In April, I started some author social media accounts, started querying, and started drafting blog posts. It’s been long enough that I thought I should provide an update on my various projects, so here it is:

Into Shadow

I’m currently querying an adult fantasy novel, Into Shadow. In an earlier form, Into Shadow was a finalist in a publisher’s speculative fiction contest. I began querying agents in April, but I took a mental health break for about two months, and I used that time to do another draft of the novel based on further beta reader feedback. 

The good news is that Into Shadow is the best it’s ever been. Now sitting at about 125k words, this new draft has more depth than the last one, and I’m really happy with it.

Querying is extremely difficult emotionally. I’m trying to figure out a way to do this so my mental health is less negatively impacted. I’m going to see how this next round of querying goes and reassess my approach based on that.

Querying is a long process, and I’ve heard you should query at least one hundred agents if you have a project you feel passionate about. I’m definitely passionate about this novel, so I’m continuing to tweak my query letter and my first pages, and I’m continuing to send it out. I don’t have a lot of control over whether someone will click with my novel, so I’m trying to focus on the things I do have control over. For now, crossing my fingers that someone will be interested soon!

Dragons! 2.0

In the spring, I wrote about 75k words of the sequel for Into Shadow. Parts of it are going well, and parts are not, so I decided to take a bit of time off to puzzle out the parts that aren’t going as well. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the project, and I expect I’ll resume writing it before the end of the year.

Audiobooks

I’m currently narrating the audiobook for What Have I Done? by Carrie Close. The book is a collection of stories and poetry, and I’m enjoying it!

Summary

I’m having a lot of ups and downs in my professional life right now, but I’m excited for what the future will bring. As tough as querying is, I’m trying hard to maintain the joy in words and stories that has always motivated me, and I have a lot of exciting projects on the go. Thanks to those of you who are following this journey, and hopefully I’ll have more news soon!