for a Christmas play-adjacent thing. I think everyone enjoyed it, and I was certainly happy about how it worked out.
• Also that weekend, at least if I recall correctly, was my D&D group's last session of the year, in which we defeated one of our nemesis once and for all — he's a rakshasa, and we killed him once in the mortal plane, but he can come back . . . so we went to his plane and took him down a second time so he can't keep on with his schemes and tricks. I got the killing blow and cut him off mid-monologue, and it was very satisfying. (I did give the DM a chance to talk, for the record! But not a long chance, as it very quickly became clear that this guy had nothing useful to say and would just try to turn us off our purpose if we let him go on.)
• The fact that everyone spent so much of the month sick meant less attention was given to things like Christmas baking, but we did still make cookies. We just didn't try any new recipes for Christmas itself this year. All the same, my gingersnaps and peppermint pinwheels turned out well, and my mom made macaroons, peanut butter balls, biscotti, and Russian teacakes, so I'm happy. And I did make oatmeal-ginger cookies at the start of the month, which were also very tasty.
• Probably the best part of Christmas this year was that my sister came down from Ohio for the holiday! She arrived Saturday, just in time for us to go to the Christmas Eve-Eve service at our church — which, by the way, was lovely. It wasn't as much of a spectacular as some past years have been, but I think it was nicer overall, as we had more traditional songs, and I think the pastor's message was better than it has been some years. Then, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were both pretty chill, on the whole. I received some lovely gifts (including new planners and the Baking Yesteryear recipe book), and my family liked the gifts I gave them. There wasn't anything really out of the ordinary about either day, but they were still good days.
• My sister returned to Ohio on Wednesday, and we drove up with her as far as Pittsburgh to visit my grandpa for a little while. Getting to see him again was nice, and I'm happy to report that he's recovering pretty well from all the various medical stuff he's had to deal with over the course of this year. All in all, it was a good visit.
• There's a few days left yet in December, but I anticipate those being mostly quiet, with the exception of New Year's Eve afternoon and evening. My former roommate and I will do our gift exchange (over video call) that afternoon, and I look forward to that — she's in one of my D&D groups, but that group hasn't really met all month, so I haven't seen her in a while. And then our Bible study always has a party for New Year's Eve that should be lots of fun. It'll be a good way to end the year, that's for certain.

January Plans

• January means getting back to business as usual, with work, writing, and grad school.
• On the writing front, I'll be working on Daughters of Atirse #2. This is a prequel to Song of the Selkies focusing on Ceana's older sister, Onora, and it's also a retelling that blends The Goose Girl with Puss in Boots. I'll probably outline it over the next couple days (if I have time) and then start actually writing at the beginning of January. If I have time, I'll probably also try to squeeze in a draft of whatever I do for H.L. Burke's DOSA-verse anthology. (I have about 75% of an idea. I just have to work out some loose ends.)
• At work, I'm hoping for a fairly quiet month. January usually doesn't have a lot going on, so that hope has a reasonable chance of being fulfilled. That said, we're getting ready to launch some new grief ministries, so we'll see how busy that keeps me.
• As for grad school . . . confession time: I still need to register for the next set of classes. I should have done that a couple weeks ago, but I was too busy with Christmas stuff, and I also didn't even want to think about classes for a solid week after I finished my most recent one. I think the next thing I'm taking is technical writing, though, which should be pretty chill. Technical writing isn't my favorite type of writing ever, but I also don't dislike it, and I think I'm fairly good at it. So, we'll see how things go.
• When it comes to reading, I have some exciting ARCs waiting for me on my Kindle — the only reason I haven't read them yet is that I've been distracted by Christmas stories! But I'll fix that pretty soon. Otherwise, well, I'm trying not to plan too much.
• Lastly, on the crafting front, I have a crochet shawl that I'm hoping to make good progress on. I'm also toying with the idea of giving some new crafts a try . . . but we'll see if that actually goes anywhere or not.
• And, of course, I'll be setting my New Year's goals in the next couple days, so we'll see what comes of those.

How was your December? How was your Christmas? Any plans for January? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! It is the last month of fall, and that means it's time for another Taleweaver's Desk update. I'm still thinking of switching these to a three-times-per-year schedule in 2024, but we'll see how things go. (It may depend on how much news I have to share come February.) For now, though, let's take a look at what progress I've made on my various projects.

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 10: November 2023

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Bastian Dennel, PI #4

What is it? Book 4 in my Bastian Dennel, PI series and my first murder mystery.

Status: Thirty-one-ish chapters drafted.

