New Feature: Behind the Scenes of Author Life (a.k.a. What I'm Working on Now)
+ Come swoon with me in Edinburgh next year
Hellooooo, lovelies! So much exciting stuff to cover this month, so here’s what you’ll find in the newsletter today:
Update on everything I’m working on
Italy is on hold, but let’s go to Scotland next year!
Solvang author brunch & writing retreat recap
Ready? Let’s do this!
Behind the Scenes of Author Life
Some of you have expressed interest in sneaking a peek behind the curtain of a writer’s life, so I thought this might be a great time to start. Let’s see if I can make this a recurring feature.
I’m lucky enough to be a busy author with multiple book deals, so sometimes it’s hard to keep all my timelines straight. For quick reference, here’s an overview of the upcoming year, and then I’ll tell you in more depth about what I’ve been working on recently:
Coming in 2024:
Date TBD: Damsel movie tie-in paperback (fantasy)
May 7: The Hundred Loves of Juliet paperback (romance/women’s fiction)
May 7: Princess Private Eye 2: The Case of the Missing Robo-Bird (children’s)
July 30: Secret new book that we’ll just call “Spain” for now (romance/women’s fiction)
Coming in 2025 (hopefully):
Date TBD: Secret new book we’ll nickname “Kindness” for now (romance/women’s fiction)
DAMSEL
As you know, the Netflix film starring Millie Bobby Brown was supposed to come out in mid-October, but… it didn’t. I was not told the specific reason why, but my best guess is that it had to do with the Screenwriters Guild and Actors Guild strikes. There hasn’t been a new movie release date announced, but I will let you know as soon as I hear anything!
THE HUNDRED LOVES OF JULIET PAPERBACK
Our favorite Romeo and Juliet are getting a new cover for the paperback release! When my publisher launched the book in hardcover, they wanted it to sit on the General Fiction shelves at bookstores. That is, indeed, where it’s been, and it’s glorious.
However, for the paperback, we wanted to tap into the “Summer Reads” crowd, especially since readers have really latched onto the love story aspect of The Hundred Loves of Juliet.
So my publisher’s art department is hard at work on a new cover that is romantic yet slightly magical at the same time. I’ve seen an early draft and I love it, and I can’t wait to share the new cover art when it’s ready!
PRINCESS PRIVATE EYE 2
For those with young readers (age 8-12) in their lives, my next middle grade princess detective novel comes out in May! I am all done with the proofreading of this book, so there’s nothing more for me to do except wait for it to hit shelves.
“SPAIN”
I just finished final proofreading of first-pass pages for my 2024 novel! I think we’ll get to announce more soon, but what I can tell you is that it’s a contemporary love story with just a teensy hint of magical realism, and it’s set in Spain, and if you liked The Hundred Loves of Juliet, this is going to be right up your alley.
So for now, we’ll give it the codename “Spain” until I can reveal the full title.
Oh! If you don’t know what “first-pass pages” are, that’s when a manuscript is moved from Microsoft Word into the fancy typesetting software that publishers use. They format the novel into what it will look like when it’s published, including the font and other interior design elements (like the little stars that served as scene dividers in The Hundred Loves of Juliet, and a whimsical swoosh in “Spain.”)
“First pass” is the author’s first pass through those typeset pages to look for any typos or make small changes to the story. This is usually also the last time an author will see the book. (The publisher’s production team will do second-pass and third-pass proofreading, just to make extra sure that everything looks good).
That means that I am “done” with this book until it’s actually printed and released next July! Isn’t it wild that I won’t see it again for 9 months?!
In an exciting development, “Spain” is going to be published in paperback, not hardcover! That’s great news for all of you who want to carry two Evelyn Skye summer books in your beach totes next summer, because paperbacks are cheaper than hardcovers!
“KINDNESS”
Many of you know that authors actually finish writing their books long before they are published, usually 9 - 12 months in advance of the release date. This is to give time for the publisher to work on cover art, interior book design, and publicity and marketing.
Which means that I am already beginning work on a novel for 2025, which we will give the codename “Kindness"! This one is also a contemporary love story with a small dose of magical realism (that’s what I’ve been drawn to write lately).
