What We're Up to Right Now...
It's a new year and we've got news! Like, lots of it. So here we go!
Robin Morris
"After signing my book deal with Lake Union in summer of 2023, I began the editorial process for my debut, The Days Between, scheduled for release in fall of 2024. My editors are fantastic! My first editorial letter was ten pages long, mostly focused on honing character development. At first, I was overwhelmed, but I created a revision schedule for myself beginning with the largest changes and working my way down to smaller adjustments. I'm learning a lot from the process and enjoying it. I have to pinch myself and realize this is really happening!
I'm also editing my first draft of the sequel to The Days Between, navigating the challenge of writing a sequel that's both fresh and true to the original story. The best part is bouncing ideas off my critique partners and having them open my eyes to things in the narrative I hadn't considered. Speaking of our group, we have big things coming in 2024: a debut in March (how did it come so quickly?!), books on sub, and lots more in the works! I'm thrilled to see what this year has to offer!"Brianne Sommerville
"When I signed my book deal two years ago for If I Lose Her, the release date felt eons away. I even had a colleague make a joke, asking if my publishers were chiseling my novel on stone. Not funny! But as cliche as it may sound, it really does go by fast. The process is full of milestones that tease you along the way—receiving your first editorial letter, the tedious but oh so important line edits, the cover design, and listening to your narrator for the audio book, for example. Now that the release is imminent, I am feeling all the feels—excited, vulnerable, proud, a little bit of imposter syndrome (will that ever go away?) but most of all supported—and I owe a huge part of the latter to my writing critique group and the writing community I have so openly been accepted into. There is a ton in this process that you cannot control so most of all, I’m trying to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the journey."
Note from the rest of TeamLCTFL: Brianne is being super modest. If I Lose Her has already been featured on CTV Ottawa Morning Live and tickets to her launch party on March 5th, 2024, are SOLD OUT. In other words, Brianne is out there showing us how it's all done. Whoot!
Audrey D. Brashich
My update is short and sweet.
In October 2023, I won the First Five Pages contest with Modern Muse, a team of developmental editors who really know their stuff when it comes to sharpening prose and honing the vision of an MS. It was a great honor to win...and super helpful! You should totally enter!
And now, my MS in finally (finally!) in the hands of some really great agents, which is beyond exciting. I hope to have more of an update on that soon.
Looking forward, it's all Book #3 from here on out. My scenes are outlined, the characters and their desires are clear to me...I just now need my family and professional obligations to leave me alone for about six months so I can make some real headway. That's not too much to ask, is it?
As for our other members...
Writers, you know how it goes. Half of the the battle is dreaming up ideas, incubating plot twists, writing not-so-great first drafts, and of course REVISING. And that's exactly what Mary Taggart, Jes Wright, Jody Gerbig, Natalie Derrickson and Katy Mayfair are up to these days. So stay tuned for great things from them sooooon.
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