Tag Archives: Novel

Coffee & Conversation: What’s Up for 2020?

27 Monday Jan 2020

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That’s a good question and one I’ve been debating for the past few weeks. But I think it’s high time I give you an update. Probably far past high time.

Firstly, Lost Isle is done. I finished the book in September ’19 with a whimper of relief rather than an explosion of excitement. It’s in formatting stage with some promo pieces completed and others needing a ton of work. I love this book though and have spent far too long on it to push it out quickly. So I’m going to do things right this time around

Lost Isle: The Ocean’s Aviary I is getting an official release date of March 9th 2021.

But that has nothing to do with 2020, does it? Not really.

Novel

For 2020 I’ve prepared something else for my blog. Like a few stories I’ve done before, I’m going to begin serializing a novel. The chapters are short, and the book itself follows a character through both his past and the present. I have a place-holder cover that I will use for now to represent the book. Thus, I’m introducing:

CANVAS BLUES:
Vignettes Regarding the Artwork of Brendon Kotes

When the lawyer Orion Livesey invites himself into Brendon Kotes’ studio to return a painting, the man comes with insinuations and questions that skim into the realm of impossibility. For he claims Brendon’s painting has killed a man.

But a painting is just a painting and Brendon’s are no different despite Orion’s insistence otherwise. And though Brendon resists the idea his art could be dangerous, there are moments in his past that begin to surface, pieces of a puzzle he didn’t even realize existed coalescing despite all his attempts to keep them buried.

Questions he doesn’t want to know the answer to begin to knock about his mind, for what destruction in his past could he have been responsible for without ever even knowing.

As I’ve said, the book is told with two timelines, one within the present day, the other all those puzzle pieces of his past. I will be posting each new chapter every Wednesday (I know! It’s not Sunday. Crazy, right?), starting the 29th with the prologue.

Coffee and Conversation

As well as serializing Canvas Blues on Wednesdays, I will also be doing something quick and fun on Mondays. The idea here is to answer different questions every week in a fun paragraph/essay format. Some might be a little deeper, some will be silly or fluff.

Anyone’s welcome to pose a question if they like, but I presume most will come from me as they will operate as a tiny window into who I am or what I’m doing or what I’m working on.

I have a few more possibilities toward the end of the year, but as of right now, these are the things I feel confident in announcing given the amount of projects I’m working on, which I will be slowly becoming more transparent about :)

~Emmi

 

Sunday Stories Update

03 Saturday Mar 2018

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Most of February was spent in short story mode, which made me do a lot of reflective thinking for the coming years. While I love writing short stories, love how some of the ideas I get for them end up within my novel-length projects, I don’t like how much time they take away from me completing longer projects.

During times when I’m working on shorts, I’m heavily distracted from those longer projects I need to be finishing. Jumping back and forth ruins productivity because then I’m not steeped in just one project and must constantly be looking things up and re-acquainting myself with plot lines and character developments.

I thought I could solve this problem my merely limiting my blog post stories to only flash pieces I could knock out quickly. Unfortunately, after striving to do this in the past month, I’ve come to the conclusion that a story’s length is just whatever it wants to be.

So I’m making the announcement now that come 2019 I shall not be publishing short stories every month on my blog anymore.

This does not affect this year’s plans, as I already have a number written or in stages of being written, so 2018 there will still be a short story published the first Sunday of every month. Including tomorrow! (I’m excited about tomorrow’s because the picture for the prompt was sooo pretty and it’s one of my favorites that I’ve finished so far this year!) :)

I’m toying with a few other ideas, but I really want to focus on novel-length output, so I’m not announcing anything just yet. I want to have time to consider different options because while I like giving free words, I also know most of you are generally more interested in reading extra bits about characters you already know and love rather than newbie characters introduced and forgotten about within the space of a few short words.

So there’re possibilities, but I can’t promise anything just yet because I don’t want to get ahead of myself.

