I am leaving for the WorldCon in Reno tomorrow, and a little bit horrified by how quickly this year has gone by. Maybe if I started sleeping, time would slow down. Do you think? Yeah, probably not. Oh, well. A girl can dream. Anyway:
Welcome to the August 2011 list of current projects, because I am the gift that keeps on giving. To quote myself, being too harried to say something new: "These posts are labeled with the month and year, in case somebody eventually gets the crazy urge to timeline my work cycles (it'll probably be me). Behold the proof that I don't actually sleep; I just whimper and keep writing."
Please note that all books currently in print are off the list, as are those that have been turned in but not yet printed (One Salt Sea, Blackout). The cut-tag is here to stay, because no matter what I do, it seems like this list just keeps on getting longer. But that's okay, because at least it means I'm never actively bored. I have horror movies and terrible things from the swamp to keep me company.
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Discount Armageddon.
InCryptid, book one. Why is this back on the list? Because it's time for editorial revision! Yay! It's the most wonderful time in any book's evolution: the rewrites. I've finished my first pass through the book, and am waiting for feedback from the Machete Squad. Then it's off to the races!
Ashes of Honor.
October Daye, book six. Urban fantasy/fairy tale noir, modern setting, first-person protagonist. Since One Salt Sea didn't piss Toby off enough to make her stop speaking to me, we continue. Status: I've reached chapter three, and the world is about to experience the joy and wonder that is Toby when she hasn't had her coffee and isn't being allowed to go to bed. I have the first 30,000 words/100 pages done, and Toby is having a lousy day. Hooray!
Midnight Blue-Light Special.
InCryptid, book two. Paranormal romance/light horror, modern setting, first-person protagonist. Verity Price is back, and she's ready to kick a lot of cryptid and human ass in her pursuit of a career in ballroom dance. If only the Covenant of St. George would leave her the hell alone... Status: chapter three is done, and I've gone back and added a new chapter one, because that's how I roll. I will be resuming active work as soon as Ashes of Honor breaks 50,000 words.
Sit, Stay, I Hate You.
Coyote Girls, book two. Young adult horror/paranormal romance, modern setting, first-person protagonist. Having survived the events of Lycanthropy and Other Personal Issues, Clady would really like it if her life would settle down and get, y'know, easy for a little while. Clady is not going to be terribly happy with me, either. Status: about halfway through chapter one, semi-stalled while I work on other things.
The Nativity of Chance.
High modern fantasy ranging across the country, through the wonderful lands of Oz, and through a lot of explosions. Pythagorean philosophy meets the works of L. Frank Baum, alchemy meets modern technology, and a pair of cuckoos meet their destiny. Status: researching.
Chasing St. Margaret.
Chick-lit romance/travelogue, modern setting, first-person protagonist, diary-style. Think Bridget Jones' Diary meets Lost In Translation meets A Twelfth Night. Actually, quite literally, on the last. My dear, sweet, utterly bewildered Margery. Status: finished, rewrites have begun; I'm through the end of chapter one.
Pretty Poison Apples.
The sequel to Nativity of Chance, and that seasonal monarchs book I've been threatening to write forever. Stop looking at me like that. Status: researching.
Velveteen vs.
Again, I don't normally include short stories on this list, but I've promised six "Velveteen vs." stories in 2011, and that makes it relevant. So far, one of the six has been finished, and I've finished checking my legal references for the second. Maybe I can get these off the long-term project list!
San Diego 2014: The Last Stand and Final Fall of the California Browncoats.
Next year's Newsflesh-universe novella. The characters in this story may have been on the losing side, but that doesn't mean it was the wrong one. Just the one that got eaten.
There are lots of other books floating around here-some finished and slated to be worked on further, others pending getting started-but these are the ones you're likely to hear the most about, at least currently. I'll update this list from time to time, as things move from "project" to "print" and new things take their places on the workshop floor.