I’d like to think I have a sunny, bright, happy personality. I love happy things! And I recognize the same brightness reflected in my one year old daughter’s eyes every time she gives me one of her thousand-watt smiles. But there’s some part of me, and I think all of us to some extent, that is drawn to the darkness. There’s something captivating about pain; the brooding, sensual, raw edge of it calls to our softest, sweetest, most vulnerable parts. Having lived through some remarkably bad decisions, I’m still drawn to it, but not in the way that I used to be.

Now, I just write it into my characters. The more flawed and human and damaged they are, the more they compel me. The struggles they endure begin to dictate the direction of the story. I’m finally getting my writing legs back, and it feels good to muddle about the shadows again.

Really, all of this is to say that “The City” is back on track for a July release! I’d give a description of the story, but it’s evolving so quickly in the rewriting process that I won’t try to pin April (our heroine) down (even if she might like that sort of thing). Suffice to say this is still a story of love lost in the apocalypse, a story of journey, of redemption, and self-discovery. It’s a lot to stick into a novella.

More updates to come!