Cameron Darrow's Blog, page 14

Post Partem

Midnight Magic is my first standalone novel, and so it's the first time I've ever said goodbye to a set of characters. It's... weird. I miss them. The book has gotten a lovely reception, and as reviews come trickling in, I'm reminded of certain moments, or feelings I had when I was writing them. It's by far my shortest book, but Vimika and Aurelai still lived in my head for a while, through some trying times in my life. They were like companions. Patient companions who were waiting for me to be ready to talk to them again. It's hard to explain, but they were there for me, and now they're free in the world. I'm proud of them, like I've sent my kids off to college or something. I know they're fine and have lots of friends, but still. I don't know, it's... weird. I know I said that already, but it's really the best word.

But, I'm lucky. I have several Covens worth of witches who've been living in my head for years who have been waiting a lot longer, and they've been just as patient to have their story told.

They also keep me awake more than Vimika ever did, so we're going to have to have a talk about that.

As an additional note, now that I've gotten my head mostly back in the game, and Book IV is in full production again, I'm going to try to post here more often. It'll be like I used to, with writing insights and little peeks at the process, with the odd bit of advice that I hope you'll find useful. If you're new here, I try not to give status updates or talk about works in progress, as I find that it vents some of the pressure that keeps me working consistently. I'll try to post weekly, but I don't know on what day yet.

So please have a look through my old posts if you're curious, and keep reading! Thank you.

Book IV

Is next.

I've already made myself cry twice this week writing it.

This, some amazing reviews I received, and the reception Midnight Magic has gotten has made this perhaps the best week I've ever had as a writer, and I wanted to share some good news with you.

Book IV is coming, and I have never been more motivated to finish it. Returning to Victoria, Katya and Millie has been absolutely wonderful. But for that to be true, I needed to be away from them for a little while. They're home now, and in a weird way, so am I.

It's in its second draft, and it has a name. It has a cover, and I am dying to get to Book V.

But I can't give everything away right now! Just a few morsels in this update, I'm not about to jinx anything. I hope I haven't already! Oh, no... I'd better go.

With all seriousness, thank you all so much for your support and your patience, it means the world to me. Please continue to leave reviews and recommend my work to people who might also like it, it really does help a lot.

What Midnight Magic Means to Me

First let me say that I know how awkward, even unseemly it might be to try to launch a book right now. I acknowledge that. But after reading this post, I hope you'll understand why I did. I am in full support of the protests happening around the world, and I am not trying to take away from them nor diminish them in any way by trying to divide anyone's attention. My story is personal to me, and small in the grand scheme of things. But it is still happening, and this is my little corner of the internet in which to share it.

With that being said, if you haven't heard, my new book Midnight Magic came out yesterday, so please go read and enjoy it. It's funny, romantic, a bit escapist and can be read in a dedicated afternoon. Or, as a friend who has already read it said, 'It's an excellent book to read in my garden.'

For me, it's much more than that: Midnight Magic is catharsis. After the disastrous launch of Hall of Mirrors, it took me a long time to get back in the saddle again and write every day. After banging my head against the keyboard trying to move on to Book IV, I realized I needed to write something that was different from the Ashes books altogether, something light and cute and funny. Midnight Magic is the result.

But between starting it and finishing, my personal life was rocked by what felt like a string of land mines, one after another that kept me away from it (and the world) for months. Then the lockdown started. When I managed to find my footing, I threw everything I had into writing it. Delving into Vimika and Aurelai's relationship saved me. I get emotional just thinking about it, because within the threads of their story is the context in which it was written, and the two are inextricably tied together forever for me.

I can't be objective about this book. No author can about any of their work, really, but this book in particular has a shard of my soul in it bigger than any other, and I simply cannot separate my emotions from it. I needed to write this book, and when the final draft was finished, I was happier than I have been in well over a year. Getting here has been incredibly difficult for me, and I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I am very proud of the end result.

All of this is also why I decided to simply release it with no fanfare. Now that Midnight Magic is out there in the world, and people are getting to know Vimika and Aurelai, it feels like a dark chapter in my life has closed. It's out. It's free.

In Remember, November, I wrote: "To chase the bright light of hope so far through pitch darkness only to find out it was a train coming the other way had left many willing to simply lay down and let it run them over."

I'm happy to say that I didn't. I wrote a funny little kissing book about women with pointed ears and resilient hearts who love one another, and now it's out there in the world for all to enjoy. I managed to perform the ultimate emotional alchemy of turning my pain into joy. And if no one reads it, that's okay. If people don't like it, that's okay.

Because I did it.

Midnight Magic makes me happy, and it still makes me cry. I love my little book, and I sincerely hope that you will, too. It's already rescued me from darkness, and in a world that has gone decidedly dim, perhaps it can be a light for you, as well. All I ask is that you give it a chance.

But if you don't, that's okay, too. It exists.

And so do I.

Surprise!

I'm sorry I haven't been around, I've been going through some personal stuff. But I am back now, and first off, let me say happy Pride Month to all of my readers, I hope you are staying safe.

Second, my new book is out! After dealing with some issues, I decided to just release it spur of the moment for everyone to enjoy right now! It's called Midnight Magic, and it's my first standalone novel. More of a romance than the Ashes books, and much shorter! I call it a comedic fantasy romance, all three of which many of us could do with more of at the moment, I think.

