ATKOM

13 posts

2026: Off to a BIG Start

A Small Light in the Darkness A Third Kind of Madness Fun SW-SW

Dearest Friends and Faebies, 2026 already feels like it’s been a year long.

Which I guess it has been, in one way of looking at it. A year can be 365 days or the length of what we’ve lived so far in that time period, right? Things have been bad scary a shitshow here in the US and other places. Y’know, I want to focus on some positive things happening in my life, because art is important and success by queer disabled weirdos is an affront to fascism. But first I need to say a few things upfront, so we all know we’re on the same page.

…I mean, if we’re not, have you even read my books?

We in the US are living on stolen land, in a country built on stolen labor.

NO ONE can be illegal on stolen land. The systems the people who stole that land–white people–set up to control those enslaved for the labor that built this country have never been dismantled. They were only adapted. We’re seeing that now, in every aspect of what’s happened previously and is happening currently in the US. Black and brown people have always been marginalized here, always exploited, and we are once again seeing those who fear that reality flipping and putting THEM in that place flexing the power they’ve amassed to try and ensure that never happens.

They want to eliminate anyone who doesn’t fit into their small-minded idea of who counts as a person, those who just by existing demonstrate how weak and pathetic and useless these people actually are. They would kill off queer people, trans folk, the BIPOC folk who don’t bend their knee to them, the disabled, the ones who don’t subscribe to their twisted version of religion or “values.”

Fuck them, and their fascist government and their genocides. Fuck their hatred of community and culture and love and neighborliness. Everything they stand for is the opposite of what makes us good and kind and powerful. Fuck that. I will always be in opposition to what they stand for.

Oh, and fuck ICE.

That’s the bare minimum of words I have on this and related subjects, but I didn’t want to leave the first month of 2026, where as it stands currently [as far as we know] at least nine people have been killed by ICE, without making completely sure that my readers are on the same page of me. If not, here’s your door to leave –> 🚪

Now for some good things in 2026.

You might have noticed that there’s a store on the website now! If you are in the US you can now purchase my physical books and other related things directly from me without having to go to Ko-fi to check out. Unfortunately because of the current situation in the US right now I can’t ship outside of the US, but there’s a variety of retailers that carry them in your area. And of course DRM-free e-books are always available from me directly.

I also moved the “Membership/Support” option away from Ko-fi, which is a big deal! Now you can either do a one-time support or subscribe to a membership via Square checkout. That simplifies things for me in a big way. Members will get special emails directly in their inbox that will have behind the scenes info, scene shares, advance opportunities, and more. It’s basically what I was offering on Ko-fi but without a middleman.

In somewhat related news, you might have seen me talk about my Three Ravens Press mugs that I designed through Bonfire and how I am giving all proceeds to Leftover Love, Inc. LLI is a Baltimore-based 501c3 nonprofit that rescues fresh leftover food from local businesses for those in need. Through sales of the Three Ravens Press mugs I’ve already been able to raise almost $100 for their cause, and I’d like to do more!

I’ll be moving all my Bonfire-produced merch to a charity model this month! I’m looking for at least one more Baltimore-based charity to support, preferably one that aligns with the values that are touted by Vali and the crew at The Maithe. Mugs will support feeding people through Leftover Love, and t-shirts will go to the yet-to-be-chosen second charity. If you have ideas, please do leave them in the comments!

Look for an updated page where all the charity merch will be collated sometime before the end of January, hopefully!

ICYMI, A Third Kind of Madness is officially a FINALIST in the Indie Ink Awards!

ATKOM is a finalist in FOUR categories:

  • This Book Made Me Hungry/Thirsty
  • Writing the Future We Need: Bisexual or Biromantic Representation
  • Writing the Future We Need: LGBTQ+ Representation
  • Writing the Future We Need: Trans or Nonbinary Representation

I am extremely proud and also humbled by the thought that readers voted to put my exploration of magic-triggered obsession with a nervous and quirky enby protagonist into these categories. Y’all, only 10 books from a WIDE selection make it to this stage. That’s HUGE.

Now it’s up to the judges to read all of their assigned books and decide what they think. I thank all of you who supported ATKOM in the contest and otherwise, and I’ll keep you updated as I learn more! It will be a while before we know for sure, but even making it to this round is such an honor.

