Happy winter! I’ve had a busy few months and wanted to check in before the end of 2019. I’m now 99% working from home as a freelance editor and writer—yay!
New Novel: The Village Maid
In November I completed National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for the fourth time. So I now have FOUR fiction novel drafts to figure out what to do with. The new story is called The Village Maid and is the sequel to The Forest Bride, my fantasy romance. While writing, I made progress with understanding where my stories fit in; they are light-hearted (like the so-called chick lit genre) but set in a fantasy world with magic. So my new “comparable title” description is, “If you like Sophie Kinsella but wish her books had fairies and magic, my stories are for you.”
I also took two classes this fall (one on conflict and one on “killer openings”) and what I learned helped a lot with the new novel. For example, sometimes “writer’s block” is simply a lack of conflict; if a writer is stuck and it feels like nothing is happening, adding conflict to the scene can save the day. (Conflict doesn’t have to mean fighting or adversaries; it can also mean change.) I plan to revise The Forest Bride over the next month, using what I learned, and then query the agents I met at the romance writers conference last summer.
More information about my romance writing is available here: https://janebuehler.com
New Cover for Somewhere and Nowhere
Which cover doesn’t fit in?
One project I was super excited to finish was a slight overhaul of Somewhere and Nowhere. I learned the importance of having a professional cover that “fits in” in a book’s genre (see diagram), so I had Tugboat Designs create a cover. It was easy to make the new cover available on the ebook version. The past month, I set up the book with the new cover using “print on demand” at both Kindle Direct Publishing (aka Amazon) and IngramSpark. So, print versions are now available! The old cover is still available at a discount. More info here: https://www.twobluebooks.com/somewhere-and-nowhere/
If you are interested in learning more about print-on-demand and self-publishing, the slides from my talk at the library last September are still available on my website (fifth link from the top): https://emilybuehler.com/miscellany/how-to-guides/
Upcoming Events
I’m looking forward to finding some conferences to attend in 2020. Part of my plan for being self-employed was to work remotely, so I’m excited to test it out.
The Asheville Bread Festival is May 2. I don’t yet know if I will be teaching, but I will be there.
I have two week-long classes scheduled at the Folk School in 2020:
- April 26–May 2, 2020, “Baking Traditional Breads”
(I think this one is sold out; get on the wait list: https://classes.folkschool.org/class_details.aspx?pk=22328) - September 20-26, 2020, “Science of Bread”
(register starting ~January 2020)
I’m also excited to finally have time to TAKE a class and am registered for an illuminated lettering/calligraphy class. I figured it might be a useful skill for a fairy tale–inspired romance author to have.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and that 2020 gets off to a great start.