Randa’s Having Quite a Day

And she’s not the only one . . . How is your NaNoWriMo going? Even with the drama of national events, I’ve plugged away and am nearing my goal of 20,000 words. (No way would I ever reach the requisite 50,000.) (Get real.)

I decided to take a break from speed-writing, and publish my short story Randa's Day: an Interlude in the Animal Guild. It’s available on Amazon. Check it out!

 It’s a young-adult fantasy-action-adventure with mystery and magic, and is a “bridge” piece between two of the books in The Animal Guild Series.

The raccoon Randa of the 233rd Animal Guild is having quite a day as she organizes the survivors of the hikum plague, meets the mysterious human girl Dayle, and prepares for the long-awaited return of Corto and Renard.

The stress of teaching Dayle in class, impromptu drawing lessons for Marrhob beetles—not to mention the fact that Randa is the acting general—are nothing compared to the sudden disappearance of a little puppy whose father died from the plague and who is now orphaned and all alone in the world.

The story bridges Books 6 and 8 of The Animal Guild Series—between The Hikum and The Rogan Treasures (see below). Even if you have not read the first six books in the series, I hope you’ll find it fun and enjoyable.

 

To further confuse: 

The sequel to Seven Secrets in the Upper Attic is planned for publication in 2017. It’s called The Rogan Treasures (Book 8 in The Animal Guild Series).

My NaNo novel this year is the sequel to The Rogan Treasures, and I plan to finish it next year. It's called Sev's Vision, and it's a convoluted doozy (at least for the poor sucker who feels that she has to write it). :)

As ever, thanks for your encouragement and support. Keep reading, and finish those NaNovels!

Where's the Story?

Isn’t it great to wake up in the morning thinking of a scene that needs to be tweaked, or a plot element you absolutely must add to the climax, or an element you realize won’t work so shut your eyes and axe it even though you love it? And all this is before your first cup of coffee! It’s a fabulous way to start your day, right?

As NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November approaches at the speed of light, I’m getting excited!! Outlining fast and furious, and hope to start writing in October and continue through NaNo and beyond. No, I won’t finish the book in November, and no, I know that my writing speed during a month is about 25,000 words max. I really can’t write in a hurry, especially when I write pencil on paper. So there.

But I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful storyboards are, whether on your computer in programs like Scrivener or Liquid Story Binder, or on a big piece of cardboard strewn with colorful stickies that stares at you every time you enter the room. Here is my storyboard after I bought it:

And here it is now!

For a plot that needs exact logistics (armies on the move, whose group is where, how many miles do they cover each day, which character have I forgotten is in a scene), I LOVE this visual aid!

And here is all the other paper-phernalia of this next book:

I LOVE all these notes! This next book I’m attempting to write (Sev’s Vision) is a really difficult book for me, as those who read it will understand—assuming I get the darn thing written and it’s any good. Time will tell. And speaking of time, stop reading this and go write or read something!

What's Happening?

Well, let’s see… after re-reading my ‘Seven Secrets for Summer Reading’ post from June to get my bearings, what’s happening is:

The paperback version of Seven Secrets in the Upper Attic is available on Amazon. I do love the feel of physical books sometimes, don’t you? And as with all of my books, I’ve selected Amazon’s feature whereby the e-book version is free if you purchase the paperback through them. Sometimes it’s nice to have a snug-in-the-armchair book and a mobile version when you’re on the go; I know both types of readers.

What else is happening?

The Rogan Treasures, sequel to Seven Secrets, is with beta readers and undergoing the usual editing. The comments so far are encouraging, and the suggestions most welcome. Please keep at it, betas, and thanks again. 

And what else?

This fall, Randa’s Day: an Interlude in the Animal Guild, will be available as an e-book from Amazon. As I mentioned in the June post, it’s a “single” fiction piece that bridges the events between The Hikum and The Rogan Treasures. The Hikum actually takes place after Seven Secrets, which I didn’t remember until I recently checked my Big Timeline of Animal Guild Events. It doesn’t necessarily matter which book is read first (unless you are as stickler-y as I am), but catching up on The Animal Guild Series and reading Randa’s Day will make understanding of the goings on a tad easier in The Rogan Treasures.

And there’s more…

The Rogan Treasures, while wrapping up its own plot, will spill into Book 9 of the series: Sev’s Vision (working title). This novel has been in outline mode for, well, erm… 20 years? Maybe a bit more? Perhaps it’s time to write it, huh? I sense a NaNo November ahead of me. 

Keep reading, dudes.