If you’ve stayed with me during this long post, I’d like to add that Pup Games is on sale for this weekend only for .99$! There are a lot of other Fantasy and Sci-fi titles also available for .99$ a piece, so if you’re a fantasy lover with or without romance, you can check out the promo here:

~Emmi

Chapter One of Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

09 Saturday Dec 2017

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There are 16 days till Christmas. 12 days till Pup Games is released. 8 days till poem release. 5 days till Co’mil’s Interview. 3 days till La’vii’s Interview.

But there are 0 days until you get to read the first chapter of Pup Games!

Edit: I guess I should have added this link: Pre-order Here!

Chapter One

The first time I saw Co’mil he’d been schooling my brother on the sands of a doghouse. He won that fight with only three dogs, one of whom who had been gravely pregnant and had mostly just stood growling on the sidelines. My brother, a good seven years older than me with a pack of nine, had been left embarrassed, bloody and bitter in the center of the sands. I’d been left hard and gaping, my gaze locked on Co’mil’s wry expression as he shared a loving, celebratory kiss with one of his dogs.

I spent the rest of that night oscillating between listening to my brother moan about the unfairness of it all and imagining Co’mil’s thick arms around me, pushing me into creative positions that my thirteen-year-old self thought were creatively exciting, but in retrospect were admittedly tame.

Co’mil featured in arguably just about every fantasy I had after that for two years. Then I found flesh and blood partners more than willing to turn those fantasies into realities and Co’mil became nothing but an occasional nostalgic remembrance—as if a fifteen-year-old pup could even understand nostalgia, let alone feel it. The first time I tasted reality, lips soft against mine, nerves sparking, that unrequited crush shriveled to ash.

Or so I’d thought. Continue reading →

Cover Reveal of Lost Isle (The Ocean’s Aviary I)

22 Sunday Oct 2017

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So, I’ve been itching to share this with you because I think it’s absolutely gorgeous! Island adventures with hidden magic and awesome birds! I know, right. Birds? But it’ll be cool. I promise! :)

Lost Isle: The Ocean’s Aviary I

When Edwin Vlaris is tossed off the ship The Torrent, he’s left to die with just his wits, his knowledge and his companion, a hard and handsome sailor with an incredible power of his own.

Coming December 2017!

EDIT: And I forgot to say who designed the cover!  The great team over at Deranged Doctor Design are responsible for this awesomeness!

September ’17, Briefly

30 Saturday Sep 2017

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Back to school season! That means words can be completed without distraction! Massive editing can be taken on! Research doesn’t become a befuddled mess in my brain! Means I finished a bunch of work :)

1) Lost Isle (The Ocean’s Aviary I)

Received Cover files and Teasers! And oh, my gosh I’m so excited to share with you. It’s gorgeous and awesome and…and won’t be revealed until Oct. 22nd!

2) Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Finished! Sort of! The words are all there at least. It’s waiting on further editing phases, but I’m really happy with how it turned out–except that one scene that needs the prose massively cleaned up. I must have been having a ‘wat r wurds’ day when I wrote that. So plenty of work left to accomplish to keep me busy! La’vii is a sweetheart compared to some of my last few MCs.  Definitely a nice change of pace :) And Co’mil is… He’s the kind of man who pretends to be harder than he is because he’s been hurt too many times. But maybe I’ve said too much :O

This one isn’t a grand, journey-style adventure like The Wilds Duology, but I think it’s fun to add pieces to the world. Extra character introductions and wider possibilities. There’s another standalone Houndmaster Novel in the works as well that is also mostly set in Crafton–Doghouse Negotiations. Only about 15% of the way through this one, but it has more to do with the city and some of the darker things going on there.

3) Storm Dancer (Living Metal I)

This was that Steampunk story I told you about. You know, the one I claimed was just a novelette. Yeeaahh, it’s now the first in a novella series. I finished this as well. Coming mid-to-late 2018. It’s about a mechanic and his favorite, and famous, client.

