It’s official: I have a rough draft of Mech and Magic, The Knack Series Book 2! Woohoo! Like the first book, this one took a lot out of me. There are many moving parts, a lot of characters and a deep dive into world building. Also, like book 1 at this point, the first draft is a hot mess. Luckily, I have enough experience to trust the process, and I’m confident that I can smooth out the rough patches, give it a good shake, and put it all in order.
I’m a week past my self-imposed deadline for a rough draft, but I’m still planning to turn this around for a November release. The cover is set to be done in September by the fabulous Christian Bentulan who created the cover for A Knack for Metal and Bone. Once that happens, I will put it up for pre-order.
Writing/editing in the summer is a joy. I spend most mornings in my “office” which is a tent set up in the woods. With the birds and the trees watching over me, I am so much more productive.
[See this short video of my “commute” to my office: https://youtube.com/shorts/neB5UTNGNkQ]
This is our fifth year at our little farm on the edge of the woods. Each year, I learn something new about my world. In the first years, I learned about wildflowers, animals tracks, mushrooms and foraging. This year I have become obsessed with birds (yes, they’re real). Thanks to the Merlin Bird ID app, I can sit in my forest tent and record the bird sounds. The app shows me in real time which birds are singing nearby. It’s fascinating. I didn’t realize we had such a variety of birdlife. The app has identified at least three dozen different species, some of them quite rare.
I also find that now I can recognize certain birdcalls when I hear them. Who knew nuthatches were so loud? Wood pewees really sound like they’re saying pee-a-wee. And ovenbirds? I didn’t even know they existed. Now I hear them all the time.
Learning about birds, wildflowers or edibles in my backyard makes me feel connected to the earth in a way I find surprising and satisfying. Of course, I might have met my rough draft deadline if not for my new bird obsession, but all knowledge is good knowledge to a writer. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a birder in a future book.
If you’d like to learn about the birds in your area, I highly recommend Merlin Bird ID. It’s free and easy to get started. You can link your sightings into the Cornell Lab bird tracker too.
I hope your summer season is bringing you as much joy as I find in my woodland office.
I’m a week past my self-imposed deadline for a rough draft, but I’m still planning to turn this around for a November release. The cover is set to be done in September by the fabulous Christian Bentulan who created the cover for A Knack for Metal and Bone. Once that happens, I will put it up for pre-order.
Writing/editing in the summer is a joy. I spend most mornings in my “office” which is a tent set up in the woods. With the birds and the trees watching over me, I am so much more productive.
[See this short video of my “commute” to my office: https://youtube.com/shorts/neB5UTNGNkQ]
This is our fifth year at our little farm on the edge of the woods. Each year, I learn something new about my world. In the first years, I learned about wildflowers, animals tracks, mushrooms and foraging. This year I have become obsessed with birds (yes, they’re real). Thanks to the Merlin Bird ID app, I can sit in my forest tent and record the bird sounds. The app shows me in real time which birds are singing nearby. It’s fascinating. I didn’t realize we had such a variety of birdlife. The app has identified at least three dozen different species, some of them quite rare.
I also find that now I can recognize certain birdcalls when I hear them. Who knew nuthatches were so loud? Wood pewees really sound like they’re saying pee-a-wee. And ovenbirds? I didn’t even know they existed. Now I hear them all the time.
Learning about birds, wildflowers or edibles in my backyard makes me feel connected to the earth in a way I find surprising and satisfying. Of course, I might have met my rough draft deadline if not for my new bird obsession, but all knowledge is good knowledge to a writer. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a birder in a future book.
If you’d like to learn about the birds in your area, I highly recommend Merlin Bird ID. It’s free and easy to get started. You can link your sightings into the Cornell Lab bird tracker too.
I hope your summer season is bringing you as much joy as I find in my woodland office.
Book Fair Poll Results
In the last newsletter, I asked you to let me know what your preferences for future book fairs would be. Every month I participate in several book fairs. This allows me to bring new books to you while getting my books in front of new readers. And here are the results:
Free books was a clear winner. This doesn't mean I'll focus exclusively on free books. That would seriously limit the selection, but I will be sure to include at least 1-2 free book fairs a month.
Thank you to everyone who took the poll!
Free books was a clear winner. This doesn't mean I'll focus exclusively on free books. That would seriously limit the selection, but I will be sure to include at least 1-2 free book fairs a month.
Thank you to everyone who took the poll!
Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale
Do you Smashwords? Every July Smashwords has a huge sale. This year my Hidden Coven Series is included at 50% off.
Because of Kindle Unlimited's exclusivity terms I can't put my other series on the Smashwords platform. But I do have a couple of other books in the sale, including Hibernaculum, a collection of short stories that you can grab for free, Revise to Write, a nonfiction book about writing, and The Stone Beach, a short Middle Grade novel about ghost cats (writing as Kim Chatel).
Click the button below to be taken to my author profile on Smashwords. You'll find all those books there. But don't limit yourself to my page. There are thousands of books on sale!
SEE KIM'S SMASHWORDS PROFILE
Book Fairs & Events
There's a little bit of everything in book fairs this month. High tech sci-fi to fairy tale fantasy. And as promised, an entire selection of free books! Always be sure to check prices before you buy as stuff happens and sometimes books get shifted out of the free zone by accident.
Spotlight Books
Borrowed Magic
Splintered Realms Series Prequel
Jilleen Dolbeare
Megan has just lost the love of her life. Killed protecting her home and her best friend, werewolf Luke was her love, her future, and her everything, but now he's gone.
Gripped in the throes of grief, and after a deliberately hateful statement by Merlin—yes, that Merlin—she's thrown herself into a dangerous pursuit. Hunting bounties across the Splinters of reality on the back of her red dragon, Goch.
When Merlin brings her a job from the dragons, she has no choice but to take it. The Golden Collar of Merlin has been stolen from them and they want it back. Now she must take the job because the stakes for her and Goch are high, even though it means being forced to work with Merlin and Goch's grandsire, an uppity pretentious creature himself.
However, how can you succeed when you hate your quest partner with the heat of a million blazing suns?
Enjoy this urban fantasy adventure with an older heroine, a slow burn enemies to lovers romance, dragon riding, and tons of action!
