What's going on?

What I'm working on, DAWNBREAKER updates, and books you might like

Hello, all! And happy February! (Even though I write “February” in my planner/ta-da notebook every day this month, I still had to check the spelling because it still looks wrong and I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of you all.)

This year is off to a good start for me. Here are a few highlights:

DAWNBREAKER copyedits!

They arrived in the last half of January and I turned them in just before the end of the month. I usually do my copyedits in three passes: First I read through all the changes and questions the copyeditor left; then I make a yes/no pass, making changes in my Scrivener project for the book as well as the document they send; and finally I read through the entire manuscript again, making a few more changes and catching anything the CE might have missed.

This is also the time I usually remember that I need to turn in my dedication and acknowledgments! I tend to keep a running list of who’s looked at the book, answered questions, or generally been a cheerleader, so that helps me feel less anxious about missing someone. But the fear is always there!

Anyway, the book is all turned in! Next, it will get typeset and turned into digital and physical ARCs — Advance Reader Copies — and then I will read through the first pass pages (same file as ARCs are made from), and catch more errors (or fix more things that bug me at the last minutes). And then that will really be it. The book will officially be taken from my white-knuckled grip and sent to the printer.

Which brings me to . . .

DAWNBREAKER cover reveal and release date!

I’m not sharing the cover right now, but I’m told it will be revealed on February 21! I’m so excited for you to see it. If you like the cover for NIGHTRENDER, then the cover for DAWNBREAKER is going to knock your socks off.

As for the release date, I’ll tell you that now: November 7. (I actually asked this time, instead of just finding out on Amazon like normal.) I know that seems like a long ways off, especially for those of you who’ve been hanging onto that cliffhanger since last January, but it’ll be here before you know it! And, I hope, worth the wait.

Hush’s ball

Some of you will know that Hush (one of my cats) has a favorite ball. Playing fetch with it is her very favorite activity, besides eating and sleeping. Sometimes, unfortunately, the ball gets lost, which means we have to search for it. Sometimes it’s lost for days . . . or months. (Once, it ended up under a bookcase for a long, long time. When I was cleaning under there one day and pulled out the ball, covered in drifting tufts of cat fur, Hush’s eyes got enormous. She was clearly delighted to see it. The under-bookcase space is blocked off now. But there are other places. . . . )

This story doesn’t really have a point, except that I wanted to tell you that Hush is sitting under my chair right now, asking me to throw the ball. It looks like this:

Newsletters you may have missed!

I sent a few different newsletters for my writing/publishing section recently:

Things [Fiction] Writers Ought to Know About Fair Use — this one was written by Lauren MacLeod, my agent. If you’ve ever wondered whether or not you can use song lyrics in your novel . . . this is my copyright nerd of an agent’s advice.

What Happens When You Aren’t Your Publisher’s Chosen One — if you’ve ever wondered what the “normal” author experience is, I have some thoughts . . . and I share a little about what my publishers have done for me, and what I’ve taken on for myself.

Building the World I Want to Live In — in this one, I tell a story about a time I did something embarrassing, and people chose to be kind instead of cruel.

I also sent a Knit Night post:

That Didn’t Go Like I Thought It Would — I tried to make something . . . and didn’t succeed. With pictures!

Did you get those newsletters in your inbox? If not, make sure you get them as they come out. Click here.

And if you like these newsletters, please consider sharing them with someone else who might enjoy them.

They’re fun for me to work on, and now that I’m with a service I like using — and won’t cost me an arm and a leg to try to grow — this is going to be my preferred way to communication with you. And did you know you can communicate back? Substack has a comment feature. I try to answer every comment.

If there’s a topic you want me to cover — writing, publishing, yarning — just let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

What I’m into right now!

The YouTube algorithm thought I might like Climate Town, a channel about climate and, um, towns. It was right. I do enjoy the nerdiness and the breaks into silliness.

I also read some great books recently:

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan (sequel to Daughter of the Moon Goddess)

Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena (releasing May 23)

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto (releasing July 25)

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Okay, that’s it for now! I need to get back to work on MY SALTY MARY! I hope your day is amazing!