A #NaNoWriMo Conundrum

November NaNoWriMo is fast approaching, and this year is a little different for me. My usual approach is to deny taking part, then to sign up last minute with an idea I need to get out of my head. For July, I had three short stories I really wanted to get done and dusted, and I had set myself a modest target of just 15K...which I achieved, making it my first ever NaNoWriMo win. But this November, I had PLANS. I intended to sign up early and spend October planning what I was going to write.

And therein lay the problem. I couldn't decide what to work on. Normally I have one burning, inescapable idea courtesy of muse, one that just won't quit. I had planned to do a sequel to Restless In Peaceville, since my editor did grabby hands the minute I mentioned it. But she's now left, and my publisher has put up a sub call for superhero stories - I already have one due out with them in November, with a vague idea for a second  AND an unfinished short that I started for their anthology call. I also have a possible sequel in mind for Tethered. 

So I was torn. Out of the three potential candidates, I didn't have a single complete idea for the story. And since all three are following on from NaNoWriMo projects that failed to make the 50K and are all 40K+ novellas, I doubt the sequels will fare better. For Tethered and Restless, I'd been hoping reviews and sales would help me decide - after all, if everybody hated either one, there's not much point in writing another except for my own satisfaction. I doubt my publisher would contract it though. Obviously I won't get that kind of feedback for When Dark Falls before NaNoWriMo starts, but I know my publisher wants more superheroes. So, my options are:

A sequel to Tethered
A sequel to Restless In Peaceville AND a sequel to Zombie Girl (both YA zombie stories, one a novella, one a short story)
A sequel to When Dark Falls AND the unfinished superhero short

None of these titles were originally written with sequels in mind. All have a collections of notes/scenes sketched out but none are fully formed (though RIP 2 has an ending, while Tethered 2 probably has the closest thing to a full outline). The Zombie Girl short is story two of a potential trilogy, the first having been written as part of my Camp NaNoWriMo win.

And then I saw a tweet from fellow Brigader Liana Brooks about plotting villains, and did anyone want the notes. It seemed serendipitous. The comprehensive notes and plotting scheme gave me ideas about actually outlining a novel (or maybe novella) to follow on from When Dark Falls. And since WDF will be releasing in November, it feels like the fates have decided for me.

Does this mean that will actually be my project for November? *shrug* It wouldn't be the first time I've made definitive plans only for muse or even real life thwarting me. For now, I'm just putting my notes together and preparing, while keeping a wary eye on my Plot Bunny Storage Facility for unexpected escapes or new mutations emerging...

Happenings

My tour for Restless In Peaceville ends on the 30th, as does the giveaway. I have just one more stop, an interview over at Aussie Owned And Read HERE, where you can find out the one question I wish someone would ask. And last week I learned that Restless will be coming out in PRINT! Woot! No date yet, but I'm anticipating early 2015.

One week from today I'll be doing the cover and title reveal for my self published, Halloween-themed paranormal romance short. Yay! As always, the awesome Dani Fine has edited this with me, and worked her magic on my rough idea for a cover. I can tell you it's a beautiful thing, and I can't wait to show it off. If you'd like a sneak peek before reveal day, please sign up to my newsletter HERE.

I've made another submission! My YA dystopian romance Zombie Girl: Dead Awakened is currently with my editor. And if it gets contracted? Well, it'll be a 2015 release, possibly February/March, and is intended as the first of a trilogy of shorts. So that commits me to writing the other two, and adds to my NaNoWriMo conundrum. Or maybe it solves it?

October 25th is BristolCon! I've been busy putting things together for my table that I'm sharing with the fabulous Misa Buckley. Here's what I'm contributing to our joint table.

Myself and my eldest will also be sporting t-shirts with a couple of my book covers on. She's got my YA Restless, while I'll be wearing my as yet unrevealed When Dark Falls cover. But don't fret! I'd doing an exclusive cover reveal for it over at The Galaxy Express this Friday!

I still have two more releases to go for this year, with alternative 1920s superhero romance When Dark Falls in November, and futuristic UF No Angel in December. As of this week, my word count for the year passed the 50K mark, and my editing word count is over 170K. That's...a lot of words. Even if I only make 30K during NaNoWriMo, I'll have written the equivalent of a decent sized novel, and edited more than double that. Kind of pleased with that. ^-^

Do you Pinterest? Laurie discusses her discovery and launch onto a new-to-her platform. Check out her post and amazing space chic boards HERE!

Struggling with book marketing? Cary Caffrey has his second post up at the SFR Brigade blog HERE.

Ping Pong

Donna, good luck with your move.
Sharon, don't drown in edits!
Laurie, don't get too distracted with Pinterest - you have a book coming out!!