Hey friends!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I took some time off from writing and spent time with my family. It's been a wonderful and relaxing time for us. Below, I have a special surprise for you! First, here's a quick update.

ORDER OF SHADOWS UPATE

This month, I sent my book one manuscript to my critique partners. While they read it over, I'm working on a detailed outline of book two.

 

However, I'll be honest, it's been challenging for a couple of reasons.

  1. I've become a little more of a pantser lately (not planning much before I draft and writing as I go). Making a detailed outline forces me out of my comfort zone. But I'm doing it nonetheless because, in the long run, a detailed outline will make writing book two easier and faster for me.

  2. Taking out a big plot device has changed the series quite a bit and even shortened it. I first planned on writing four books for this series, but now it may end up as a duology. Taking out this plot device has caused me to become a bit stuck and unsure of how to move forward with some things.

 

But hopefully, my critique partners can help me fix it all!

WRITING PLAN FOR 2024

2023 has been a difficult year for me, and my writing has suffered because of it. But 2024 is a new year and a fresh start, so here are my goals.

 

1. Publish book one of Order of Shadows.

  1. Have book two ready to publish in late 2024 or early 2025.

  2. Possibly work on a new ideas for a standalone.
     

    Those are big goals, but by breaking them down into bite-size goals and tasks I hope to accomplish them both.

2024 Word of the Year

It took me a while to choose a word. Ultimately, 2023 drained me of my creativity and my joy of writing, so I hope to get them back in 2024. Which is why I chose the phrase...

CREATIVE JOY

Do you do a word of the year? What's yours?

CHARACTER ART

A quick disclaimer: the character art below is AI generated; however, I only use AI as an inspiration tool. I commissioned a real artist to create the character art I used for my Divine Witches duology goodies, and I always plan to do the same in the future. I stand with and support human artists, writers, actors, etc…

With that said, I wanted to share the cast of my Order of Shadows with you. It took some trial and error using Ai to generate these photos, but they're close to what I imagine the characters looking like.

 

The top left photo is of the main character, Nori. She's visually impaired and has my rare eye condition, Aniridia Syndrome. So her eyes are black due to not having irises. Unfortunately, the Ai generator refused to give her black eyes. I tried many times, and it would only give her dark brown or gray eyes. In the end, I had to go with the best photo I thought captured how she looks in my head. I hope you enjoy getting a sneak peek at the characters. In the coming months, I planto share more about the series with you.

DECEMBER BOOKSHELF

I read more than normal this month due to waiting to hear from my

critique partners.

 

Some of my favorite reads of 2023 include ...

Ninth House & Hell Bent

(books 1 & 2 in the Alex Stern series) by Leigh Bardugo

One Dark Window & Two Twisted Crowns (a duology) by Rachel Gillig

House of Root & Ruin by Erin A. Craig

 

What were your favorite reads this year? Reply to this email and let me know. I'd love to hear from you and I always love getting book recs.

 

To see all my reads and ratings, check me out on Goodreads.

Goodreads

Until next time...

Keep reading...writing... and dreaming.

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