4) Somewhat Secret Project

Mostly I did brainstorming/outlining for this one. Have a couple thousand words completed as well. No clues.

~

Hope you are all having a productive autumn as well :) Just in the past two days, around where I live has finally come out of a humidity spike and the heat has been lingering around 70F. It’s pumpkin spice time and colorful leaves…and boots!

PS: Full disclosure, I don’t actually drink pumpkin spice. I’m a Christmas peppermint kind of gal.

Lines to Read By (August)

10 Sunday Sep 2017

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Here are some of my favorite teaser lines from last month :)

All from Pup Games (mm fantasy romance/coming of age novel) except for the one with the picture. That one was a writing prompt I had fun with.

<3 you all! Hope your weekend has been going well :)

 

Continue reading →

August ’17, Briefly

01 Friday Sep 2017

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Considering I knew August would be a low-output month, I’m pretty pleased with what I was still able to accomplish. Libraries with Mine-craft to eat into children’s brain cells are the best.

1) Worked on Steampunk Novelette

Still unnamed, but here’s crossing my fingers I can get it finished by the end of next month despite everything else I have to do.

2) Houndmaster WIPs

I have words completed in two more novels. Wrote about 12k total between them, some fleshing out of outlines. My hope is to spend a good chunk of 2018 finishing up this monster of a trilogy that terrifies me.

3) Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Another 20k done. Did edits on what I’d completed sometimes when the library was loud. Also created the base rules for a game in the story since I’d only had the bare bones before.

As a side note, the name on the room is literally “Quiet Study Room” and yet there are people who insist on having full-on phone conversations in there, loud enough I can hear the people on the other end. People who come in, claim a table and chat. People who bring in small children despite the library having a huge, and pretty good, kid’s section–I should know since mine were over there. One day there was even a woman in there tutoring an elementary-aged kid in math. I passed not one, not two, but THREE empty tables outside the quiet room in the main part of the library that day. I just don’t get it. Is there something difficult about the definition of quiet? This was torturous some days when I was desperately trying to get work done.

4) I also beta-read a novel for a close friend, set up some promo, a few read-through edits, worked on a relaunch idea, wrote a few poems, and (this last isn’t technically writing related, but still managed to eat into a lot of my time) prepared for back-to-school.

July ’17, Briefly

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

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This past month I didn’t keep as good of records of my hours spent working unfortunately, partly due to the fact my computer decided to die on me. Hard drive seemed fine and backups had already been made so all my work was completely good. I’ve learned that lesson already. However, I was bumming computer time for a couple of weeks. I’m actually typing this up on a brand new computer that finally came in yesterday :)

1) Bridle the Unicorn Published

Still need to finish up my New Release Alert newsletter and send that out by the end of the week. Given how a few distributor platforms work and a couple other experiences with unavailable links at first publication, I decided giving a habitual week leeway after publication for the newsletter would be beneficial for certain publications in the future.

2) Outlined and Began a Novelette

This WIP I started because I didn’t have my main files with me at the time, but there’s always a notebook. It’s steampunky/metalpunky, with a sports feature.

3)  Worked on Pup Games (A Houndmaster Novel)

Yes, you read that right; Pup Games has officially become a novel :) Still due out early ’18.

Here’s another teaser from chapter one that introduces La’vii’s pack.

~ ~ ~

I crouched and wrapped an arm around Sed, her light brown coat long enough it’d been picking up debris all day from her time in and out of the soggy edges of the marsh. The rest of my pack–Ris, Mit and Aim–still sniffed around the bushes, searching for a recent trail. They sent flashes through our collective consciousness, reminding me the hares were more numerous further in, away from the salt and tang of the marsh.

“I know,” I said as I pressed my cheek against Sed’s dirty coat. “We have to check everywhere though, you know that.”

Then they sent me images of Co’mil from the night he’d bested El’mik. As if I needed their help to remind myself how he’d looked. Like a dog blessed by the ancestral bitch herself, his hair holding the tiniest hint of red as it curled in an unruly mop on his head, his eyes a piercing gray I wouldn’t have minded staring into as he’d thrown me to the sand.

