A Not So Streamlined Update

Working on Serials, Novelettes, and Shooting the Breeze

I've been trying to think of all these fancy articles to post for my off week with Princess of Dragons Bane, but my brain is just flooded with working on so many things that it's like nope. So instead of something organized and streamlined, I figured a stream of consciousness, not all streamlined post was the way to go.

Besides, I haven't done a what I'm up to style post in a while, and I miss that. So for anyone else who has missed hearing about the happenings on from a random person on the internet, this is for you.

I'm so close to finishing Princess of Dragons Bane. All I have left is one chapter, and the epilogue. At least, that is what I envision. Every time I say that, Garreth and Maeve decide to take over and extend things for a few more chapters. I feel like I can safely say there are two chapters left however, and that is both an exciting and bittersweet feeling.

I learned a lot in posting this serialized novel over here. Things I would do again, and things I wouldn't do again. I plan to write an acknowledgements style post when the story is done, so I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but I'm surprised that this story idea I had and figured why not work on it so I have Substack content blew up into what it became. I love this world, and these characters, and personally, I think they are a great start to my Fairy Tale Retelling Universe. Because of course, like a good indie author, all of my fairy tale retellings will be somewhat connected in the same universe, but still standalones.

Speaking of, I don't get why that's so popular in the indie space. I mean, I guess I do, but why so many people do it is fascinating. I get they want something to connect readers to wanting to pick up their next book, but calling it a series is also somewhat of a stretch. But hey, who am I to judge? I already have a draft 1 and outline for my next retelling, and have integrated Garreth and Maeve post-story into the narrative to make an appearance.

Along those lines, the idea of making a fanfic style crossover with my OCs just won't leave me alone. I can picture it even though one set of characters haven't finished their stories. But I know where their stories will end, and the idea of having them meet with Garreth and Maeve just won't leave me alone. I've been picturing how Maeve and Selece would interact together for ages, and while Selece is definitely more powerful, Maeve would knock her down a few pegs lol.

I've mentioned a novelette I'm working on in notes, and it's so much fun to visit. It's somewhat a departure of what I usually write - to me anyways. I feel like to people who read my work they'd be like what are you talking about, you always write like this. I find myself leaning into cozy fantasy a lot more these days. My stand alone novel is more low fantasy/travel fantasy. But I like character based fiction, whether it is low stakes or high stakes. Cozy is just my general vibe, so it's easier to write that for me in spring.

But angsty characters are totally my vibe too haha. I love how writers can do that, just write based on their moods. This season of life I want to work on something uplifting and hopeful. But when I return to Selece's story, that will take more introspective and angsty writing. I love how we can use telling stories to process our emotions, whether we realize it or not. In working on a lot of the projects I've been focusing on right now, I've seen that I'm processing something or another that I never fully processed. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

A part of me says are you really gonna post this jumble of thoughts Crystal? And yeah, probably. If you like this sort of random post, let me know. One thing I love about Substack is being able to experiment with things comfortably, so consider this post an experiment lol.

~*~*~

Writing Clean Fantasy Romance With a Dash of Humor on the Side