Depending on when you read this, I'm probably working on either Chapter 31 or Chapter 32 of Bastian Dennel, PI #4, which I still need to name properly. It's fine. I'll get to it once the book is finished; that's what I normally do anyway. I planned to be finished with this book by now, but I got sidetracked (again) by a project for another writing challenge that was supposed to be a short story and turned into a novella. (Whoops.) I am close to the end, though — I have maybe three or four more chapters of Actual Plot, plus one or two chapters (probably just one) to wrap things up, and then I'll have a finished draft! Which I will then have to edit. Still, I'm optimistic about having this out sometime in 2024.

Daughters of Atirse #2

What is it? A Goose Girl/Puss in Boots retelling, the second book in the Daughters of Atirse series, and the prequel to Song of the Selkies.

Status: In the active planning stages.

Yes, you read that fairytale combo right! I've been thinking about combining The Goose Girl with Puss in Boots for a while now, and partway through writing Song of the Selkies, I realized that it would fit perfectly in that world. My intention is to submit this to the final Arista Challenge release, which means I need to get writing very soon! (Another reason I want to finish Bastian Dennel, PI #4 as soon as possible!) I'll give y'all more details on this story in a while, but for now, I'll just say that this is a prequel to Song of the Selkies that focuses on Ceana's oldest sister, Onora, and I'm very excited to write it.

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: In between writing adventures.

I haven't touched this since August because I've been so busy with Song of the Selkies, Bastian Dennel, and grad school. I need to fix that soon, as the party is close to finishing the current adventure. (They're doing so well! I'm so proud of them!) I know what the next adventure will be, but setting it up will take time — it's an NPC-heavy adventure, and coming up with NPCs is one of the parts of D&D writing that tends to take the most time. Still, since we're in the holiday season now and we'll be meeting a little less, and since we still have some left in the current adventure, I should have through the end of the year to write the next adventure.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I probably won't get back to it until late 2024 at the earliest at this point due to all the Bastian Dennel, PI and Daughters of Atirse books I have planned.

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits (and a useful excuse/motivation for prioritizing those edits).

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Dust of Silver

What is it? Classic-ish fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with Rapunzel, the first book in what has the potential to be a rather long series. Also, a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago that won't let go of me because CHARACTERS.

Status: Several chapters into the rewrite, though those several chapters haven't been touched in a few years.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to Atirse and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? A classic epic fantasy series and the longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. There's a particular character who's getting a whole new arc, and I'm really excited to write it . . . when I have time.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said.

Status: I've been thinking lots of thoughts about the Bastian Dennel Little Mermaid/[secret story] retelling, which is great because I have about 75% of it figured out, but also not great because it's not the next book in the series. It might not even be the second-next book in the series, as I've been rearranging ideas again due to certain stories being seasonally dependent. And yet it's the book I have the most solid ideas for. (Why am I like this?) Anyway, I have lots of ideas, and will probably be writing Bastian Dennel books for quite a while.

Daughters of Atirse books

What is it? Multiple other stories in the same world as and overlapping casts with Song of the Selkies. Specific stories planned include: something in the Beauty and the Beast Family (a sequel), my take on Tam Lin crossed with a couple other fairy tales (another prequel, in addition to the one I mentioned in On the Desktop), and a retelling of part of the story of Pwyll & Rhiannon (another sequel). I also have ideas relating to Diarmad (Ceana's thrice-great uncle who, as you might recall, married a faery for political reasons) and Uaine, but I don't have specific fairy tales assigned to them yet.

Status: Too many ideas, too little time. On the upside, multiple people have said they want more from this world, so having lots of ideas is a good thing. I just need to make the time to write and publish all of them. I do have a rough series order plan, but because my ideas include prequels as well as sequels, I may adjust what order I actually publish things in depending on what I want to write.

Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow

What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that's not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor's palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes).

Status: Won't be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series.

Miscellaneous Short Stories

What is it? My annual New Year's Eve story and a potential story for H.L. Burke's DOSA Files anthology.

Status: I'm poking at ideas for both of these currently. One, I need to write, but I don't have a solid concept for. The other I don't have to write, but I think would be fun, and I have about 75% of a concept for it — which is to say, I have the characters and some of the setup, but I still need to figure out some key plot elements. I do have time, though, and I also have a wordcount limit, so I should be fine.

What projects (writing or otherwise) are you working on currently, and how are they going for you? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! The summer months are almost at an end (assuming you consider September fall, which . . . let's be real, it really isn't), and that means many things. It means the Silmaril Awards are coming up in just a few weeks. It means that Song of the Selkies is less than a month away from release. And it means that it's time for another Taleweaver's Desk update. Once again, there aren't a lot of changes since my previous update, but I have made progress on most of my active projects. So, let's see what's new! As always, if you want to know more about any project in this post, you can ask me in comments or take a look at my Works in Progress page.

