Ahhh, that new project smell

So, I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone with this one. On my last project (the Sydney/Sidney early reader chapter book series set to be released by Stone Arch Books in 2012) I didn't blog about it until after the ink had dried on the contract. I've always been a bit (OK, a lot) superstitious and I never want to jinx anything. As the kids go back to school and my summer break ends, I'm starting up a new early reader chapter book series and have decided to blog about the process from the writing, editing, and searching for a publisher/literary agent to (hopefully) getting it published.

The new series revolves around Olive Jooce a six-year old who lives in River City above her parent's candy store, The Sugar Shack. Unlike her older sister, Penny, Olive is a self-described 'scaredy-cat' who is timid and unsure when it comes to trying new things. With the help of her imaginary friend Alice, Olive learns to overcome her fears and enjoy life's little adventures. The series is geared toward readers aged 5 – 9.

In book one Olive is afraid of losing her tooth. It's not the pain she's worried about it's the tooth fairy visiting her in the middle of the night while she's sleeping! Try as she might to keep that tooth in her head, it does fall out and Olive must face her fear. In spite of her sister Penny's teasing, and with Alice's help, Olive prevails. In fact, she is so pleased with her gift from the tooth fairy she can't wait to lose the rest of her baby teeth!

I've been getting into the rhythm of writing daily and am about 1/3 of the way through book one. When I hit the 3/4 mark, I'll start brainstorming ideas for the next book in the series. When I complete and polish book one, I'll get to work on a query letter to send out to potential agents and publishers. Just thinking about sending out query letters makes my heart beat faster so for now I'll just keep plugging away at book one.

I hope you'll join me on this little adventure. Writing can be such a long and lonely process and I'd appreciate any and all encouragement!