works in progress and other mysterious beasts

January has been good to me, my friends. Or maybe I've been good to it. I'm not sure which. What I do know is I'm producing more words more quickly than I ever have before (except maybe back in the late '90s when I tried my hand at Hanson fanfic... But let's leave that in the past). 

I'm taking full advantage of this whole working-part-time thing. Monday through Friday, I use my writing time to the best of my ability and I'm hitting my daily and weekly word count goals. Well, killing them is more like it. And I'm liking the feeling. 

My current project is one that has a long history. A long history. I wrote the first draft of this story back when I was in the ninth grade (when I was about 15). Loathe as I am to admit it, that's more than half my life ago. I teach kids in the ninth grade now. But I digress.

The original MS was pretty good--for a 15-year-old. And since I started on this journey with Awaking back in 2011, I've had it in my mind to revise the story--one day. Well, that day is here.

Now, I know it will disappoint the friends who read the original draft of The Crystal Society back in the mid-1990s, but the WIP I'm working on now resembles the original in only the tiniest of ways: it's still about witches and the main character is still named Kristyl.

So, enough beating around the bush, right? What is this new project?

Well, the new series is called Clearwater Witches, and the first book follows Kristyl Barnette as she moves to the small Michigan town of Clearwater and learns a bit about her family and its history--and about herself. I'm super-excited about this book and the rest of the series: it's the kind of story I like reading, so it's really fun to write.

As much as I love The Naturals trilogy, I feel like I've grown so much since beginning that project. I'm bringing that to this new project. And it feels good.

Concurrently with the Clearwater Witches, I'm working on the Shifted serial. I love Peter and Leigh, and I'm excited for some surprises they have in store. I'm also working on transcribing a draft I wrote serveral years ago. This other project, When I Need You is more in the vein of Sarah Dessen, and it's one I'm very excited to share with you. It's one that's very special and very personal to me. And it's got a FABULOUS cover!

So, long story short, I've got a lot of fabulousness on the way. No longer will it be a year or more between releases. I'm actually planning to launch book one of Clearwater Witches in March of this year. March! That's so close, guys!

I'll keep you updated on the latest developments, don't you worry!