NaNoWriMo 2013 Winner!!!

It’s official. I am a NaNoWriMo Winner (National Novel Writing Month)! This means I wrote a 50,000 word novel in the month of November (~200 pages). Congrats to all the other winners and participants! What an accomplishment. 🙂

This being my first year trying NaNoWriMo, I thought I’d go into my experience of it a little bit. First of all, a huge thanks to the awesome folks at NaNoWriMo.org. This was very well organized with a good combination of encouragement, information, and helpful tools. Also, thanks and congrats to my writing buddies. It was inspiring to watch you reach for this goal too.

Personally, I knew at the beginning of the month that I was at a bit of a disadvantage because we had a vacation planned. And not just any vacation… a Disney cruise (look for a post on that later). I got a good start and wanted to get a good buffer built  before the vacation, but that didn’t happen. We had some new flooring laid, and that took more time than I expected. Although I did manage to get in a few pages a night while on the cruise, I still fell way behind.

By the time I got home on November 25th, I still had 25,000 words (approx. 100 pages) left to go and only five days to do it. And one of those days was Thanksgiving (thankfully, I was not hosting this year.). I set an insane schedule and basically was a shut in. And I did it!!! By some miracle (or maybe sheer stubbornness), I managed to knock out 25,000 words in the last 5 days! Boo-yeah!

The first draft of Andromeda’s Fall is complete. It is the first book of the Shadowcat Nation series which I’m very excited about. I’ve been itching to write this book for months. If you’re interested in a peek into this new series, go check out Hannah’s Fate – my short story in the Here, Kitty Kitty anthology.

I’m very happy with Andromeda’s Fall already. In fact, I’ve decided to start editing now and try to have it released by February. I’ve already got my first pass at the back cover blurb up if you’re interested. Exact publication timing is dependent on my editor, Wendy’s, availability. Keep you posted!

And, to answer the question I know is coming, I’m still working hard on Black Orchid. It’s giving me a bit of heartburn since I’m slightly obsessed with making sure the last book ends the series right (okay – a lot obsessed). I’ve got some ideas that I’m excited to try and that I hope will get me back in the groove. But I have decided to move publication to May. Huge apology to those of you waiting to wrap up the Svatura series. So sorry!!!

I really think you guys are going to like this new series just as much. *Fingers crossed.* And I hope that having a new book from me while you wait for Black Orchid is going to help.

(P.S. While I’ve now proven that I can write half a book in 5 days, do not be thinking that it’s ever going to happen again. I’m exhausted and I’ve been a shut in for a week. Phew!)