The last few weeks of getting a book out are the hardest part for me. Writing is fun, editing is an enjoyable challenge, but when my editor returns the book from its second round of edits – my mind calls it done, never mind that there’s the final revision, then formatting, read through, and proofread, first for the ebook and then the paperback, before I need to sit down to write blogs, newsletters, and promo posts.
Finding the focus for those final tasks can be a real challenge because this is the time when the plot bunnies are breeding and inspiration for stories seems to be everywhere.
I always have more ideas for stories than time to write them. That’s nothing unusual. The difference is how loud these ideas are when I’m in the final stages of getting a book released. I actively have to shut them up. And if I can’t do that, I have to let them have me for a day to sit in a corner and write snatches of this and that before I force myself back to the work at hand.
This time around, instead of letting the strategic part of my mind worry that I’m nearing the end of a project with nothing planned for the time after, I’ve given myself the time between my store release and the book coming out at the major retailers to plan the next batch of stories.
Instead of worrying over sales and early reviews, I’m paging through my WiP stack to see if anything catches my interest, skim through notebooks full of ideas, and generally keep my mind open for new ideas.
There’s a lot clamouring for my attention. It changes day to day, depending on what I read and what happens around me. But after several rounds of that, a few stories tend to be consistently on the top of my interest list.
Right now, I’ve decided on two stories, and am looking for a third.
Prospects
Of the two already fixed, Prospects is about as old as Fan Bait – but fortunately, not in such a crazy state. Back in the day, I got about ten chapters into Julian and Tom’s tale until Jack ran way with the story. At that point, I stopped, realising that I needed to write Job Hunt first.
Now Jack has reached a place in his life where he can happily wander off on side quests while Tom and Julian sort themselves out. So I’ve resurrected the story. The first ten chapters are up on my Patreon and Reader’s Nook. And I will keep adding chapters as I write them.
If you’re looking for the next new story in the Power of Zero series, it will be Prospects.
The Turning Year
My second project is a new one.
Last autumn, completely out of the blue, I thought of a story about a lonely tech millionaire who moved to a tiny town and opened a community library. While that venture seemed to end in failure, he also planted a garden of trees to have something to talk to while his library sat empty. The trees and the glade eventually attracted a very unusual person and prompted a change in Niles’s life and circumstances.
It was a story that utterly surprised me. But I posted it bit by bit on the free tier of the Patreon and Reader’s Nook – and readers there loved it, so I kept going. I’m aiming to release this in my store in the early summer, and have it for wide release on September the 15th.
Until the Last Leaf Falls is an autumn story – and it made me thing of a series of stories centred on the seasons. They’ll be stories of found family and community, of loneliness and being seen, of losing oneself and finding purpose. And all will have a touch of magic.
The next one of these stories came to me while on a walk in Nene Park, just outside Peterborough. We visited very early in the spring and found stunning weeping willows, and a long string of osier beds – stands of willow grown specifically to provide long straight switches for basket weaving.
And standing there, looking at the river and the willow beds made me think of a story with the theme of caring at its heart. I have one chapter and a few sketches done, and I’ll write a couple more before I start posting them on the Patreon page – and we’ll see how we go from there.
What’s for Thirds?
I usually like to have three projects on the go, and right now, that the third one is still undecided.
- I’m tempted by a re-write & expansion of my FireWorks Security series, because a) I didn’t get to do this when I had it with a publisher and b) I used to love the characters so much I wrote a cross-over story with Aidan Conrad’s law firm. Unfortunately, it’s very much like Fan Bait, in that the centre part would need tearing apart. And I’m not sure I’m ready for another rip job just yet.
- Another one that tickles my fancy is the final installment in the Balance of Magic series. It has plenty of intrigue, witches, and trees, and explores how ignoring injustice that doesn’t affect us directly can have catastrophic consequences. Which feels shockingly topical at the moment, and therefore not make it the best choice. I don’t know yet. I only know it keeps coming up.
- I’m also thinking of something a little more light-hearted. I have a character who, with a university friend, set up a concierge service called Got It Done. He spends his days fixing everybody else’s problems, but doesn’t seem to know how to stop his family taking advantage of him left and right. It isn’t until he bumps, quite literally, into a stubborn young dad who never asks for anything. When his family tries to run him off, my hero realises what’s wrong in his life. I was thinking of offering that as an exclusive to my Patreon and Reader’s Nook readers, and if there’s enough interest, I might just do that.
- Then there’s Access All Areas, a series of six connected novellas featuring rock stars and spies… or even rock star spies! I have extensive notes for each of the stories and have started writing some of them… so maybe it’s time to put them all together and get them out.
- And then the one that scares me the most, but also excites me the most: Vigilatte, the Power of Zero spin-off series. It’s Paston’s story, and Rio’s, wrapped in espionage, revenge, and Robin Hood-style vigilante justice. It will be hard, but so much fun! Plus, I have some lovely covers I keep looking at.
So there you have it. Amongst the massive multitude of stuff on my WiP stack, these currently float my boat. It might change, of course. Plot bunnies do breed, and my husband is an excellent enabler.
But for now, I’m going to catch up with my admin and let my mind juggle ideas. Because I’m in that blissful space between, and can do that.
Finally… Fan Bait! :-)
Oh, so many good choices! As much as I would like to hear about Paston and Rio, I jumped on the Got It Done idea. That could be so much fun!
Have fun with it, Jackie!