A Small Light in the Darkness is open for paperback preorders and ARC requests!

You heard it here first! After the successful cover reveal of ASLID went so well, I busted tail and got the preorder page up for paperbacks. I should have e-book preorders up by the end of this week as well. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know that my paperback preorders always come with an assortment of cool goodies, making it a whole vibe that goes along with the story. [Famously the packages for In Sleep You Know came with representatives of some of the gifts that Merrick was given. And tea, there’s always tea!]

This time I’m going to put together something cool for folks who preorder the e-book, as well! It’s another “stay tuned” announcement, because I want to make sure I have everything together to make a Very Cool and Enticing Announcement about it.

Also, if you are a booktok person, a blogger, or book reviewer and would like an ARC copy, I have the form for you! If you’d like to be on my street team and help with honest reviews on sites like Goodreads, The Storygraph, and the like, as well as getting the word out, that’s the form for you to fill out too. I don’t have the release date set in stone yet – I was going for the end of January but as you can see we’re AT the end of January and I am not ready… so Spring 2026 it is.

Before I go, I wanted to remind y’all that in this time of strife and uncertainty, soft and welcoming places to spend some time and share community are extremely valuable. And as I’m on the committee of Strong Women–Strange Worlds, I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend a moment talking about how their twice-monthly, free virtual QuickReads event offers that. SW-SW features six women and nonbinary authors of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in 8 minute segments in their QuickReads, and you can often find well-known authors alongside new authors who are ready to be added to your list of favorites. I never fail to come away with additions to my TBR list!

QuickReads happen every First Friday and Third Thursday and are always free to attend on Zoom. We’re also expanding our offerings via YouTube to include a podcast and QuickReads remixes. You can also find past QuickReads there as well!

Our next QuickRead is happening on February 6th, 2026 at 12 noon Eastern, and features authors Gita Ralleigh, Lisa Morton, Minerva Cerridwen, Melissa Widmaier, Rachel Handley, and Victoria Goddard. You can register for this QuickRead and other upcoming ones at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/strong-women-strange-worlds-33460611105

Are there other good things happening in 2026? There ARE But my blog post is getting long and I think I’d like to save some things for later, so I can keep spreading some joy when we need it most. Thank you as always for taking this journey with me, friends, faebies, and friends-to-be.

Story Order: How to Read Stories of the Eleriannan

A Third Kind of Madness Cast A Shadow Of Doubt In Sleep You Know Reading

“Dear Christiane, 

You have multiple books/stories in your Eleriannan series! It’s not clear to me how this works; can you help?”

You bet I can!

Let me break it down for you, with lots of details about what each story is and where it falls in the timeline.

First thing you need to know is that all the stories can be read independently from each other. There are no cliffhangers, but reading them out of order will reveal some plot points from previous stories, so be aware. I’ve tried very hard to make sure that you won’t feel lost if you read them out of publication or chronological order.

As of October 2025 are currently these titles:

  • Escaping the Dreamland [#.5]
    • Events happen well before ISYK
    • Tells the story of how Aisling came to be, 1st person
    • Short story
    • Available with subscription to my mailing list
  • In Sleep You Know, A Story of the Eleriannan [#1]
    • First in the series
    • Introduces you to many of the characters
    • Told mostly following Merrick, 3rd person
    • Draws inspiration from various Faerie mythologies and folklore as well as Child Ballads
    • Novel length, stands alone
    • Set in a, um, slightly different version of Baltimore
    • Soundtrack
  • Cast a Shadow of Doubt, Stories of the Eleriannan [#2]
    • Second in series
    • Tells the stories of Lucee’s rise to leadership and Camlin’s attempt at redemption
    • Introduces the Mealladhan and Emmaline
    • 3rd person, mostly following Lucee
    • Features more Baltimore culture, including big summer art festivals
    • Novel length, stands alone but is even better paired with ISYK
    • Soundtrack
  • A Third Kind of Madness, A Story of the Eleriannan [#3]
    • Third in series
    • Introduces Denny and Peri as well as Denny’s art collective, the Ants, and new Elementals
    • 1st person, told through Denny
    • If you’re a fan of Karsten, they are a prominent character
    • Art scene, farmers markets, and the Mount Vernon neighborhood are featured
    • Novel length, stands alone
    • Soundtrack

