Whispers from the Writing Nook

I finally feel normal again. It helps that last night I slept like one of those mattress commercials. Getting up and feeling rested is such a magical thing. If every night could go like this, then who knows what we all could accomplish!

I apologize for missing last week's update, but I was not feeling well at all. But now I’m finally recovered, and I have so much to chat about.

All good things - I swear!

Book 1 is done! Well, the words are done. It's been through final proofing, and it has been sent over to the narrator. The cover is in progress, but that takes time and I am not going to rush their amazing work. The book itself still needs to be made into an actual book with formatting, front and back matter - basically all of the stuff that makes it a book and not just a story. 

That’s not all - book 2 is at the line editor, which takes around 6 weeks, and then about a month for me to edit all of the things. 

The outlining of book 3 is in a much better place. Though if any of you saw it, you’d be very confused. My outlines are a mess of words, and in some cases, just notes or a fully fleshed-out moment. That doesn’t matter because it's enough for me to start writing. This week, I will be drafting the first chapter. I am so excited!

Okay, I’ve rambled long enough about progress when I know what you guys really want to know.

The release date!

Book 1 of Meow will be released at the beginning of November.

We will have the ebook, paperbacks, and audio at the same time. The countdown has started! Well not officially, I’ll be doing a countdown starting in August with some pretty graphics and teasers once I have the literal day that it's coming out.

I know for some of you, you hoped the book would be launching sooner, but it just takes forever to put a great book together. The edits on it have really made it shiny. The story is the same but I’ve cleaned up so many areas and smoothed out some pacing. Chapters have been renumbered where I wrote some really massive chapters that needed to be split. A few others have been combined.

My garden has been an explosion of color which is useful when I’m impatiently waiting on editing and thinking of things for my outline. Bright oranges, yellows, and reds from snapdragons, zinnias, and dahlias are blooming. It’s such a peaceful place listening to the bees, as I get work done.

May your days be filled with iced tea and warm stories. Maybe even the pleasant hum of bees.

Toni