Ye Olde To-Do List #amwriting #amediting

I finally finished the first draft of my next book this past weekend, titled Al-Kabar. This is the second novel of Ilauris, though it doesn’t follow Damsel In Distress as a sequel. This book is intended to stand on its own, and only shares the primary element of that previous book: it’s about a woman who has to learn how to rescue herself. Now it’s time to fix all the stuff I already know is wrong with it, then shuffle it off to some beta readers while I dive into my other projects for the remainder of the year.

Here’s my schedule for the next few months:

6/20: South Bay Grange Strawberry Festival, Olympia, WA
6/27: Destination Staycation at the AFK Elixirs & Eatery in Renton, WA
7/3-5: GearCon in Portland, OR
7/11: Guest of Jacobsen’s Books at the Farmer’s Market in Hillsboro, OR
7/15-26: RAGBRAI!
7/30-8/2: GenCon in Indianapolis, IN
8/19-23: WorldCon in Spokane, WA
9/?: Release Al-Kabar
9/19-20: Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR
9/25-7: Steamposium in Seattle, WA

As you can see, I’ll be a tiny bit busy this summer, especially on the weekends. My next project after Al-Kabar is an as yet untitled collaboration with singer/songwriter Ilana Harkavy. It’s a Young Adult title about self-image inspired by her song Lipstick Liars. At the same time, I’ll be working with Erik this summer and fall on the fourth book of The Greatest Sin, also as yet untitled.

Looking beyond that to November, I’m expecting to walk away from NaNoWriMo with first drafts for the sequel to Girls Can’t Be Knights, already titled Backyard Dragons, and the next Ilauris book, working title Bronwyn. Watch for a 3-in-1-plus-new-material to come soon (no idea when) for Bobby and the gang as I work feverishly to finish the full revamp of the Maze Beset trilogy so I can move on to Bobby’s new adventures without looking over my shoulder anymore at shoulda-woulda-coulda for the original trilogy.

Another new project is coming too! This one isn’t about books as much as it’s about dragons. Come see me in person to be the first to find out about this new venture I’ve been working on. I’ll talk more about that here when the heat and madness has passed.

Here’s to a great summer, folks. May it be every bit as awesome as we all know we deserve. Oh, and by the way, in case you somehow missed it, Girls Can’t Be Knights releases on Friday.

P.S. Should you happen to expect to be in a town while Ragbrai is passing through it, let me know! I won’t have copies of any of my books while on the ride, but I’ll be happy to stop and chat for a few. And if you’re also riding Ragbrai, I’d be delighted to meet with you in an overnight town.