Two Magical ✨Words: THE END
It's the seventh time I've written them!
A week ago, I wrote “The End” on the first draft of my seventh novel. That’s nearly fourteen years after I sent this email to my writing group in the afternoon on October 20th, 2011:
“Seriously, sitting here in the library crying. It's all out. It's on the page!!!! There is so much work in rewrites ahead, but omg, the first draft is DONE!!!!!!!!” Yes, I did use that many exclamation points.
That was my first novel, Feast of Sorrow, which didn’t hit the shelves until April 2017. I had a lot of editing to do, then it took some time to find an agent, and finally, the publishing process itself took nearly two years. I began writing the novel in 2006 or 2007. Ten years from beginning to end.
Fast forward to now. I began this latest novel last fall, intending it to be a trilogy. To that end, I developed a detailed synopsis, a prologue, and the first four chapters. But selling in a trilogy to an editor isn’t easy these days (because if the first book doesn’t sell, then the publisher is still on the hook for the second two), and in the end, my agent and I decided it should be a stand-alone. Then, edits on my fourth novel, The Happiness Collector, arrived, and I had to set the novel-in-progress aside for a bit, finally returning to it in February of this year. Between February and now, I wrote the bulk of the novel. All in all, I think I spent ten months in total writing the book, and most of it in the last seven.
From ten years to ten months!
That’s with a day job. I write every morning for at least an hour, sometimes more on weekends, but the consistency has made all the difference.
You may have noticed that my fourth book is scheduled for release in December, but I have just finished writing my seventh. I have one on the shelf: my COVID novel, which I mainly wrote to prove to myself that I could do it. The other is with my agent, who has it out on submission to publishers. This latest needs some edits, and then keep your fingers crossed it lands a new home quickly. I think it will. It’s a love story between a mortal and the god Morpheus, set at the intersection of the worlds of Venice and dreams, and it’s by far the most ambitious novel I’ve written, with a wild subplot that hinges on the cities in this Italo Calvino novel:
Look at that gorgeous cover, by Peruvian designer, Karina Puente. One of the scenes of this book is set in the Invisible City of Fedora, and I had to have the print.
Remember how I said the publishing process takes some time? It will probably be a while before this book lands in your hot little hands, but if you want to get a taste of it, pick up Calvino’s beautiful book and revel in his personal love letter to Venice (short, and you can easily read it in a day).
What’s Bringing Me Joy
I don’t have any idea what’s going on here, but it gives me strange joy.
One of the coolest flash mobs I’ve ever seen. The singer is amazing.
This 80s video about wearing scarves is pure gold.
If you love food and love Italy, and haven’t read IN THE GARDEN OF MONSTERS, THE CHEF’S SECRET or FEAST OF SORROW, click the links to learn where to buy your copy! And now you can pre-order my latest, THE HAPPINESS COLLECTOR!
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Congrats!!
She’s dressed as a delft tulip vase! 🤣 Congrats on all your writing success. I’m looking forward to the Happiness Collector!