Isabel Murray's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-update"
A late summer update!
It's still technically summer (for another couple of weeks anyway), but here in the UK, I'm seeing signs of approaching autumn. There are apples on the trees and berries in the hedgerows, and even though the days are still (mostly) hot and sunny, the early mornings when I sit out with my coffee and notebook have a bit of a nip to them. Anyway, since it's mid-August, I thought that now would be a good time to post a quick update on my publishing plans for the rest of the year!
Right now I'm in the middle of writing a full-length contemporary romcom, and I'm hoping to have that out towards the beginning of next year.
Before then, I have a couple of shorter stories that I've decided to put up on Amazon.
They're both cosy slice-of-life/after-the-HEA stories featuring Erik and Sayan, the main characters from The Naiad's Gift, which means they're low-angst fantasy romance rather than romcoms.
One is a novelette at about 11 000 words, in which Sayan gets dramatic about Erik leaving him while he visits the city, and then gets even more dramatic about it when Erik comes home. The other is a novella that is currently around 20 000 words, in which Sayan is determined to teach Erik how to swim, whether Erik likes it or not (he doesn't.)
I'll be publishing the novelette in September, and the novella is looking like October/November. Whenever I do release them, I'll post a quick update here on Goodreads to let anyone who's interested know!
Right now I'm in the middle of writing a full-length contemporary romcom, and I'm hoping to have that out towards the beginning of next year.
Before then, I have a couple of shorter stories that I've decided to put up on Amazon.
They're both cosy slice-of-life/after-the-HEA stories featuring Erik and Sayan, the main characters from The Naiad's Gift, which means they're low-angst fantasy romance rather than romcoms.
One is a novelette at about 11 000 words, in which Sayan gets dramatic about Erik leaving him while he visits the city, and then gets even more dramatic about it when Erik comes home. The other is a novella that is currently around 20 000 words, in which Sayan is determined to teach Erik how to swim, whether Erik likes it or not (he doesn't.)
I'll be publishing the novelette in September, and the novella is looking like October/November. Whenever I do release them, I'll post a quick update here on Goodreads to let anyone who's interested know!
Some details about my latest romcom
At the beginning of October, I mentioned that I'd just finished writing the first draft of a new contemporary romcom. Today, I'm sharing a few more details!
The book is called Not That Ridiculous, and it's book three in the Not That series.
The main characters in this one are Charlie Galloway, the grumpy barista from The Chipped Cup coffee shop, and, uh. Kevin.
You remember Kevin? The handyman who found a certain something under the floorboards in Ray's bedroom in Not That Complicated? No?
Okay, maybe Kevin isn't the most obvious match for Charlie. Charlie would be the first to agree with you there, even though he's been in love with Kevin for a few years now.
Not that he has any intention of letting Kevin--or anyone, ever--know about his inconvenient feelings.
What would be the point? Kevin is young, friendly, and straight. Charlie is worn out, doesn't like people, and is very much not straight.
Except, there's a lot more to Kevin than meets the eye, and Charlie is about to find out how very wrong he's been.
This story is set a few years after Not That Complicated and Not That Impossible, and I'm wading into the edits. I'm hoping to publish in February/March next year. Is it too soon to post a little snippet? Maybe? I'm doing it anyway!
Not That Ridiculous
A little snippet
Kevin came back up the drive with a tool belt slung over his shoulder and a large toolbox in one hand. He set the toolbox on the doorstep and straightened, staring at me as he slid the belt off his shoulder, slung it around his hips, and buckled it. Slowly. Lingeringly.
“What is this, a reverse striptease?” I said, trying to cover the fact that my breathing had sped up.
“I’m just standing here putting my tool belt on, Charlie,” he said. “Why? Is it turning you on?”
“Nope.” Only because watching him bend over and get his toolbox out of the back of his Land Cruiser had already done the job. I reached out and unpoppered one of the little pouches hanging from the belt. “What on earth do you even need all of these for, anyway?”
“Bits and bobs,” he said. He wrapped his long fingers around my wrist, but not to stop me investigating or to pull me away. Just to hold me.
He liked to hold me.
The book is called Not That Ridiculous, and it's book three in the Not That series.
The main characters in this one are Charlie Galloway, the grumpy barista from The Chipped Cup coffee shop, and, uh. Kevin.
You remember Kevin? The handyman who found a certain something under the floorboards in Ray's bedroom in Not That Complicated? No?
Okay, maybe Kevin isn't the most obvious match for Charlie. Charlie would be the first to agree with you there, even though he's been in love with Kevin for a few years now.
Not that he has any intention of letting Kevin--or anyone, ever--know about his inconvenient feelings.
What would be the point? Kevin is young, friendly, and straight. Charlie is worn out, doesn't like people, and is very much not straight.
Except, there's a lot more to Kevin than meets the eye, and Charlie is about to find out how very wrong he's been.