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 9: August 2023

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Song of the Selkies (Daughters of Atirse #1)

What is it? A roleswap Little Mermaid retelling featuring selkies and a princess who genuinely wants to do all the things a princess is supposed to do.

Status: Fully drafted; a little less than halfway through the first edit. Available for preorder now!

Everything about this book has taken longer than anticipated, but we are pressing onward. I give thanks every day that I write pretty clean first drafts so I can focus most of my editing energy on making the actual story better without having to wade through lots of spelling and grammar mistakes. (I also give thanks that I found such a great team of beta readers, all of whom gave excellent feedback on a rather tight turnaround.) The part of the book I've been editing this week involves a lot of rearranging scenes and trying to make sure the timeline works, so that's held me up, but I think once I get past this section, I'll speed back up.

Bastian Dennel, PI #4

What is it? Book 4 in my Bastian Dennel, PI series and my first murder mystery.

Status: Twenty-six and a bit chapters drafted.

Having to spend extra time on Song of the Selkies met I didn't finish this in July like I hoped, nor will I finish it in August. I expect that this will be my main writing project in October, once Song of the Selkies is released and the Silmaril Awards are over. Once I finish drafting it, I'll decide whether I want to switch the order of Books 4 and 5 like I mentioned back in May, though at the moment I'm leaning away from that plan. The only real advantage of that plan is that it might mean getting a book out a little sooner, but either way, there probably won't be a new BDPI book until 2024. Sorry!

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: In between writing adventures.

I finally finished writing and running the Middle Earth adventure — huzzah! — and wrote another, much shorter, adventure that we're in the middle of now. I'm currently taking a break from D&D writing to focus my energy on other projects (namely, Song of the Selkies and grad school) and hoping that what I have written lasts long enough to when I can work on the next adventure. I thought it would, but my group has cleverly bypassed about half the encounters I planned, so we'll see. For the record, I'm quite proud of their cleverness — I gave them an open-ended riddle, and the solution they came up with was much better than either of the answers I had in mind. And the encounters they bypassed, I'll save for another time, so we're fine on every count except maybe time.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I probably won't get back to it until late 2023 or 2024 at this point due to all the Bastian Dennel, PI books I have planned.

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits.

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Dust of Silver

What is it? Classic-ish fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with Rapunzel, the first book in what has the potential to be a rather long series. Also, a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago that won't let go of me because CHARACTERS.

Status: Several chapters into the rewrite, though those several chapters haven't been touched in a few years.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to selkies and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? A classic epic fantasy series and the longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. There's a particular character who's getting a whole new arc, and I'm really excited to write it . . . when I have time.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said.

Status: I am having lots of thoughts about Book Probably-5 (Jack and the Beanstalk) and have figured out 90% of the setup and 60% of the plot. I don't outline books before I'm ready to write them, but I may have to start making exceptions for BDPI books because I'm genuinely getting really excited for this one and have no outlet for it. I'm also excited for Book 6 (Little Mermaid + a non-fairytale classic novel), and I may have to outline that one too so I can properly organize all the ideas I have for it.That said, outlining is part of how I usually work up to starting a story, so . . . we'll see how that goes, if I decide to do it.

Daughters of Atirse stories

What is it? At least three other stories in the same series as Song of the Selkies. Specific stories planned: The Goose Girl crossed with Puss in Boots (a prequel), something in the Beauty and the Beast Family (a sequel), and my take on Tam Lin crossed with a couple other fairy tales (another prequel).

Status: I want to write all of these so much and I haven't even published Book 1 yet, y'all. It's a struggle.

Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow

What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that's not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor's palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes).

Status: Won't be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth. May end up being set in the same world as Daughters of Atirse, though not in the same series.

What projects are on your desk right now, and how are they going for you? How far in advance of writing a book do you outline it? (And have you had any success with outlining far in advance?) Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

 

Hello, all! It's time for another issue of On the Taleweaver's Desk, my quarterly broad-view update on my writing projects. Not a lot has changed since my last post of this type, but there are some updates. All the same, if the current trend continues, I may consider switching to a thrice-a-year schedule in 2024. We'll see. As always, if you want to know more about any project in this post, you can ask me in comments or take a look at my Works in Progress page. Oh, and don't forget that the Wags, Woofs, and Wonders anthology, which includes my short story "Grim Guardian" is available for preorder in ebook and paperback form. And now, onto the updates!

 

On the Taleweaver's Desk Issue 8: May 2023

On the Desktop

These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They're currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.

Unnamed Selkie Story (Daughters of Atirse #1)

What is it? The Little Mermaid, but make it selkies, swap the human and mermaid roles, and throw in a princess who genuinely wants to do all the things a princess is supposed to do.

