Hello all! I hope you’ve had a great start to your month! Can you believe it is already April? The year is a quarter of the way over already?! I once read a quote (by whom, I can’t recall) that said, “Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the older you get, the faster it goes.” There seems to be some illogical truth to that. Time appears to move faster the older I get. I’ve often wondered if age does something to our perception of time, or perhaps it just takes on various meanings throughout the stages of life. Regardless, we should always make the most of it, whether it seems fast or slow.

I’ve been working hard to make the most of the time I spend writing, although this month has been different from the rest of the year. I finished March with 96k words in the bank, and I’m proud of that achievement. Those words were spread out over several projects, but the largest still remains on my seven book fantasy romance series. So, first an update on that, I suppose.

I’m currently working on Book 5 in the series, and the rough draft is half written to date. I still can’t believe I’ve written four books now (and all in under a year, no less). I never imagined I could achieve something like this, and I’m enjoying the journey more than I can put into words. Book 3 is with my editor (yay!) and should be finished in May. I’ve received great feedback so far, and she has noted that my writing (and grammar!) have improved. Such compliments really drive me forward. I want to continue to perfect my craft as best I can, and I do feel I have improved significantly since writing The Witch of Selvenor. My goal for the series is to complete Book 5 this month and to do the final edit of Book 4.

And, of course, I’m happy to announce that Book 2, The Warlock of Dunivear, will be available April 12th!!!

Now, on to my other ridiculous projects. This writing journey has “opened a can of worms” so to speak. I find my brain doesn’t want to stop, and it’s maddening at times. I’ve started not ONE, but TWO new novels, although they are in very early stages. The first will be the start of a trilogy that exists in the same world as my series. I’m hoping to explore the characters more and, specifically, the antagonist. I’ve outlined the first book in the series entirely, and I’m brainstorming more ideas for the second. Ideas for the third are already there. For whatever reason, it was easier. I’ve written a few chapters, but I’ve put the writing on hold until I can get the trilogy outline sorted.

The second new novel is still very much in the air at this point. I’ve written 9k words on it, completely pantsing…no outline whatsoever. I know where I want it to go, but sometimes my characters rebel, so we will see. This is more romance than anything, although I suppose it could be classified as fantasy romance. There is no magic or mythical creatures, so it is more romance than fantasy. My favorite genre to read is regency romance, and this novel will have more of that style than my other works. I decided it would be a great project for camp NaNoWriMo, and I’ve pledged 50k words to it by end of month. I may not get there, but at least I’ll have a good start. I’m not certain what I’ll do with the project once completed. I’ve half a mind to give traditional publishing a go, so that may be something I explore. If nothing else, I believe the experience will be good to have, and there is always the option of self publishing should I become too impatient for the process.

In March, I also completed a short story (also set in my series world). I plan to submit it to a fantasy magazine, so we will see what happens there (assuming I can ever come up with a blasted title!). If it isn’t accepted, I’ll publish it on Amazon (most likely as a freebie) and offer it on the website as well.

I have enough to keep me busy it seems, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. Rekindling my passion for writing was one of the best things to happen to me last year, and I hope to keep the flame of storytelling alive.

Hope your April is fantastically wonderful!

PS: Check out this link for more books about witches from amazing authors!