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Happy NOVEMBER, my bookworms! And happy NaNoWriMo to those of you who are taking part this year! May your snacks never run out, your caffeine keep you focussed, and your words flow smoothly.

I’m not taking part this year, but I’ve set my own private challenge so I’ll be with you in spirit, just not on the website getting heckled by the progress bar 🙂 What’s that? I’ll finish in January? Gee, thanks, NaNo website And, naturally, despite my complaints, I’ll be doing it next year. Not doing it feels wrong *shrugs*

Relics of Ar’Zac

I finished my first edit of Shadow in Ar’Sanciond ONE day ahead of schedule 😀 It’s something *ahem*

I’m not sure whether I should add this thing or two… *careful not to give spoilers* If I do, I’ll do it in December. It’s not much but I want to look at a different project for a bit, and then it can go to critique partners in January.

Shadow in Ar’Sanciond shares two scenes with Blood of the Dragon, so everything needs to match, which is a new experience I will quite possibly never repeat. Way too much room for errors!

With that out of the way and resting once more, I’ll move on to my re-edits of Rise of the Sparrows. My editor is sending me her first notes at the end of this week, so I can consider her suggestions when I take my own red pen to it myself.

Blood Wisp

My not-NaNo challenge is to write as much as I can of Blood Song and Blood Vow without the group pressure of a massive word count. Both books combined aren’t far off 50k, but it is less and I’ll be happy with any progress.

Also, the cover reveal is just around the corner, so that’s exciting 🙂 At least, I assume it is. I’ve never commissioned four covers at once before o.o I don’t know how long it’ll take my designer, but I imagine I’ll see the proofs soon.

(Which is so bloody exciting, btw. Seeing my new covers for the first time is one of my favourite parts of this whole process.)

British Book Bash

This is in 10 days and I’m CALM. *screams into paper bag*

Because it’s my first event, I’m not putting any pressure on myself. I’m sharing my table with someone who has done it before (I think), so I’ll have her experience if needed. Otherwise, I’ll just throw my books and bookish swag into a suitcase, put my banner over my shoulder, and train it to Brighton early Saturday morning.

My SO is coming along for support and my parents are flying in, too, so I’m excited to just enjoy the day with other authors and bookworms <3

What are your goals for November? Make a tea (Almighty Kitten knows it’s cold enough in my corner of the world) and let’s talk about to-do lists!

I feel like I’ve said this every month this year, but it’s been another crazy one. Unlike most months, October was more significant since I officially handed in my resignation. November isn’t looking any quieter–but more on that next week.

Blood Wisp

I’m ready to write my heart out next month. I’m definitely not doing NaNo this year, but I have set myself a smaller challenge to write as much as I can of BLOOD SONG and BLOOD VOW. They’re both novellas, so I should get a good chunk done even if I don’t finish them. I can finish what’s left in December–either way, this trilogy will be fully written by Christmas.

My cover designer is hard at work, too. I received some questions for the covers earlier this week and have clarified a few things, so I expect to see the proofs soon. They were scheduled to be done this week, but since they’re not my next releases I’ve asked my designer not to rush.

Either way, my biggest cover reveal of the year is just around the corner 🙂

Relics of Ar’Zac

There’s not too much to report because everyone is editing. My editor is working on RISE OF THE SPARROWS so I can republish it, my critique partners are working on BLOOD OF THE DRAGON, and I’m working on SHADOW IN AR’SANCIOND.

I’m almost done with my round, and will send SHADOW to my critique partners when they’ve recovered from DRAGON. Early 2019 seems likely–which sounds ages away, but remember it’s November next week 😉

So, all I can say is that we’re all in the middle of edits 🙂 Which is possibly why I need to do something at least a little similar to NaNo next month. It’ll be nice to write something, if only for an hour every morning.

How was your October? Have you achieved everything you wanted? Make a tea and let’s chat <3

In just one month from now, on November 10th, I and my books will be in Brighton. The last of my bookish goodies have arrived–just in time for me to show them off!

Besides my books, here’s what I’ll bring:

An A5 map of the world from RELICS OF AR’ZAC:

Mugs with quotes from RELICS OF AR’ZAC and DARKENED LIGHT:

Tote bags:

Business cards:

And, of course, bookmarks:

Stock will be limited since I can only carry so much, so please let me know in advance if you’re interested in any of the above 🙂 I’ll set some aside for my next mailing list giveaways too.