This story is set a few years after Not That Complicated and Not That Impossible, and I'm wading into the edits. I'm hoping to publish in February/March next year. Is it too soon to post a little snippet? Maybe? I'm doing it anyway!
Not That Ridiculous
A little snippet
Kevin came back up the drive with a tool belt slung over his shoulder and a large toolbox in one hand. He set the toolbox on the doorstep and straightened, staring at me as he slid the belt off his shoulder, slung it around his hips, and buckled it. Slowly. Lingeringly.
“What is this, a reverse striptease?” I said, trying to cover the fact that my breathing had sped up.
“I’m just standing here putting my tool belt on, Charlie,” he said. “Why? Is it turning you on?”
“Nope.” Only because watching him bend over and get his toolbox out of the back of his Land Cruiser had already done the job. I reached out and unpoppered one of the little pouches hanging from the belt. “What on earth do you even need all of these for, anyway?”
“Bits and bobs,” he said. He wrapped his long fingers around my wrist, but not to stop me investigating or to pull me away. Just to hold me.
He liked to hold me.
A tiny snippet from Not That Ridiculous, and I'm on Bluesky!
It’s far too late to be saying Happy New Year, so I’ll just say Happy Friday instead—the weekend is almost here, and since this week seems to have lasted a decade already, it's more than welcome!
I’ve been popping onto Goodreads to post the occasional blog for a year now, and at the beginning of December, I joined Bluesky (here I am!). It took about a month to actually get going and post anything over there, and I'm still figuring it out 😆. I know there's technically a way I'm supposed to do it as an author but, eh. At the moment I'm just randomly following accounts that catch my eye and posting writing stuff every now and then. 🤷🏻♀️
I'm also posting the odd snippet, like this one from the upcoming Not That Ridiculous:
“Tomorrow, Charlie, I’m going to come into your coffee shop like always. Only tomorrow, you’re going to know the whole time that I’m thinking about this. About you. About doing this to you.”
I finished another draft of Not That Ridiculous this week, and next week I'll be moving into the copyediting phase.
It's finally starting to feel like a book and not just a document sitting on my computer!
Isabel 😁
I’ve been popping onto Goodreads to post the occasional blog for a year now, and at the beginning of December, I joined Bluesky (here I am!). It took about a month to actually get going and post anything over there, and I'm still figuring it out 😆. I know there's technically a way I'm supposed to do it as an author but, eh. At the moment I'm just randomly following accounts that catch my eye and posting writing stuff every now and then. 🤷🏻♀️
I'm also posting the odd snippet, like this one from the upcoming Not That Ridiculous:
“Tomorrow, Charlie, I’m going to come into your coffee shop like always. Only tomorrow, you’re going to know the whole time that I’m thinking about this. About you. About doing this to you.”
I finished another draft of Not That Ridiculous this week, and next week I'll be moving into the copyediting phase.
It's finally starting to feel like a book and not just a document sitting on my computer!
Isabel 😁
A spring update and a new paperback
It's almost the middle of April, which means it's about time for a quick update blog post!
Available now
I released the paperback edition of Not That Ridiculous earlier this week. If you like a physical keeper copy of your books, you can find it on Amazon here:
Amazon US
Amazon CA
Amazon DE
Amazon UK
Or search ASIN: B0F42NWYF3
What I'm working on
I'm currently in the middle of editing a novella from my Immortal Bonds series. It's very character-driven and about as low-angst as you can get, just a tender (and hot) little story set during Erik and Sayan's first spring together, with Sayan teaching Erik to swim and Erik teaching Sayan how to trust. I'm not sure yet when I'll release it, but I'm thinking it'll be some time this spring/early summer.
(If you want to follow me somewhere other than Goodreads to get notified when I do publish it, check out some options on my fancy new links page: https://isabelmurray.carrd.co)
What I'm writing
As for what I'm writing, I'm at that exciting place where I have a handful of stories all jumping up and down for my attention. I'm adding a little bit here and a little bit there, waiting for one story to get loud, at which point I'll go for it. It's not the most strategic way to choose my projects as an author but, eh. 🤷🏻♀️ It's the way it goes for me.
Wrapping up
I'm still over on Bluesky, testing out the social media waters. I even made a little video for Kevin and Charlie, which was both a lot of fun and an excellent way to avoid doing all the other (more important) things on my todo list. 😆 I feel like I really levelled up my procrastination skills with that one.
I hope that you're enjoying the season, wherever you are in the world! Happy reading,
Isabel 😁
Available now
I released the paperback edition of Not That Ridiculous earlier this week. If you like a physical keeper copy of your books, you can find it on Amazon here:
Amazon US
Amazon CA
Amazon DE
Amazon UK
Or search ASIN: B0F42NWYF3
What I'm working on
I'm currently in the middle of editing a novella from my Immortal Bonds series. It's very character-driven and about as low-angst as you can get, just a tender (and hot) little story set during Erik and Sayan's first spring together, with Sayan teaching Erik to swim and Erik teaching Sayan how to trust. I'm not sure yet when I'll release it, but I'm thinking it'll be some time this spring/early summer.
