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Don't get me wrong, I love spring with all its budding flowers and that sense of renewal in the air. But for me, I really start to come awake in autumn. There's the relief at the end of summer. I'm not very heat tolerant, so I spend August and often early September begging for cooler weather. When it finally happens, I'm ecstatic.
I also just love the beauty of the autumn world, the smells, the crisp nights and the warm scarves, getting together with friends for various holidays. Something about it just brings me into my fullest self, and my creativity along with that. Now we're truly into my favorite time of year. So naturally I'm going into autumn with a lot of new ideas for creative endeavors locked and loaded, as well as a renewed determination to, I don't know, finish my dang book?
Or maybe that's asking too much.
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The Writing Desk
I can actually see the end in sight for draft two of Book 2. I'm not going to say, "Oh, I'm totally going to finish it this month" because if I've found anything this year, it's that if I say I'm going to finish it by a certain date I jinx it. But I do feel hopeful that I'm very close.
I'm also working on a serial project that I teased a few months ago that I planned to release this month. I just realized today that I've never really given a teaser for that project. So let's just do that now, shall we?
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Anne-Marie Mullins has always had an obsession with the paranormal. For her, it's not a question of belief. She's known that there was more to the world than most people see, ever since a childhood experience of wandering into a liminal space and being guided out by the grandmother she never met. It's more a matter of whether she can find it again.
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Which is why she takes a year off before her final year of grad school to go on a hunt for the weird and unexplained. Her search leads her to The Afterlight Pop-Up Music Hostel, which seems to mysteriously disappear and reappear across the world and which hosts a rather unique clientele. By the time the staff at the Afterlight realize that Anne-Marie is a regular human, she's booked a seven night stay that they have no choice but to honor: a tricky downside of having a fae for a co-owner.
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The Afterlight is full of wonder and danger in equal measure. It's a haven for many, but the guests and staff alike are mistrustful and hostile towards Anne-Marie. But when a vampire named Phoenix arrives that same night, Anne-Marie is no longer the main concern. Phoenix has a penchant for trouble and a loaded history with the owners of the Afterlight. He's also the prime suspect when a guest is murdered, with clear markings of a vampire bite. Anne-Marie is pretty sure he didn't do it, though, so she makes a deal with the fae owner, Sam: over the next seven nights, she'll help them catch the true killer -- and then she'll never return. This is a decade old project of mine, and one that I'm so excited to have a chance to share. If you enjoy the found family of Being Human, the whimsy of Mystic Pop-Up Bar, and the chaotic cast of characters in Hazbin Hotel, with a dressing of a spooky murder mystery, you'll love SEVEN NIGHTS AT THE AFTERLGHT.
I'll be posting the first chapter for free. After that, subsequent chapters will go out first on a paid tier and then after a month, they'll be released for free. I'm going to try my best to post monthly.
And unlike Book 2, I do feel like I can stick to a deadline for this one, so how about a premier date of October 31st? ๐๐ง
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Media of the Month
The past month and a half has been T. Kingfisher Autumn. She's an author I've been meaning to read for a while, felt certain that she would be a favorite, and I was right! So here's what I've been reading:
- โA Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. It's so rare to find a YA book with a 14 year old protagonist, but apparently that's Kingfisher's sweet spot when she does YA. You see this title and you think, "Whimsical magical and cozy." It is all of those things but it's also full of feeling and very serious discussion of the toll of being entrusted to save the world while you're still a teenager.
- โA House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. I still don't believe in "cozy horror" (horror is, by definition, meant to make you uncomfortable). But this book is endearing and creepy and gross by turns. It also made me feel weirdly fond of vultures.
- โThe Deep Sky by Yume Kitesai. Another author I'm going to want to keep an eye on. Her character work is just phenomenal.
- โThe Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher. An incredibly rootable take on the Bluebeard tale with a terrifying villain and, again, some truly creepy moments.
- โFire by Kristin Cashore. The second book in the Graceling Realm, which I did not realize was actually a prequel. I'm still working on it, and I have a terrible theory about Fire's fate, but I think I'm enjoying this even more than Graceling.
- โSummer in Orcus by T. Kingfisher. A good old portal fantasy that feels very similar to The Wizard of Oz or The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.
I've been watching a lot of telenovelas, which have added so much context alongside my Spanish lessons. It's nice to recognize words I've learned but in a very different context and notice the way it's more often used. Right now, I'm about 22 episodes into Rosario Tijeras, which follows a young woman assassin. I hate every man in this show, even the ones you're supposed to like, but Rosario is a pretty compelling protagonist.
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Indie Fantasy Shoutout
You all have heard me shouting out Mylee J. Miller before. She's not a published indie fantasy author yet, but she does have a number of projects that she plans to put out next year, so keep an eye out for her!
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Indie Author Joy
This isn't specific to being an indie author but it does bleed into that. As we move into colder months, I've been restructuring my life for more of a hygge vibe. Hygge is basically a Danish and Norwegian custom of leaning into the colder months with cozy comforts and time spent with loved ones. I'm working on balancing work and rest, and I'm looking forward to working while wrapped up in a good scarf with a cup of hot chocolate at my side.
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