Coming in 2026:

  • Eleriannan #4 [as yet untitled]
    • Fourth in series
    • Centers on Emmaline and her struggle to integrate into The Grimshaw while discovering the depths of her powers
    • Introduces some new Grimshaw characters, especially some of the Arswyd and Ettir, an Eoten
    • 3rd person, mostly following Emmaline
    • Want to find out why the ArDonnath are so nasty? Here’s your chance!
    • Novel length
    • Soundtrack

If you have further questions about any of the Eleriannan books, you can always ask here! Also check out the Fae Directory and my series The Magic Between Us for more insight about the characters and how they interact with each other. 

I should probably mention that I have an unrelated book that is also set in Baltimore coming out in 2026. It’s a speculative fiction near-future story called A Small Light in the Darkness, and it focuses on two characters: 

  • Tryst, a lonely and longing poetic soul who can’t seem to make a “true” connection with someone who can satisfy her longing for something deeper
  • Fo, mysterious and thoughtful with a multitude of secrets and a deep need to connect even though they are scared of the emotions that brings

Together, they unravel the unknown aspects of Fo’s past, revealing a terrible accident with an experiment gone wrong, the drawbacks of mind enhancement, and a secret that goes much deeper and darker than either of them had imagined at the start. 

Recommended if you like stories about transhumanism, and/or with human-computer interaction, romantic subplots, connecting with strangers, poetic prose, science gone bad.

The Magic Between Us – An Exploration

4 comments
Characters

It’s been a while since I talked about my characters, right? I’ve been focusing on writing, and talking about writing/being an author, but there’s always a part of my mind that’s doing deep delves into what makes up my characters and how they reflect the larger world around me. So I decided that June might be a good time to share some of those explorations with you, dear readers.

If there’s one thing that y’all ask me about the most, it’s in-depth questions about the people who inhabit my Fae-infused version of Baltimore. So this month, let’s chat about what makes up each character, why they do what they do, and what they represent. People in this instance may be taken very loosely, as I’m pretty sure The Maithe [and in comparison, the other Houses] may show up in one of these chats.

I’ve got some other answers that will be tucked inside these essays, too, things that have been asked of me before and I’ve had a lot of time–and three books–to think deeply about. Questions like “Why did you choose Merrick to be the main character of In Sleep You Know” and “What will happen to The Ladies” and “Why did the Nyxen pick Denny to befriend anyway?” There’s also always the question, “Did you base X character on someone you know?” I’ve talked about that one before but the truth is always more complicated than you’d guess.

We’ll get started on June 1st! I am very much looking forward to chatting at length about character creation and the complex lives of these imaginary [maybe?] people.

A Map of the Eleriannan

1 comment
A Third Kind of Madness Cast A Shadow Of Doubt Fun In Sleep You Know

Have you wondered where in Baltimore that one scene took place? You know, the fight scene at ArtPark or where Denny met Dorcha or that club where The Drawback played their first show?

Wonder no more! Here is a map that will show you all those locations and more! Please keep in mind that because the Baltimore where the Eleriannan and Gwyliannan live is laid over the one most of us live in, you may see something very different on this map than what is actually there for Merrick. Luccee, Denny and friends.

If you click through to the page where the map is hosted you’ll see a clickable navigation list. You can also access it here through the icon at the top left. If there’s a location I haven’t added yet that you want to see, just let me know.

I hope you enjoy this exploration of both mundane and magical Baltimore!


New Mugs, Straight from The Maithe’s Library to You

3 comments
A Third Kind of Madness Merch

Getting coffee from the coffee bar in The Maithe’s library is always an experience: first off, it might be coffee, it might be tea, or cocoa… or even a comforting broth in your mug. And the mugs themselves? Let’s just say that they are an eclectic collection and quite representative of the personality of the “sentient, triangular stack of bricks” as Sousa lovingly calls his home.

Denny finding a seemingly endless selection of odd and silly slogan mugs is one of my favorite funny bits from A Third Kind of Madness, and I wanted to bring a couple of my favorites to life for myself. And since I was making them for me, why not offer them to you for your own library coffee bars or whatever your [probably] non-sentient home has going on?