I will have more on the book itself and what went into it later, but I just wanted to let you know that it's out, and I am immensely proud of it.

Take care, and thank you for supporting me in this long gap between books. I hope you find the results worth it.

More to come!

Edit: My 100th blog post! Huzzah for serendipity!

Please Hold

For all that I tried to make sure I minded my Ps and Qs, I stumbled at the goal line. An issue has come up on the distribution end, and until it is resolved, please consider my new book unannounced. This was completely unexpected and I am heartbroken. I guess this is why you shouldn't make announcements until things are 100% locked down. I will hopefully be back with happier news when this is worked out, and will be able to chalk this up as a learning experience.

Edit: Deleted the previous post.

I Heart Lesfic Mega Sale!

From today until May 22, the website I Heart Lesfic is having their spring mega sale. Over a hundred authors are participating (including me!), spread out over five pages, so I'm sure you'll find something you like at a very nice price. There are quite a few freebies in there, too!

Here's the link to page five, with all the fantasy books, including Remember, November, but there are lots of other genres on the other pages.

Happy Reading!

It's SO CLOSE!

I want to keep to a regular upload schedule for you, but this new book is so close to being done I have nothing else I can talk about. But every week some new gremlin pops up to keep me from picking a release date, which is what I really want to share with you.

One of the reasons I haven't published a book for so long was the catastrophic launch of Hall of Mirrors, and I don't want that to happen again. I'm minding many more Ps and Qs this time to prevent that, but doing it right takes time. More than I thought, so please bear with me a little longer.

So how close is it? One more round of feedback, then final edits.

That's how close.

Oh, and the description. I have to figure out how to explain it to you. Let's try:

'Funny, sweet, pointy ears, floppy hats, magic and some kissy bits.'

There, done! Or not. Could use some polish. Maybe an exclamation point. Back to work!

Busy Week!

Sorry about no post last week. But I have lots to show for my distraction!

One of the things about doing almost everything yourself is that you have to learn how to do stuff... yourself. I learned a lot about under-the-hood Amazon stuff, and spent a lot of time learning GIMP.

The best news is that the new book has a name and the cover is done! But no release date, so no reveal just yet. I should be getting some edits back soon, and then I can think about when it will be out. When I know, I will happily gush all of that information here and on Twitter all at once. I want to, believe me. I haven't published a book in over a year, and resetting that clock is something I have been looking forward to. It hurts not getting work out (i.e. done), and this last gap more than any.

I really want the launch of this new book to go well, so I'm doing a lot to get ready, time I can't spend here. And I know you want real info beyond the fact the info exists. I want you to have it, just a little while more!

Telegraphing vs. Foreshadowing

Got my first round of feedback on Untitled Funny Fantasy Romance novel (formerly known as HCH), and good news! The patient is healthy. It needs a name and a cover, but the hardest (writing) work is all done.

But getting that feedback highlighted one of the thorniest problems for me (and probably a lot of writers): the fine line between foreshadowing and telegraphing. Foreshadowing is good, and necessary in some cases. Things don't pay off unless you set them up first. You have to hint at things to come, but you can't just hang a big sign saying THIS HAPPENS NEXT. That's boring, and completely unrewarding. But you can't be too subtle, otherwise you haven't actually done anything, and things feel cheap and unearned.

Finding that line, for me, is one of the single most valuable pieces of feedback I get from having other people read my work before it's "done." I know all the answers before I even write them down, so it's very, very difficult to thread the needle of how much information I dole out as the story goes along. It doesn't have to be a twist or a mystery, either, just setting up pieces, giving the main character the tools she needs to resolve the climax in a satisfying way that feels natural and cathartic.

When it works, it's wonderful. When it doesn't, you might have to audit the whole story line by line.

Thankfully, so far, it's been wonderful. Lots more to do, but I feel the book is in a good place. Given the state of the world, and things that have happened in my life in the process of writing it, this one means a lot, and I'm really excited to get it in your hands (and eyeballs).

The Forest for the Trees

Please forgive me for banging on about the joys of writing shorter novels. It's genuinely... novel... to me, and a bit of a revelation.

So, to pull the curtain back a bit, I keep a log of everything I get done in a day writing-wise. Word count, major changes, draft number, etc, and being able to see that I finished an entire editing pass in two days is crazy for me. I actually thought that I'd missed a day. It's great!

Now, editing can be difficult. There's a lot of details to keep track of, a ton of choices that have to be made, so it can take a while. But sometimes going fast helps. Reading it the way my readers read it, that is, straight through without stopping to change things, I pick up a lot of things I miss on earlier passes. Like, oh, I established that already (or forgot to), I've used that word fifty times, the tone of these two back to back scenes doesn't work at all, things like that. Sometimes you have to go fast, to keep as much of the book as possible in your head so you can see the patterns and habits you couldn't when you were lost inside individual parts.

But you're never going to get all of it, so feedback is also important. If you're writing a novel, you will not see certain things. Things you didn't know you were doing, or didn't do at all. Sure, you feel like an idiot when something obvious gets pointed out, but you swallow your pride and make the book better. That's all that matters.

It's a process, and one that I am coming to appreciate more over shorter timescales. A process that feels more like progress, and has left me feeling better than I have in months.