Progress

Me, trying desperately to slog through the waves at a reasonable pace

So. I weirdly feel accountable for reporting my writing progress when I blog. Which is probably why I haven't posted in a little over a month. Between professional development classes, working, and other exciting personal life developments, it feels like I'm trying to run in water! But here's my progress report anyway, dear readers:

• The first full length novel draft of Out of the Efrenen Sea (working title), is complete at over 80,000 words. I'll be workshopping it all fall and winter, and then begin sending it out to agents/publishers. 
• The third book in the In Caves & Catacombs short story series is in progress! The City is coming along, and I'd estimate I'm about a third of the way through the first draft. It's been a delightful project so far. I'm a sucker for a good romance, especially in doomsday scenarios. It sounds weird, and it is. I won't apologize for it.

So there. There's my progress report. It's happening... slowly. But it's happening!!

Characters that change our storylines

I have a love/hate relationship with my character's relentless ability to change my storyline. I'll map the whole thing out, write each chapter description so that it fits neatly within my story arc, and then, as I actually write the thing, suddenly my heroine doesn't like the way a character says something, and she won't stand for it. It's like being at war with myself- and I can be a defiant little shit.

There's also something wonderful that happens when your characters have finally developed enough to become their own beings. The story tightens, the interactions are more genuine, and the reality of this other world bleeds into every sentence. It's fulfilling to see their personalities take shape, but it's also uncomfortable, because it becomes a battle to reign in these fictional people just enough to keep the story moving, without stifling their self-expression and killing the flow of the book. 

I guess it comes down to this: writing is weird. I'm down to the last couple chapters of my book- almost at the finish line. I know where my characters are going and I have this vague idea of how they're going to get there. Inevitably, they'll fight back against fate like we all do here in the "real world". I can't wait to see what they do with the ending I have planned.

What is the Efrenen Sea Series about?

I keep getting questions on what my book is about. Not surprising, right? And it shouldn't be hard to describe. But I am an awkward person, as it turns out, so I describe it like this: 

It's a mermaid book. Well, not entirely. Okay so listen- it's kind of like a mermaid book in that it's about merpeople.

And then, when I get really confident, I continue with something like this: 

It's a novel about a post-apocalyptic tribe of people who live in the ocean because land is contaminated in the early 2500s. These "merfolk" are not half-fish or anything, and they don't have gills. But they do live at sea, they bind their legs and cover most of their bodies with sealskin to keep their body temperature up, and they have pretty badass armor and weaponry. There are 3 main tribes- okay, pods- and their alliances are unraveling. Meanwhile, land people are just now beginning to come out of their underground cities. And they're not dying. So what does that mean for our heroine, Mida Efren, direct descendant of Murtaugh the Rebel, and High Councilmember of the Efren pod? It means she has to step up to her leadership role in ways she never expected. 

It's a tail (eh? eh?) of death, romance, campaigns, betrothals, betrayals, and all the grace of humanity paired with its most wretched ugliness, set in an ocean world unlike any you've ever seen before.

So. That's what the Efrenen Sea series is about.