I'm doing it again... posting multiple times after not having posted in a coon's age... I can't help it. I'm sitting here engulfed by this paradox of dysmorphic emotions with no one to talk to about any of them. I feel very professional at the moment. I feel as though AGMG is just a breath better than EVERNOW. I'm meeting writing goals. I'm managing the 'business type' side of writing - aiming for and hitting word count, editing within a certain time frame, strategizing for why this ms is marketable - and I'm already planning out my next big project. I have outlines for the next WIPs I intend to invest most of my time in.
I've chosen two:
GENESIS
Miakoda Auster has never been normal, and she's never wanted to be normal, which is good, considering that she has a history of doing things like killing rabbits with her bare hands as a kindergartner. Then at fifteen she's diagnosed with Adolescent Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis. If that wasn't bad enough, the drugs they put her on to try and help the arthritis wreak havoc with her body and health. As soon as she turns eighteen, Koda leaves her parents, all the drugs, and the awful heat of North Carolina behind, and heads for the brisk sea air of Skagway Alaska, where her older brother Graham lives as a fisherman. And that's when things start to get weird even by Koda's standards. Despite her quick temper, and generally ill-sorted attitude, she finds friendship with Iliamna, the new girl at the Scholl Hole were Koda works as a meat carver. But Iliamna isn't what she seems to be, and Koda soon learns that she had a destiny far different from the one she's now facing. A destiny stolen from her by the Rheumatoid Arthritis that's deforming her joints and causing her constant pain. Koda is a Genesis. A werewolf created by spontaneous mutation. One of only three known spontaneous wolfen, Koda doesn't belong to any of the existing five Lines. Instead, she has the ability to create an entirely new Line. Founding a new bloodline is a goal coveted by all wolfen. But Koda can never shift her shape. She can never take on her wolf form because her crippled joints can't withstand the forces of shifting, and the doctors have warned that a pregnancy might well kill her. But that won't stop the wolfens of rival Lines from battling over her, or claiming her for their own against her will. Caught up in a war she wants no part of, dealing with her own emotions over discovering what she is and facing the fact that she can never fully embrace her wolf side, despite her desire to do so, Koda must rely on Iliamna and the other members of the Eventide Pack, the only wolfens who care about her for more than her ability to found a new Line. But the arrival of a new wolfen, an ancient wolfen who has never before aligned with any Pack, threatens everything and soon Koda finds herself facing all the complications of werewolf love on top of her growing troubles.
ROOK THIEF
Etienne Ryan is happy just to get every day things done, like opening her toothpaste and taking care of her beloved silver oak tree. Rheumatoid Arthritis makes that almost impossible sometimes. Luckily, her older friend Trey won't let her wallow in her troubles. With her sharp tongue and tough attitude, Trey constantly pushes Ed to do what she can, when she can, to keep trying even when she feels hopeless. Trey is used to pushing Ed. Since Ed's father was killed in a tragic fire a year ago, Trey's been looking out for Ed, helping her with her father's bookstore, the Dreaming Hole. Billy Conrad looks out for Ed too. It was Billy who pulled Ed from the burning house, saving her from the fire that killed her father. But Billy is a little overprotective. Of course, considering that it was Ed's best friend, Liam, who set fire to her house, Billy's protectiveness is hard to argue with. When a new boy named Oren begins trying to win Ed's friendship though, things get a little complicated. Although he's secretive, keeping his scarred face hidden by hooded sweatshirts, Ed is quickly drawn to Oren and his unique perspectives. As their friendship deepens, Billy's concerns over Ed's safety grow too, and the tension between him and Oren soon becomes an all out war. And then there are the letters that Ed keeps getting from Liam. In them, he warns her that he isn't her enemy, the Rook Thief is. Sorting through it all, Ed begins to suspect that Billy might not be her hero after all, Liam might not have set the fire as everyone thinks, and the fact that Oren's scars resemble those on her silver oak, which was burned in the fire that killed her father, might not be just a strange coincidence... and all three of the guys fighting over her might be something other than human. But who is the Rook Thief? And who can Ed really trust?
I started working on Genesis because Koda showed up in my head and refused to stop driving me nuts until I addressed her situation. But I had already begun working on Rook Thief. So now I'm writing on both of them. Well... I was writing on both of them. At this precise moment, I'm not writing on anything due to the 'possibly fractured' finger which makes it impossible to hold a pen, but you get my meaning. That both stories involve girls with RA is coincidence. I often give my main characters something challenging with their joints because it's a subject close to my heart. I know, unfortunately, what it's like to have to ask someone to do something like tear open a packet of sugar for you because you don't have the strength to manage it. But Rook Thief was the first WIP I started where my mc had RA. Then later, Koda showed up with her own obvious complications. Several people have suggested that I shelve Genesis because werewolves have 'been done'. I HAVE always sworn that I wouldn't join the werewolf ranks (although I admit to being Team Jacob...:) but Koda isn't the sort of girl you can just say 'no' to... so here I am, writing a werewolf book...
Am I bananas? Should I ditch the furry dramarama and focus on Rook Thief? Should I keep at them both? Is there even room for another werewolf book? How different would a 'different take' on the werewolf thing have to be for you to take a gander? Do you just gag thinking about werewolf stuff? I'm all excitable because I already love the characters within Genesis, but it might well be a star-crossed love considering the glut of furry heroes and heroines in the marketplace...
Please, discuss! What WIP are you working on, even knowing that it might be a labor of love rather than a best seller?
