This post has been removed by the author in preparation for publication.
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I took some liberties with this week’s prompt from Leigh Kimmel to make it fit with Paladin’s Legacy, book two of the Professor Porter series (which is achingly slow, but finally stutter-stepping its way along. “You hear a thumping from under the heating register, like there’s someone in the basement tapping on the ductwork. Except this house doesn’t have a basement.”
My prompt went to nother Mike: “The city had a sudden rash of helpful acts of vandalism.”
I’ve been dragging on a few items, for a number of reasons. Plot problems that I finally got unstuck on. Unmotivated after long days. Distracted by the garbage disposal leaking black sludge everywhere. That really good series I just discovered on KU. You know – life.
But I’ve got a couple anthologies that I want to put in for (and one I was accepted into, yay!), and some short deadlines. That puts a whomping push on book two, which is giving me more fits than book three, or the short story that comes in between them.
Or the other short stories that won’t let my brain go.
And if I’m not accepted, the external pressure’s off, but I’ll still work on the stories to release at a later date.
It’s not a bad thing, to have goals. We’ll see how far I can get. If nothing else, this should up my daily wordcount and rebuild the habit of writing. I’ve gotten sloppy. Even modest goals can help.
Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.
Long story, but in talking about chainmail on the book of faces, I wound up doing a podcast. Kind of a rushed and surprised thing, definitely something new. I talked up More Odds Than Ends, too. I’ll post the podcast link when it’s done.
I also burrowed until I found the first Peter and June story, blew the dust off, and expanded it a touch. Definitely still a short story, but thought it’d go well together.
Plus, I got to play around with covers (thanks for the feedback, Becky and Jennie and Nik!). I don’t think I’ll ever be fantastic at them, but I was happy with this one.
Look, Ma, I made a cover!
Blurb for now: Professor June Porter is worried. Her daughter Medina has shown no signs of magic, leaving her defenseless and isolated among magicians. Unless, of course, everyone’s about to discover just how special Medina is.
Interesting things that happened during this process:
I got over my fear of “writing out loud.” The More Odds Than Ends writing prompt group has been fantastic for this. I don’t always have time to get the prompt done, or done well. It usually got done anyway.
I broadened. MOTE, again, opened my horizons here. I didn’t always like my prompts, and sometimes found them quite challenging. They certainly were not things that my brain would have conceived – and that’s fantastic.
I learned things. Not just craft, what works and what doesn’t, but also how to run a website.
I got it done. Do I think June’s story is good enough to share with the world? Sure. It won’t be to everyone’s taste. That’s okay. Neither am I. Won’t try to claim I won’t get upset over my first one star review, but it’s not the end of the world, either.
Other things became a matter of expediency.
I tried covers. I really, really, really tried. You do not want to see these. I do not wish to share them. I spent nearly two months seeking a photo of a woman holding a sword who was also wearing actual clothes. So finally, I asked for help. Trust me, everyone is better off for this.
I didn’t bother with ISBNs. I can always republish a new edition later. I’m taking the long view.
Did I achieve everything I set out to do? No, and it took too long from when I posted about public accountability.
I have so far to go, and so many more things to learn.
But the ultimate goal of publication was achieved, and I’ll celebrate that milestone for all it’s worth.
It’s 2020, after all. Small wins matter.
Do you need a magical professor in your life? Of course you do. Paladin’s Sword is just the book you didn’t know you were looking for as a holiday gift. Right?
Dr. June Porter is headed for New Hampshire as a professor, brand-new PhD in hand. The last thing she wants in her new life is more magic, so of course that’s exactly what she finds. Magic, and a mysterious Irishmand with emerald eyes. But there’s little time for dalliance when historical artifacts begin taking a life of their own and threaten the campus. Can June reclaim her magic, protect her students – and keep her job?
In the midst of good comes the bad, as it always must. And in the middle of a ten-day vacation, amongst the wildlife and scenery, came the news of a friend’s unexpected death, struck down far too young.
It’s not the first time I’ve said I should be held accountable. Ignoring my self-set deadlines is far too easy. I’m lucky enough to have a good day job, one I (mostly) enjoy. I do well with it.
But writing makes me happy, and there are stories in my head that ache to be told. The Guy has been nudging me, asking about Peter and June. It’s been nearly two years.
Heinleins’ rules for writers: It’s time to get it done.
This is, of course, easy to say. There are still things I need to figure out. Beta readers, for instance, and editing. I have some major rewrites in progress, but I know what needs to happen, and it’s closer than I thought it was at the beginning of the trip. Editing for a living helps keep copy relatively clean, though I won’t pretend I’ll catch everything.
Short term actions:
Title: Finally selected for the main WIP. “Peter and June” is tentativelynamed Paladin’s Sword: A Professor Porter Paranormal Investigation.
Beta readers: I’ll hit up Facebook and some friends. I should…maybe make more friends.
Editing: Get it as clean as possible, toss it to a friend if she has time, perhaps ping a couple local editors.
Covers: I’m not going to figure this out myself anytime soon. I can see what it should be, and it’s fabulous inside my head. That doesn’t mean I can execute that vision, because I am not so talented. So, contact a different friend, with both skills and twin toddlers. Look for a premade cover because reality says no.
Business stuff: Get Fortress Pomegranate Press off the ground as a real organization. Go talk to the bank, register the name, do whatever the state needs me to get done, look at tax issues, figure out a logo.
Long term:
Figure out image editing software. Possibly trade editing for covers.
Too many lingering WIPs. Lauren and William, Lady Death, Evil Unicorns, June & Peter’s half-plotted series continued. Start wrapping some of these up. Evil Unicorns is plotted as a trilogy, so it may make more sense to hold on publishing until I can get them out in rapid succession.
Decide on pen names. Some of these are different genres and should signal to readers. I’m thinking Fiona Grey for romance and Fiona Greyson for paranormals.
Get better at blocking off time to write. The Big Bang Theory is my weakness. It doesn’t matter if I’ve seen the epiode several times, I still get sucked in. Some days, it’s what I need after the day job, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get more efficient at using the time around it.
It’s been four months since I’ve looked at Peter and June’s story, still in search of a title. The thesis came at a good time, right as I completed the first draft.
I kept myself from forgetting about it entirely by thinking on the things I knew needed improvement. Fire chickens, for instance. Fire chickens will totally improve the story. Or plotting out June and Peter’s next adventures.
Mostly, though, I tucked it away. Now that everything’s over, yesterday was the first day I pulled up the file. And…
…oh, dear.
Of course it’s a disappointment to realize just how unready their story is for anything other than serious editing.
I knew it wasn’t ready at the time, but somehow I’d convinced myself it was so close over the past few months.
I’m quite self-conscious now, thinking about having sent it to a few close friends for review back in January. It made yesterday a stressed out, mildly embarrassing day, as if semi-quarantine wasn’t bad enough.
Today? Back to work.
Thesis Writing Cat yawned and said, “Yeah? You wanted this. I’m taking a nap. Get going.”
