August Recap and What's Next

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to my blog! So, Monday marked the end of August which meant that it also ended daily writing for me. Well, it should have ended daily writing for me. Since I was on vacation (Woohoo!) last week, however, I still have some writing left to do as I wasn't able to finish everything while I was gone.

That being said, I don't have a new story to share with you today. Instead, I'm going to let you in on the projects I'm currently working on and what I hope to accomplish by the end of 2020.

First things first, as you know, I'm planning to take the stories that I've written during the month of August (most of them) as well as a few I'd written during college and publish that into a book. That book will be my next release. While I'm not going to let you in on the title or release date yet because all that will be coming out on my social media pages over the next few weeks, I will tell you that I have the title picked out and the cover art finished. The book, when it is completely finished, should have roughly 30 stories in it. When I'm finished writing all my flash fiction prompts, I will have written 35 new stories in August, and I have at least 3 more to add in from previous writings. Be sure to stay tuned for more information on that over the next few weeks.

Besides my short stories, there are two other books that I'm currently working on. One is a rewrite of a story I wrote a few years ago. It will actually be the first book in a series that follows the same main characters through several different lifetimes. The main characters are soulmates, and in each story, they must find one another in their new life. The beauty of this series, I hope, will be that each book could be read independently from the series, and the series could be read in any order without the reader missing any information. Of course, reading the series in the order it's written might help the reader pick up on a few nuances, but I like the idea of offering something different for readers within the context of a series. I have many, many ideas for this series, and I could easily see there being a dozen books or so in the series at least. Hopefully, someday, I can get them all written. For now, I'm working on book one.

Another project that I'm currently working on is a book called I Must Be Tripping Wedding Bells. I was recently involved in a wedding that hit some snafus during planning due to Covid-19 and other unforeseen issues, and with the bride and groom's permission, this book will be an exaggerated parody of the mishaps that took place during the planning of the wedding. I'm very excited about this project as I'm also developing a wedding planning book to go along with it. This part of the project will be aimed at brides who have never spent a lot of time reading about, dreaming of, or planning their wedding prior to their engagement. The goal of the book will be to give them a basic timeline of when items need to be checked off their list, a reason behind certain wedding "traditions" and if they can skip them, and ideas for saving money and staying organized during the planning process.

During the month of October, I'm planning to create an event I'm calling Ominous October. Because Halloween is the last day of the month, I'll be posting a "scary" word each day as the prompt and inviting any of my followers that would like to participate to write for any word they feel inspired by. The goal of Ominous October will be to keep me writing every day in preparation for NaNoWriMo which happens each November.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is an event that I've participated in each year for the last five or six years. Unfortunately, I've never won, which means completing the goal of writing 50,000 words during the month, but I feel confident that this year will be my year. I have not decided which project I will work on this year for the month, but when I do, I'll be sure to update you here or in my newsletter.

Now comes the fun part. Since Flash Fiction Fridays in August just wrapped up, I'm posting the links here to each of my four stories. That way, if you missed any of the four, they're all in one place for easy access. Did you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Week One: An Extended Curse – Read

Week Two: Running Wild - Read

Week Three: To Sleep or Not to Sleep? Which Is Better? - Read

Week Four: Filled with Anger - Read

Though I don't have my final August word count yet, here is where I'm at as I prepare to write the last few stories to complete the challenge: 29,146

Thank you for checking back on my blog! I have a lot of projects in the works that I'm very excited about, and I can't wait to share them all with you. Be sure, if you haven't yet, to subscribe using the form below if you'd like to receive a copy of my bi-monthly newsletter. I have a new one coming out tomorrow, and each newsletter contains the link to a brand-new story that I haven't shared on my social media. So, be sure to look for that in your inbox tomorrow, and I'll see you back here next Saturday. Have a great week!