With the exception of Nickie Dorrin Believes, I don’t usually post about unpublished novels in this blog. Today, I’m going to break that rule.
I haven’t finished Book 5 of the Winnie and the “Wizard” series yet, but I still want to bring it up.
First, some background. When I initially submitted Book 4, Boge-Landia to The Wild Rose Press, the ending hinted that this could be the last adventure in the series. I should note here that when I submitted Frama-12 back in 2021 to the same publisher, I pitched it as the start of a trilogy. Then Book 4 happened. 🤣
When my editor, Jo received my Book 4 submission (with a different ending than the one published), she wrote: “I completed my review of Boge-Landia and loved it! What a great story, well-constructed and a refreshing revisit with beloved characters. Just curious, is this the last in the series? They could potentially have more adventures, but the ending suggests a pause.”
Even as I planned on completing the series with Book 4, a fifth book possibility popped into my head: What if the next novel took place in Frama-13? Imagine the possibilities! Black cats, broken mirrors, etc. After I researched superstitions, I kind of changed my mind. Although, there is a tavern in this new book called “The Rusty Ladder,” and another called “The Cracked Mirror.” 😁
With Jo’s encouragement, I dug deeper into what this new location might look like. I even changed the ending to include a tease that Winnie would be visiting Frama-13 in the future. Now, Boge-Landia is published, and the hint about a new adventure is out in the universe. Yipes! I really have to do this!
After a few “brainstorming” walks, I decided the residents of this new world would live in perpetual night as the result of a curse. There would be magic and non-magic zones, as well as a few witches. That’s all I’ll say. No spoilers. 😊
Since I didn’t want to take a year and a half writing this new novel, I bought a cool book called, Page One to Done – Finish Your Novel in 30 Days with the Fast Drafting Method, by Jessica Brody.
I highly recommend this book for anybody who wants to write a novel but doesn’t want to take 20 years doing it! 😄
I’ve never tried to write a novel with an outline before, but Jessica suggests a hybrid method that appeals to my “pantser” way of writing. So I dived right in.
Confession: I’ve had Jessica’s book longer than 30 days and I’m only three-quarters of the way done. But I know how it’ll end. That almost never happens when I write! I might not be super-fast, but I know I’ll hit the finish line a lot faster than I ever have before. 🥳
And now …
A Visual Sneak Peak at Book 5 – Vekka-Tria
Before I write a scene, I like to picture it in my head. Now, with the help of AI (yeah, I know that’s controversial, but hear me out), I can see what I imagine.
Several scenes in Book 5 take place in the prime minister’s top floor office. She has windows that offer a 180° view of the city, which includes the cursed clock tower. Here’s my sketch so I could picture it better:
When I described my vision to my friend “Chad,” it came out like this:
They aren’t all masterpieces, though. Sometimes it takes a few tries. Later, when I asked for an image of the apartment where the main characters are staying, it took a few tries before Chad got it right. One version included a weird skinny little room with no doors or windows, and a painting … on the floor!
I had another image, relating to that apartment in mind. This is what I wrote: Here is my request – A view from the kitchen window. Three floors below that window is the street. Across the street is a large meadow, seen as a shadow for the most part, but a bit more visible when the full moon is out. Off to the left in this meadow is a pond. The pond is surrounded by tall reeds and some bushes. A little further on, and to the right, is the tree line to the forest where the rogue witches meet. In this illustration it would be cool to see in the distance, through the window, all the above, as well as a single-file line of 12 hooded figures in the shadow, each carrying a flaming torch, on the way to the woods. That sounds like a lot of stuff to illustrate from an upper window perspective. Is it possible?
Here is the image:
That’s the wallpaper on my laptop now. 😄
I don’t know if I’m writing faster because of Jessica’s book, or because I can literally “see” what plays in my head when I think of my story.
Either way, I’m blasting through this world and having the time of my life!
Happy writing! 😊