Virtually Indestructible, just like Denny.

The tardigrade, that is, not the mug itself. Don’t use it in fights or to try and scoop up water elementals, that’s a foolish idea!

A white mug, the kind you might find at a diner or ramshackle coffee shop – not the Frisky Bean, of course – with an illustration of a tardigrade and the text “Virtually Indestructible” on both sides. Designed by me, take that as you will, I Am Not A Graphic Designer.

You can purchase this through Bonfire, a print on demand business that I like and use often. I make a small amount per sale, you get a cute mug!

Go Juice: second favorite beverage at The Maithe

I don’t think anyone would argue that the most popular drink at The Maithe is Sousa and Sheridan’s home brew. [At least if you ask them, anyway.] The second most popular bev in house would be coffee.

No one’s exactly sure where the “go juice” moniker originated but suspicions are split between Vali and Merrick. Either way, The Maithe liked the term and immortalized it on one of its white mugs. Or in this case, I did, putting the design on both sides as carefully as possible, because remember: I Am Not A Graphic Designer.

You can purchase this through Bonfire, a print on demand business that I like and use often. I make a small amount per sale, you get a cute mug!

If you’ve got questions, comments, or ideas, send them my way! The Maithe needs more mugs and so do you!

Meet the Characters: Denny and Peri

A Third Kind of Madness Characters

With A Third Kind of Madness due to be released on May 1st 2024, I thought it was high time to bring back the Meet The Characters series and introduce you to some of the new folk you’ll be getting to know in this story!

Denny is our main character and narrator: shy, unsure, talented but with self-esteem so low that they allow themselves to be bullied and used by the leader of their art collective in ways that keeps their personality and photography career in check. Denny describes themself as awkward and uncomfortable with who they are, and at the beginning of the story this is quite evident. With sandy, tousled hair, freckles, and a boyish, rumpled appearance, Denny tends to fade to the back and hide behind their ever-present camera.

Denny is a wistful character when we meet them. They are non-binary and desire to be seen as androgynous, but tend to wear clothes that allow them to blend into the background, something they are very good at. They hate where their life is going but seem unable to take steps to make changes or break away from the art collective they belong to and is holding them back. The only things they feel really strongly about are their photography, and going regularly to the local coffee shop, where their secret crush is a regular.

That crush is Peri, who is beautiful and bubbly in a way that fascinates Denny to the point that they’re almost obsessed with seeing her daily. Denny observes that Peri is thoughtful and coquettish in turn, but never expects to catch her attention.

Which is why they are shocked when Peri introduces herself one day, compliments Denny’s work, then asks them out on a date.

Peri establishes quickly that she moves in the art world and knows many artists, attending their shows and even owning some of their art. She’s pretty in a feminine and flirty way, often wearing dresses or blouses that show off a little of her skin. One of Peri’s biggest complaints is that she’s often forced to fill a manic pixie dream girl role in her relationships – people want her for what she can do for them, rather than what they can bring to each other.

This becomes a real issue later in the story…

That warmth takes over my entire body as I hurriedly flip to the next shot. I must have clicked too many times because I find myself staring at the moment that Peri and I kissed, captured forever in an awkward angle that only seems to add to the charm of the photo. It’s obvious that it was taken like a selfie, but somehow, that doesn’t make the shot look amateurish. I guess that owes a lot to—once again—the crispness of focus in the photo. Printed out at the right size, it would look like you could reach into it and pull us out fully formed.
“This is exactly as I see you,” Peri murmurs.
I realize that we’re holding hands, and I have no idea when that happened. She’s leaning against me, and I suddenly feel lightheaded.
She’s right, though. I look in the image just like how I see myself in my head, how I want others to see me: a pretty femme boy, a handsome boyish girl, an androgyne so comfortable in their skin that they don’t care about what anyone else thinks. I just am, in that moment. And that comfort, which is something quite new to me—that was Peri’s doing. From the second Peri first spoke to me, she made it quite clear that she not only accepted who I am but also liked it. She liked me.

In the photo, all her attention is focused on me, not just her lips pressed to mine, but her hand on my face, her body turned in that cramped space to face me fully. Yet again, the sparkling energy is visible, but this time it seems to surround both of us and if I look at the image in the right way, I’d swear it was originating from the point where we were touching. I look at Peri, and I know my eyes must be filled with questions because she nods solemnly.