~ ~ ~

Bridle the Unicorn Published!

28 Friday Jul 2017

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Happy Publication Day!

I always reveal a couple of neat tidbits about the writing of a novel on publication day. I figure that’s better than just saying Whoo-hoo! or something to that effect.

1) Bridle the Unicorn was never meant to be a novel. Though this happens so much to me I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise when characters in a short story start waving their hands and shouting about how they are most definitely not finished. In this case, it was Ari. Roan probably wouldn’t have cared had I stopped his story after chapter one, though I think he’s far happier having it told in its entirety.

2) Bridle the Unicorn takes place in the town of Mattateque. This is the setting for the three short stories, Kiss. Mouth. Red., Aura of Happiness, Aura of Love, and Wish Delivery. It was also the main setting for the trilogy featuring Clay and Jacob: Alley, Grave and Dream.

That being said, only one character (from Wish Delivery) made an appearance in the first draft of Bridle the Unicorn, though I added another small mention of another later.

3) I didn’t know any of the reveals/twists when I started, since it was only going to be a single short story. I had to figure out where I was going by adding details that ended up being clues, both for me and for others.

4) This one is a little more personal. I caught a lovely case of pneumonia and fractured a rib while writing this particular novel. I think I went two months barely writing anything at all. I’ve never had that long of a span where I didn’t write, not since 2008. And then, of course, I finished Murder in Color first since I’d begun to feel guilty that poor Salain had been left in limbo for almost two years.

5) This story has sooo few characters. If you’ve read any of my other novels you’d think I use every letter of the alphabet twice over to start names. This one, not so much. This is mostly because Roan is anti-social by choice and the plot itself is quite narrowly focused on him and Ari most of the time.

So if you prefer more contained, micro-oriented romantic stories over sprawling adventures and/or a dozen suspects in a murder mystery, then Bridle the Unicorn would be more your kind of book.

And like always…

6) My favorite character is Ari Nix. He was a blast to write from Roan’s perspective.

I’ve obviously done some from Ari’s perspective on his Tour, but I seemed to have difficulty catching his personality from the inside since now you (and I) know exactly what he’s thinking and how he gets there. It’s like watching a magician’s tricks from behind where you can see exactly how he does everything. Makes it all less…magical.

Bridle the Unicorn is now on sale at Amazon for 4.99. The novel is also available through Kindle Unlimited. If you have the time, I would greatly appreciate reviews :)

And if you want first crack on my newest novels in return for your honest reviews, please consider signing up for my ARC Team via my newsletter!

Morgan Liu and her Obsession with Fairy Tales (4D)

15 Thursday Jun 2017

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Ari’s Tour
(previous installments)
4A—Ari Nix and How It All Began
4C—Mrs. Jameson and Her African Violets
4B—Jasmine Leit and her Collection of High Heels
The Rooftop Garden and the Terror of Heights

4D—Morgan Liu and her Obsession with Fairy Tales

 

Ari sailed straight through the layers of concrete and insulation and piping and wood. Straight into an apartment lit with a purplish hue from a fish tank sitting against the wall. And he knew this because he found his head in said fish tank, fake seaweed flowing so close to his eye he flinched, just as a brilliantly blue tang darted through his open mouth.

He gagged, though there was nothing at all to actually gag on.

His flinching caused him to spin sideways, his downward plunge halting somewhat as he spilled free from the brightness of the fish tank and into a living room he’d never before set foot within. He caught glimpses of open books, pages upon pages cut, folded. Words, blended ink, while on the left-hand sides chapter headings curled with fantastical fonts. Shadows from the tank lights swam upon the carpet, giving it a rippled effect.

“Oh thank goodness. This must be Morgan’s place.” He took a breath that smelled nothing of fish or mugginess, though he knew quite well that it should have. That scent had escaped down the hall often enough whenever Morgan opened her door. Continue reading →