(If you want to follow me somewhere other than Goodreads to get notified when I do publish it, check out some options on my fancy new links page: https://isabelmurray.carrd.co)
What I'm writing
As for what I'm writing, I'm at that exciting place where I have a handful of stories all jumping up and down for my attention. I'm adding a little bit here and a little bit there, waiting for one story to get loud, at which point I'll go for it. It's not the most strategic way to choose my projects as an author but, eh. 🤷🏻♀️ It's the way it goes for me.
Wrapping up
I'm still over on Bluesky, testing out the social media waters. I even made a little video for Kevin and Charlie, which was both a lot of fun and an excellent way to avoid doing all the other (more important) things on my todo list. 😆 I feel like I really levelled up my procrastination skills with that one.
I hope that you're enjoying the season, wherever you are in the world! Happy reading,
Isabel 😁
A July update
I'm posting updates over on my website now, as well as here on Goodreads!
(...okay, I've done it once so far 😆)
Anyway, here's what I posted today:
**THE NAIAD'S LOVER**
My new release is due out very soon, and I'm pretty excited about it, even though it's a quiet one. The Immortal Bonds series won't appeal to readers who are looking for a laugh, but working on it was a great change of pace after writing a big romcom ( Not That Ridiculous ), and I have a soft spot for the world-weary Erik and his drama queen immortal beloved, Sayan.
Which isn't saying much, really, because I have a soft spot for all of my characters. 😆
I'll post the cover and blurb etc once it's up on Amazon. Until then, here's one of those trope thingys:
❤️ mortal/immortal
❤️ age gap (thousands of years)
❤️ size difference (👀)
❤️ hurt/comfort
❤️ possessiveness
And here's a little snippet:
“You’re not angry at me for it?” Sayan said.
I pulled him in and kissed his uncertain pout. “No.”
“Even though I wanted to take the boy out to the middle of my lake and leave him there?”
“You wanted to but you didn’t.” Thank the gods.
He snorted. “I wanted to very much, Erik.”
“Why? Because he touched me? That doesn’t mean anything to me. No one’s touch means anything to me. No one’s but yours.”
(...okay, I've done it once so far 😆)
Anyway, here's what I posted today:
**THE NAIAD'S LOVER**
My new release is due out very soon, and I'm pretty excited about it, even though it's a quiet one. The Immortal Bonds series won't appeal to readers who are looking for a laugh, but working on it was a great change of pace after writing a big romcom ( Not That Ridiculous ), and I have a soft spot for the world-weary Erik and his drama queen immortal beloved, Sayan.
Which isn't saying much, really, because I have a soft spot for all of my characters. 😆
I'll post the cover and blurb etc once it's up on Amazon. Until then, here's one of those trope thingys:
❤️ mortal/immortal
❤️ age gap (thousands of years)
❤️ size difference (👀)
❤️ hurt/comfort
❤️ possessiveness
And here's a little snippet:
“You’re not angry at me for it?” Sayan said.
I pulled him in and kissed his uncertain pout. “No.”
“Even though I wanted to take the boy out to the middle of my lake and leave him there?”
“You wanted to but you didn’t.” Thank the gods.
He snorted. “I wanted to very much, Erik.”
“Why? Because he touched me? That doesn’t mean anything to me. No one’s touch means anything to me. No one’s but yours.”
A quick autumn update, and a novella coming soon...
Last time I mentioned the
Catch and Release
novella sequel was back in July (I think?), when it was a recently completed first draft.
It's been through quite a few more drafts since then. 😆
I've got a title. I've got a cover. I've (almost) got a blurb. I've also got two options for the series name, and I'm pretty sure I know which one I'm going with. I'm saving the decision on that for some time closer to publication day.
...which is coming very soon!
I'll pop a release blog up once it's live, along with the blurb and links.
Until then, Catch of a Lifetime is 35 000 words of Dave and Joe (and Jerry), and you can expect some hurt/comfort, some helpless yearning, a pinch of drama, an octopus, a lot of fish, and a love that was meant to be.
Isabel 😁
It's been through quite a few more drafts since then. 😆
I've got a title. I've got a cover. I've (almost) got a blurb. I've also got two options for the series name, and I'm pretty sure I know which one I'm going with. I'm saving the decision on that for some time closer to publication day.
...which is coming very soon!
I'll pop a release blog up once it's live, along with the blurb and links.
Until then, Catch of a Lifetime is 35 000 words of Dave and Joe (and Jerry), and you can expect some hurt/comfort, some helpless yearning, a pinch of drama, an octopus, a lot of fish, and a love that was meant to be.
Isabel 😁