Meet the rest of the characters in this ongoing series, then order the books now!

A book cover with the title A Third Kind of Madness on a red/blue/black background and a mysterious photographer under the text. Next to it is a manual camera, all on a black background.

Introducing: A Third Kind of Madness

A Third Kind of Madness Novel Updates

Launching on May 1st 2024, the third installment in the Stories of the Eleriannan series – A Third Kind of Madness – is a tale about muses, ambition, possessiveness, consequences, and love.

Our protagonist Denny is self-described as boring and uncomfortable in their own skin, a quiet photographer who hides behind baggy men’s clothing and a camera and specializes in minimizing and doubting themself. Yet Denny is part of an art collective, and has done both solo shows and ones with their group, and would certainly be more successful if they didn’t allow the aggressively ambitious leader of the collective to push them around.

Denny has a crush on a regular at the Frisky Bean, the bubbly and attractive Peri. They spend their days stealing glances of her from across the room until one day Peri breaks the routine by introducing herself – then asking Denny for a dinner date. She suggests her place, which just happens to be at The Maithe.

What comes next? Greedy art [and artists], elementals with opinions, photographs that show more than is apparent to the eye, and the consequences of messing around with forces that aren’t understood – or freely given.

ATKOM is a little darker than my other books but still full of upbeat moments and Fae magic. Vali, Karsten, Cullen, and the folks in The Drawback are all back and joined by new characters both magical and mortal. And again some of my favorite places in Baltimore are featured as a backdrop to the action, because the city is one of my favorite characters.

“I live in a city known for eccentricity. Baltimore is a vivid place, full of hidden magic. And yet here I am, quiet and unremarkable, and with no idea of how I got this way. I’d give a lot to have a touch of that magic in my life.”

Be careful what you wish for.

When Denny isn’t working as a photographer, they spend their time at the local coffee shop mooning over one of the regulars, the mysterious and beautiful Peri. No one’s more surprised than Denny when she asks them out on a date.

What happens that night throws the couple into a world where nothing is as it appears and everyone wants to get their hands on Peri and her powers to inspire artists – especially Joolie, the controlling and egotistical leader of Denny’s art collective.

If that wasn’t enough, the powerful, capricious water elementals known as Nyxen have inexplicably taken an interest in Denny. They warn that Peri’s gifts bring nothing but trouble to those around her. It’s hard to argue with them when the magic starts to go wrong; paintings greedily come alive with grasping tentacles, an obsessed ex-lover returns to threaten the couple, and Denny begins to wonder if their grip on reality is beginning to slip…

For readers who enjoy a list of tropes, you can expect: found family, sapphic romance, mysterious and definitely capricious water elementals, rock-and-roll Fae, the power of blood [compels you], photos and art with supernatural properties, muse abuse, and an anthropomorphized house – or is it?

A Third Kind of Madness signed paperback special bundles are available now for preorder, and the regular paperback and ePub will be for sale starting on May 1st 2024!

Expect more details about the launch party SOON!

Text that says "time to revise" on the background of a camera lens reflecting colorful lights

First Draft DONE! Hello, Revisions.

1 comment
A Third Kind of Madness Events Novel Updates

122,939 words over eight months of writing.

I can now happily announce the the first draft of A Third Kind of Madness is finished! *throws confetti*

If you’re unfamiliar with the writing process, you may not know what this means. Next up comes revision, including several rounds of editing from me. I’ll make as many passes over the manuscript as I feel is necessary in order to make the tightest version I can craft on my own.

Somewhere in that process, I’ll get a few trusted beta readers to look it over and give me feedback. Does everything flow well? Does it make sense? Any questions or concerns about plot, characters, details? I’ve already had my #1 alpha reader reading through as I’ve written the chapters; he’s pretty good about catching egregious errors or letting me know if something got lost, but I’ll want fresher eyes for the revision process.

Once I get through that, it’ll go off to a professional editor, who will watch for spelling, syntax, and grammar issues. They’ll also keep an eye on my style and pacing. Basically, they’ll help me polish up my story so that it’s fine tuned. It’s definitely one of the most important parts of the process!