Status: Twenty-two-and-a-bit chapters drafted!

This is coming along a little slower than I intended due to a combination of not having a lot of writing time for most of April and the fact that the story is turning out longer than I initially thought it would be. Still, I'm happy with the quality of what I've been able to put down, and almost twenty-three chapters is nothing to sneeze at! I'm going to guess that I'm about two-thirds of the way done, possibly a little more. I need to have this done in the next month, so hopefully that guess isn't too far off . . . I also need to put together a cover and an actual name, now that I have time to think about that kind of thing. The series, as you may notice, has a name. The book doesn't quite yet. (I have an idea, but I don't know if I like it or not.)

Bastian Dennel, PI #4

What is it? Book 4 in my Bastian Dennel, PI series and my first murder mystery.

Status: Still twenty-five chapters drafted and probably within ten chapters of a complete first draft.

Yeaaaaaaah, I haven't really touched this since my last Taleweaver's Desk update. It still counts as On my Desktop, though, given its priority level. I look forward to getting back to it once I get my selkie story to beta readers. I am toying with the idea of switching story order to make this Book 5 and put my original Book 5 in the Book 4 slot, but . . . we'll see what I decide. I do think that the current Book 5/maybe Book 4 would be a lot shorter than this one, so switching wouldn't increase the book delay by too much. In any case, if I manage a 2023 BDPI release, it will be late 2023.

D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys

What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.

Status: Basically done with the Middle Earth adventure; working on writing the next adventure.

The Middle Earth adventure is 95% written — I have my plan for the battle at the Gates of Mordor (which we'll start next session), and I have my transition to the next adventure (which was already written when I started this). I just need to figure out what the nice arc-conclusion bit will be, but I'm holding off on that until I know how long the party wants to stay in Middle Earth — are they sticking around until Aragorn's coronation, or will they leave after the celebration on the Fields of Cormallen? In the meantime, I've started working on the next adventure, about which I'm very excited. It'll be short, fun, and hopefully a nice conclusion to the fey-and-worldhopping stuff we've been doing — though there may be more worldhopping in the future via a different method.

Stacked on the Side

These are the stories that I'm not actively working on (at least not officially), but I'm keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Blood in the Earth

What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. I probably won't get back to it until late 2023 or 2024 at this point due to all the Bastian Dennel, PI books I have planned.

Once Upon a Dream

What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show

Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits.

Shelved for Now

These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don't have specific plans to work on very soon. They're still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren't a top priority.

There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I'll leave the list here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!

Dust of Silver

What is it? Classic-ish fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with Rapunzel, the first book in what has the potential to be a rather long series. Also, a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago that won't let go of me because CHARACTERS.

Status: Several chapters into the rewrite, though those several chapters haven't been touched in a few years.

Between Two Worlds

What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn't quite as done with you as you thought.

Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels. May get bumped further up the priority list depending on certain other factors, but probably not for a while yet.

The Way of the Pen

What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.

Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it 'round to traditional publishers. However, that actually happening in the next couple years is improbable, due to selkies and Bastian Dennel taking priority.

Berstru Tales series

What is it? A classic epic fantasy series and the longest-running series I've worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I've worked on it.

Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. There's a particular character who's getting a whole new arc, and I'm really excited to write it . . . when I have time.

Awaiting Delivery

These are the stories that are on their way, but haven't quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I'm toying with but haven't even started to draft because they're still too nebulous.

Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels

What is it? Exactly what the heading said.

Status: Book 5 (Jack and the Beanstalk) may get switched to being Book 4, depending on what happens and whether I can figure out certain plotting problems. Book 6 (Little Mermaid + a surprise non-fairytale) is still locked in for that position, and I continue to add to my plans regarding it. Here's hoping that all this ideating will pay off into a quick writing process . . . Anyway I have at least four or five other ideas with varying levels of detail to come after Book 6; still not sure of the order, though. I'm still enjoying this world and these characters, and I hope not to leave anytime soon.

Daughters of Atirse stories

What is it? At least three other stories in the same series as my selkie Little Mermaid story, all technically standalones.

Status: Yes, I haven't even finished the first book and I'm already plotting sequels. Well, not sequels exactly, but connected books — two will be prequels (retelling the stories of "The Goose Girl" and Tam Lin) and one will be a sequel (I haven't fully settled on a fairy tale, but it may be something in the Beauty and the Beast family). Of these, the Goose Girl retelling is top priority, as I hope to write it for the 2024 Arista Challenge release.

Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow

What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that's not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor's palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes).

Status: Won't be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.

Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery

What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.

Status: Still just an idea, but it's an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth.

What projects are on your desk right now, and how are they going for you? Do you ever plan whole series before you finish drafting the first book? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!