Will I see you in Brighton? If you haven’t got your tickets yet, you can book them here. You can also make sure I’ll have books ready and waiting for you by reserving the ones you want here.

It’s only the fifth of October but it’s already been a huge month for me: on Tuesday, I told my manager that I’m leaving. From January, I’ll officially be a full-time author and editor.

And that’s terrifying as well as exciting.

(mostly exciting. but also terrifying.)

(I have a lot of feelings right now, tbh.)

Most of my goals this month focus around preparing myself for full-time self-employment, so I’ll stick to the interesting bits 🙂

Relics of Ar’Zac

With RISE OF THE SPARROWS with my editor and BLOOD OF THE DRAGON with my critique partners, I’m focussing on SHADOW IN AR’SANCIOND. I’m in the middle of the first read-through. Once that’s done and my critique partners are done with Book 3, it’ll go straight to them.

NaNoWriMo

Not long ago–maybe two weeks?–I told my SO I wouldn’t be doing NaNo this year. I took part last year even though I didn’t have the time and failed miserably, and this year is looking even busier.

I’m not saying I’ve changed my mind, BUT I’ll be doing my own, smaller, unofficial NaNo challenge. It doesn’t matter if I ‘win’. Any words are better than nothing, and if I have the NaNo bug anyway I may as well put it to good use *shrugs*

I’ll be writing BLOOD SONG and BLOOD VOW. My cover designer is cracking on with the covers, so it’s high time I did my part too! No pressure and no guilt if I can’t finish both. Whatever happens, happens <3

Freebies

I’m working on some freebies for my mailing list subscribers. My ARC team gets free books, so it didn’t feel fair that my other list isn’t getting anything.

I’ve got quite a few RELICS OF AR’ZAC character insights coming your way as well as two short stories, both exclusive to this list right here.

I’m hoping to make the first freebies available next week, so keep an eye on your inboxes or subscribe here 🙂

What are your goals for October? Make a tea and chat with me! <3

September didn’t quite turn out as I expected, but in a good way. Many big changes are coming, and my new author website right here is one of many exciting new developments.

Since my original plans went to hell pretty much the day after I shared them back on CookieBreak, I won’t bother to go over them again now. Hardly anything stayed the same *shrugs*

RELICS OF AR’ZAC

BLOOD OF THE DRAGON  is with my critique partners and their feedback is looking good. Once they’re done and I’ve applied the changes, it’ll go to my editor – a note on why it’s not my next project in a moment.

I decided to let the BLOOD WISP trilogy rest for a little while longer and focus on SHADOW IN AR’SANCIOND instead. The prequel novella is out next after BLOOD OF THE DRAGON, after all, so it made sense to do this in order.

But one of the biggest decisions I made this month regards RISE OF THE SPARROWS, my debut novel.

Some of you may know that I’ve regretted only getting it proofread pretty much ever since I published it. I’m not happy with that–you deserve better, the book deserves better, and I need to do better. Perfection is an illusion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t do everything within my power to make this book shine. I didn’t back in 2016 when I first published it, but I am doing it now.

I’m re-publishing it. It’s with my editor now for the developmental edit it should have had in 2016. I’m annoyed with myself for not doing it sooner, but such is the naivety of new writers. Live and learn, eh?

This may come as a surprise to you if we ever talked in person before. I’ve always been adamant that, while RISE OF THE SPARROWS has some smaller mistakes, it’s the best I could do at the time and I’m proud of my humble beginnings.

This is still true, but if I want to be a professional (spoiler alert: I do) then what I want doesn’t matter as much as what my readers deserve. You deserve a great book, not a good one. My pride has nothing to do with it; therefore, there was only really one option.

BLOOD WISP

My cover designers have begun work on this trilogy. I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up with so I can share it with you!

They’re taking a little longer with it since they’re designing the whole trilogy plus the paperback, but I’m hoping to have a cover reveal by the end of October 🙂

British Book Bash Does Brighton

I’ve been stocking up on my bookish merchandise, and am excited to say I’ll be bringing mugs, tote bags, bookmarks, and flyers with me–all RELICS OF AR’ZAC themed, of course!

My next giveaways will profit from this as well 😉

If you haven’t booked your tickets yet, you can reserve them here.

Until next time,

Sarina