Good Morning Monday from Sydney!

What an absolute crazy week it’s been. Yes, I’m currently in Sydney. Well, when this post goes live, I’ll be driving home (I live five hours from Sydney). I’ve been here for a Fantasy Writing course at the NSW Writers’ Centre, hosted by the very lovely and extremely talented CS Pacat – author of the remarkable Captive Prince Series.  If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favour and do so.

Anyway, it was incredibly interesting and I learned a lot. Not just about the Fantasy genre, but about writing in general. My writing journey has been either online or mostly isolated, so stepping out of my comfort zone and spending the weekend with likeminded people was wonderful. We were all there to learn and hone our craft, and I took away some invaluable information and it gave me a lot to think about.

I have a Fantasy story that has been in my head for a long time, but it’s always felt too big for me to write. Which is weird, right? Because looking back at Cronin’s Key, I should have been daunted as hell. But I jumped into that without any clue of what I was getting myself into and it all turned out rather well. I hope. LOL But this one just feels… I don’t know… BIG. And this weekend’s course helped me break it down a lot, and see that it’s not really anything I haven’t tackled before.

I don’t know when I’ll get around to starting this fantasy book that’s plagued me. I’ve had the title name and the two main characters in my head for almost two years. I didn’t have any immediate plans to write it (certainly not this year) but I might jot down a few ideas/notes and maybe the story and characterisation will form more if I give it time to breathe. In the mean time, I’ll keep on with my usual schedule.

Speaking of which, my WIP (Private Charter) is now at 55K words. In spite of only writing 3 days last week, I did manage my 10K goal which is pretty big for me. I’d say I’m at the 75% mark and on the downhill run.

So it’s typical that I should get the first edits of Galaxies and Oceans back from my editor to stop my flow of words. LOL  Though my editor did say G&O might be her all-time fave story of mine to date, so that’s pretty freaking awesome!

Release date for Galaxies and Oceans is June 25th, which is just five weeks away! Eeek!  Note the date on your diaries! And I’ll be revealing the cover very soon!

Anyway, it’s late as I type this and I’ve actually spent the last day of the writing course feeling sick, so I’m hoping I wake up feeling better before I have to drive for five hours, then this week I can hopefully tackle some edits that are waiting in my inbox and maybe manage some words on the WIP.  Busy, as always! But have I told you guys lately that I have the best job in the world? I seriously do. And I couldn’t do it without you!

Enough sappiness. I’ll be back next week with a cover for Galaxies an Oceans.

Until then… <3