Hi readers. My best wishes to you all for the holiday season, and special appreciation for those who have to continue working through that time, especially hospital and emergency services staff. Christmas photo of Rocky and Bramble is at the foot of this post!
Very little news on the book front at this point, sorry. I’m still waiting for a decision from my agent about the Baba Yaga trilogy proposal. Because I feel the need for a Plan B, I’m polishing up a proposal for an alternative project, the clue to which is the image above. There’s also a Plan C. Baba Yaga (Plan A) requires masses of research, and while I wait I am reading books on Russian history and folklore. Plans B and C are both continuations of existing series and would need less research, therefore could be written more quickly. But there’s absolutely no telling which of them, if any, my agent will consider marketable. I am getting a bit twitchy about not working directly on a project, as generally by this time of year I’d have a book manuscript well on the way to completion. This feels like a re-run of 2020, and that is uncomfortable. I hope very much that, one way or another, by the end of December I will have decided which option I will be working on first, and what the chances of publication are, whether by my usual mainstream publishers or some alternative. Sorry I can’t give you more definite news yet. I do very much appreciate the support and enthusiasm of my loyal readers!
For those of you who don’t follow my Facebook Author Page, where I post news promptly, here are some links for you:
Recently I had an online chat with Karen McDermott from Serenity Press and illustrator Kathleen Jennings about writing and illustrating Mother Thorn. Use this link to go to the Serenity Press Facebook page, where you’ll find a recording of our session: https://www.facebook.com/serenitypressbooks/
Some good news on the translation front: the Dutch edition of Mother Thorn is now available from Dutch Venture Publishing. I’m so delighted to have a book published in the Netherlands again – it has been a long while. And for German readers, one of the stories from Mother Thorn (Copper, Silver, Gold – my reimagining of The Tinder Box) will be included in a beautiful fairy tale anthology from Drachenmond Verlag. The anthology is available for pre-order at this link.
That’s all from me for now. Rocky and Bramble wish you a holiday season full of long walks, good food and peaceful naps.
Photo credit:
Picture of Rocky and Bramble by Kathy Naughtin from Shaggy Dog Shack
Image of full moon in forest: Photo 103395852 © Mikel Martinez De Osaba | Dreamstime.com