Once the editor and I have gone back and forth about changes and I’ve implemented all the ones I want to keep – which is usually most of them – then I do another pass, looking for anything I might have missed. If you’re thinking “wow, you’ve read this story a lot of times by now,” you’d be right. And I’ll read it many more times, or at least scan it, as it moves through the steps of layout and design, then when I get the proofs.

…good thing I really like the stories that I write!

A few fun stats.

a chart with tallies by month of my progress on A Third Kind of Madness.
Word count by months for ATKOM: columns are month, days that I wrote in that month, words by month, average words per day.

You might note that the total doesn’t quite match the end word count. That’s because I had actually started writing this story in a different form a while ago, then abandoned it to work on Cast a Shadow of Doubt. I revisited what I’d written after I finished CASOD and gave it a complete overhaul, with changes to some of the concepts and characters. It’s vastly different from where it began!

I don’t write every day. That shows in my daily averages, and that’s okay. I’ve talked before about how even when I’m not physically typing in my manuscript, I’m always writing. A lot of that is mental or supportive work: thinking through scenes, doing research, even doing things like making mood boards or character sketches. I also do things like write blog posts and content for my Ko-ki supporters, and post/interact on social media. Oh, and do live readings and interviews.

Speaking of – my interview at Sue L. Bavey’s Sue’s Musings went up this week! I talk about why I decided to self publish, the genres and media that I enjoy, my advice for aspiring writers and more. You can read it here: https://suelbavey.wordpress.com/2023/07/13/indie-spotlight-christiane-knight/

On July 22nd I’ll be a guest on Melinda Kucsera‘s Fantasy, Lore, & More podcast. She’s one of the 300 authors in SPFBO and decided to take some time to interview other entrants in the contest, like me! In the meantime, you can enjoy the 24 other interviews she’s conducted so far – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrxjkyxsLI1YL8-K_qvcew7YqirEssHd- is the link! I’ll make sure to post the interview directly when it’s up, as well. I’m looking forward to this a lot!

That’s all the big news I’ve got for now. As of today I’m still a viable contestant in SPFBO, so keep your fingers crossed for me. There are SO MANY great books that In Sleep You Know is up against, which honestly is excellent…except for my TBR pile, which is growing exponentially.

What a terrible problem to have!

A pink haired femme-presenting person with glasses has a speech bubble over their head. Inside that bubble is a cute sad drawing of the human GI system.

Nothing Happened, the End.

A Third Kind of Madness Personal

“I had big plans. I did one of those things on the list. Now I’m paying for it.


Oops.”

– Me, usually

So what happened is this: as previously mentioned, I went to Balticon. There was a live reading! It was great! There were lots of interesting panels! I got fairy hair!

I didn’t even go all four days, y’all. I didn’t stay for any later-night shenanigans. I was at con from about 10:30a – 6p for two days. The con is literally about a 20 minute drive from my house.

But my body? It didn’t like that much, I guess.

ENTER NEW CHALLENGER: STRANGE NEW TYPE OF CROHN’S FLARE

I almost thought I escaped unscathed, y’all. I felt great during the con and got to talk to new people and enjoy readings and panels. It’s the first time I’ve been out socially in so long! And even though nothing ever felt taxing and I didn’t even have issues while I was there, my body reacted. Saturday night, I was feeling “tight” in my middle, like my clothes were restricting.

By Sunday, I knew what was up.

The reason I call it a new type of flare is because it was in a new area for me – lucky me! – and was behaving a lot more aggressively than usual. By aggressive, I mean extremely painful and crampy.

And two weeks later, I’m better, but not great.

This is why things don’t get done. Again, oops!

So basically I’ve been in a state where I’ve done a whole lot of nothing, and that’s terribly frustrating and I hate it. I was so excited to finally be healthy enough to do things! With people! And now my health’s regressed because I dared to try to live, which I guess was a stupid thought.

I’m not letting it stop me, though.

I’ve taken a break, but I’m back to working on A Third Kind of Madness. I’m at the end of the book, y’all! The first draft is almost done! Once I get that wrapped, I’ll go back in and start revising, but revising is a lot easier in some ways so it’ll be refreshing work.

