The Returning…

It has been a whirlwind of a year already…

January saw me returning to New Zealand to support my family. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but all is now well. Still that is where the month went.

Then comes February. I went into the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee with a fabulous collection of writers. This is the second year of Smoky Mountain writers, organised by the fabulous Alex White. It was a week of excellent food, plenty of time to write, and beautiful views.

I worked on Immortal Progeny, the rather epic new series of gods and monsters fighting for supremacy, and three sisters caught in the middle of it all. This was the story I started last year, and it has been a slippery beast. However, after a week in the Smokys with me, the story decided to behave itself, and now I am about 40,000 words away from finishing it.

I also finished three chapters and a synopsis of a series, tentatively titled Primordium (thanks for the suggestion Starla Huchton!). This is set in the same world as Geist. Honestly, I thought I might have been done with that world, but then around Christmas my brain woke me up with a bunch of cool ideas. Suddenly I was catapulted back five hundred years into the world of the geists, the geistlords, and the Order. A young woman terrified the new things she can see. An older grieving mother trying to warn the world of the dangers. A whole new continent of wonders and dangers.

Immediately, those stories obsessed me, and in the Smoky Mountains, I was able to get out the first three chapters. Now sent off to the agent, I am looking forward to returning to that world to finish the novel.

For now I am working on Immortal Progeny, then the YA Ministry Seven novel, and then returning back to Hollywood.

The retreat was a great way to start the year, and the Smoky Mountains certainly inspirational.