June 2023
What I'm Up To
Allow me to let you in on a (very obvious) secret: teachers love summer just as much as kids do. School ended for me last week, and I feel like I can breathe again! Don’t get me wrong—I love teaching, but by the end of the year, I start feeling like I’m trying to outrun a steam engine. Add in a toddler with allergies and a baby with an ear infection, and you get one tired mama/teacher/writer.
But summer is a magical time to rest and recharge, where I can read, go on walks during the day, get some things done around the house, and, you know, go to the bathroom whenever I need to (children permitting). And this year, I have big plans for my summer writing as well!
Which leads me to...
My Brand New Cover Reveal!
As a thank you for being so awesome, your eyeballs are among the first EVER to witness my new cover!
(Yaaaaay!)
Seriously, you're amazing. Thank you for being so wonderful. Never change.
On My Desk
In March, I committed to the idea of evolving my writing from a hobby to a career. It’s going to be a long road, but I have a plan and I’m excited to get to work!
This summer, I’ll be spending a lot of time revising. The first step is my Ryvenlock Trilogy. I’m finishing up The First Wordweaver, the prequel novella to Wordweaver. Wordweaver is finished, but I want to run through it one more time to make sure there aren’t any continuity errors after the prequel.
After that, it’s on to Draft 2 of Book 2, Ravenshield. This one will probably take me another month, since I have a few gaps to fill in and I need to revamp some of the character arcs, and then I’ll send it out to beta readers for feedback.
Then it’ll finally be time for Book 3, Everheir, which will definitely take the longest. I have about 50,000 words in that draft, but I’ve changed a few things since I started writing it so I’ll have to redo some major parts before I finish the draft. But if all goes to plan, I’ll be ready to finalize the trilogy for publication by December!
Poetry Corner
New Edition
It is not the same book.
A new binding, papers fresh from the
printer, shining like
an apple not bitten, crisp
and sweet, waiting to be picked.
The title is the same,
but the image on the cover
is new and unfamiliar—
a new edition.
I don’t like it
because it doesn’t feel like
the hours I spent curled
around its spine, mine
as curved as the fanning pages,
consumed by story.
But I take it anyway, take
a bite of the promising memory,
the same fruit under different skin,
and tumble back
into childhood summers, into
the smell of apple trees and ink,
the home that I carry with me
every time I open the cover.