I took most of September off from actual writing, but the idea for “Kindness" had already started germinating in my head. So I began sketching out an outline for it.
Whereas “Spain” was super easy to write—the book appeared in my brain almost fully formed!— “Kindness” has reminded me that it’s important to slow down sometimes in order to listen to the quiet artist inside me.
I was so excited about my initial outline that I shared it with a couple of my close writing friends. They loved the idea, too, and jumped in to help me brainstorm.
But then something happened. I lost interest in the idea. It felt like punishment to sit down and write the opening chapters, even though I had a complete outline. I began to doubt whether this idea was any good at all.
What I realized is that I shared my baby book idea too early. Every writer is different, but for me, I need to keep my ideas nestled in their quiet nurseries for a good long while before I can introduce them to the world. The baby ideas are delicate, and my confidence about them is fragile in the beginning.
It was no fault of my friends, who were being wonderfully supportive and affirmative in how great the baby idea was. But I was reminded that—in order for my stories to blossom—I have to protect them when the ideas are young.
So I thanked my friends and explained what had happened, and then I brought “Kindness” back into my private nursery where it was just the two of us. I gave myself permission, too, to allow the story to change, to let it grow up slowly and discover who it wanted to be.
In the past weeks, my outline has changed many times. And then I decided to start to write the story itself, because an outline is only a guide, and the characters and plot can only truly reveal themselves when you give them the space to expand organically.
It’s been very gratifying to allow myself the freedom to play with my words and these new characters. I remind myself that nothing is set in stone and nothing is “right” or “wrong.” In these early days of a zero draft, we are just here to explore and discover where the road of imagination takes us.
I feel more like an artist again. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the business of selling books and to lose your way as a storyteller, a builder of souls, an inventor of pasts and presents.
But I think I have found my way back to that place, to the quiet home in my heart where my stories live.
I suppose that’s all I should say for now about “Kindness” — and now off we go to play in the beautiful unpredictability of my imagination.
More “behind the scenes” updates to come in my next newsletter!
Autographed copies of The Hundred Loves of Juliet are available from Books Inc!
Get your holiday shopping done early…
(put a note in the Comments of your order that you’d like an autographed book)
Edinburgh Romance Book Festival (RARE)
September 6-7, 2024
Our Italy trip is still on hold*, but we can have fun together in Scotland next year! I’ll be at the RARE (Romance Authors & Readers Event) book festival in Edinburgh, along with 300 other authors for a weekend of incredible bookish fun!
RARE is one of the premiere romance book festivals in the world AND this is the 10th Anniversary of the Edinburgh festival, so I am SO excited!!
Want to come? Tickets are on sale now!
If you want to extend your trip in Scotland, Rabbie’s offers great private, small-group tours. I will probably be heading on to London after the RARE festival to do some signings there, so I don’t currently have plans for a Scotland tour of my own. I’ll let you know if that changes, though, because I’m a huge Outlander fan (the books! I haven’t watched the show, sorry sorry). Plus, I would really like to visit the Isle of Skye, because, well, Skye. :)
*for those who missed the Italy announcement earlier, the travel company I was previously working with fell through. In fact, they wouldn’t even let me have the list of who filled out the interest form until recently!! Now that I have your info and know that you’re interested in overseas time with me, I’ve added you to this newsletter because this is how I keep in touch with everyone - however, please feel free to unsubscribe anytime*
Solvang Writing Retreat & Author Brunch Recap
I had so much fun sending many of you postcards from my writing retreat in Solvang! I definitely want to do that again in the future. It made the trip extra special, because it was like taking you with me!
During the retreat, I finished proofreading the first-pass pages for “Spain,” and I had a great time with all the other authors on the retreat.
The “Boozy Book Brunch” event was wonderful, too! I don’t drink but I definitely brunch hard, so I ate my money’s worth in pastries. (Oh wait, I didn’t pay for a ticket because I was part of the ticket, hahaha… Was I allowed to eat that much then? Oh well, what’s done is done and my belly is happpppy!)
Anyway, here are some photos from adorable Solvang!
