Leaning into Hibernation
Winter is fully here with all its snow, cold, and longer nights. I prefer it to summer, simply because it is easier to bundle up than sweat it out. I’ve got the twinkle lights on, the heated blankets out, and I’m looking forward for the moments when the busy holiday season allows time for slowing down.
November was a very stressful month, and was spent in and out of various vet offices with Banjo. My little buddy has diabetes and had a very scary hypoglycemic episode in the middle of the night.
While the emergency vet was able to stabilize him quickly, the next two weeks were incredibly difficult. He wasn’t eating, rapidly losing weight, and just generally a very unhappy kitty.
I had even set up an appointment to send him on his way along the Rainbow Bridge.
However, Banjo was determined to stick around for awhile yet, responded well to antibiotics, and has greatly improved. He’s gonna make it and I couldn’t be happier.
Writing Updates
I have officially given up on the Forest Book. I know, I know. Let me explain! I meant to tell y’all this November but then…cats.
The Forest Book has been the absolute bane of my writing existence for the 2 (maybe even 3) years that I have been attempting to write it. I hadn’t even been able to finish a draft of it until April of this year while I was recovering from surgery.
I was having full body dread about going back to it but I gave it a good go. I meant to give it an entire month before tossing in the towel, but the week that I spent staring at it only made the decision clearer.
I need to rewrite it entirely.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve tossed a book. Far from it. What the Sea Brings was actually a YA Fantasy for the first 3 years of its life until I tossed 60k and repurposed it as a middle grade. It took a few more years but I am incredibly proud of the book and how it arrived for readers. I think that the Forest Book will be the same.
I have a tiny spark of an idea for it, a new direction to let it simmer in. It’ll probably even get a new code name as I am determined to separate this new thing as much as possible from the old.
The words still exist and will sit until I need them. No word is wasted. In the mean time, I’m following the writing joy and diving headfirst into revisions for the Necromancer’s Apprentice sequel.
While the Forest Book felt like a weight, this book feels like a treat. There is still lots of work ahead, but the pieces are moving together in a coherent shape and solutions are arriving faster than I can write them.
I recently posted a little aesthetic teaser of it on my socials which you can see here!
What do you think?
The reactions I’ve seen thus far are interesting to say the least. Here I thought I was showing off a darkly whimsical setting, meanwhile everyone else seems to be a bit afraid. Whoops!
While I can’t say much more about the project yet, my hope is that the readers will have as much fun reading it as I am currently having writing it. Here’s to whimsy, silly skeletons, and more disaster Wizards.
Next Steps
I’ll be sharing my Best of 2025 Reads in January as I like to leave space in December for books to earn their spot.
Other than that, there’s a lot of unknown for 2026. I don’t currently have any immediate release plans and am Currently Ignoring the Panic I feel about it. However, y’all will be the very first to know once I do :)
Treats for You!
Claire has written the most delightful cozy fantasy short, “An Enchanting Holiday” for the season of Advent! You can receive it for free if you’d like to sign up for her newsletter.
“Set in a 1930s era fantasy metropolis, “An Enchanting Holiday” pairs the poignant emotion of vintage Christmas movies with a spark of the magical.”
Do you like dragons? Of course you do.
Behold! Christina Baehr has returned to the world of Wormwood Abbey with her newest release, A Menagerie of Dragons! This new series, The Gilded Age of Dragons, is set “in a dazzling era where motor-cars and airships compete with mythical creatures for the heart of a generation.”
If you like your fantasy cozy with a dash of dragons and historical commentary, you’ll adore these books.
Last but not least, a festive reminder that if you are purchasing any of my own books, I have FREE bookplates! These are designed to fit with either title and are a great way to get a ‘signed’ copy :)
Readers and friends can request a FREE signed bookplate while supplies last!
That’s all for this newsletter, folks! Happy Reading!
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