And while that’s going on, I’ll be working on cover concepts some more, plus getting together my promotional ideas, which are going to be FUN and you won’t want to miss out on them. I’ll also be showing you some of my personal projects related to the books, which I do to amuse myself when I can’t do anything else. One of the big ones I’ve been working on is an 11 inch fashion doll restyled to be our Lucee Fearney.

She’s so cute. But next time say something before I write a character with a million little green and black braids all over her head, okay? Because trying to make her hair is taking a time, y’all.

Anyway, that’s been about it, but I wanted to update everyone and keep you in the loop with my plans, progress, and all that. Don’t think that this setback will keep me away from getting out more often! I’m very determined to stay social and visible. I just need to maybe do it differently next time – live and learn!

Before I go, I wanted to mention that I’m, as far as I know, still in the running in the SPFBO, and if you’d like to check out some of the other books that are in the competition, you can easily do that here: https://books.bookfunnel.com/spfbo9collectthemall/xzujgxbn9f

The contest is full of SO many different types of fantasy! You will be able to fill your TBR list to overflowing! [Don’t ask about my TBR list, oh jeez] If you’re interested in learning about more fantastic indie authors, this is a great way to do so.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll check back in soon!

Blue camera on orange background with text: Getting close now, checking in on progress of A Third Kind of Madness

Getting Close Now: progress check-in

A Third Kind of Madness Novel Updates On Creating

Hello friends! It’s time for an update on my writing progress, and it’s great news – I am SO CLOSE to getting the first draft of this book finished!

As of this blog post, I’ve got about 21,000 words to hit my word goal!

That’s about five chapters, to put it into perspective. I know, right?

Some things to know about the whole process:

  • This is a tentative goal, but I generally aim for about 120,000 to 125,000 words for a novel.
  • The word count will change as I go into revision.
  • This is my first draft, so some things may change drastically when I revise, but usually that’s not the case for me.
  • A chapter for my books usually runs an average of 4,000 words.
  • I’m at the point now as a writer where I seem to know instinctively where to start gathering all the various plot points together. When I realized that, I was blown away!
  • The last ten chapters seem to take the longest to write.

Expounding on that last point – my whole writing process slows down when I get to the last parts of the story. And it makes sense, of course, because there’s usually so many things to carefully weave together, making sure nothing gets left behind. Plus, this is where the “big action” of the story takes place, often with physical scenes and a lot more character interaction that all has to be carefully plotted out and sometimes even acted out by me to make sure that it all makes sense and reads properly.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to pose myself to make sure what I’m describing makes sense and works the way I want it to, ha. Or research things like, I dunno… sun angles, location maps, names of specific armor, animal facts. The list goes on and on. Recently I got sidetracked by a search of specific nautical terms.

Photo by Barna Kovacs on Unsplash

Once I’m finished with the first draft, I’ll go in for revisions, round one. Some people pause between phases of writing their book, and I like to pause between revisions and editing. I prefer to revise while the story is fresh in my head, and while I remember exactly what I knew I’d need to go back and rearrange or pretty-up. Sometimes, you just need to get the scene down on the page, you know, before you lose that spark.

So I’ll revise, then I’ll rest the story for a short period and work on other things, so that I can come back to it with fresh eyes and mind for the editing process. Once I’ve gone over it approximately ONE MILLION TIMES I’ll send it to a professional editor. Then they’ll go over it a bunch and then it comes back to me for changes and EVEN MORE CHECKING.

You may have noticed that this means I’ll have read this story a substantial number of times before you ever do.

I’ve probably read my stories more times than anyone ever will. Not because I’m my #1 fan or anything, but to fact-check, to re-immerse myself in the storyline, to look for quotes, and… sometimes just for fun. THAT’S RIGHT, I SAID IT. I read my own books because I like them! 🤣

I love my characters. I mean, they live in my head, I’m close to them! I also love the settings in my books, and they’re detailed enough that I have to go back and check “Was this on the left or the right? Where exactly is the door to the courtyard in relation to the kitchen?” Trust me, those little details matter. Someone will notice if I screw it up! I actually recently wrote out a long walk-through of The Maithe for that reason. Maybe one day I’ll share it!

That’s my update for now. Once the first draft is finished I’ll talk some more about it and start giving you more thorough introductions to the characters and what they’re all about. But for now, thank you for reading, and if you have any questions about my process, please do reply below!