What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop, thought up by sisters Jamie Morrow and Erin L. Funk. Visit their websites to find out how to get involved!
(nb: Official WUW is on vacation for the 24th and 31st, but I’m still here =)
What I’m reading – Quite a few things, actually. Have started a new cozy series, the Haunted Guesthouse Series by EJ Copperman. Cozies are my go-to when I just want something fun and unchallenging. The problem is that you have to wade through a lot of dreck before you find one that’s worth reading. These are pretty good. Have just finished Jordan L. Hawk’s existing Griffin & Whyborne books, and am looking forward to the next one coming in 2015. Finished off the Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey. It’s very different from the books that came before, and people seem very divided about it. I thought it was the best of the bunch.
What I’m writing (+ goal)- This has been the Year of Short Projects. Right now I’m working on a novella set in 1894 in Coastal California. It’s going to be the first in a series of lighthearted ghost-chasing stories that center on California supernatural legends. This one concerns the Dark Watchers of the Santa Lucia Mountains.
I’m also plotting out some short mystery stories featuring some of the characters from the Ira Adler stories. Bess Lazarus has one, for example, and possibly Jack Flip.
What works for me – I’m experimenting with length. Fool’s Gold was a good 118,000 words, and each one was essential. However, I’m wondering if people might be more willing to buy a few 100-page ebooks that each cost a fraction of what a single 500-page novel would cost. The royalties are significantly higher for ebooks as well. Puts in mind the serial format in the 19th century. Money aside, though, it’s also giving me room to explore the huge number of stories that I have, until this point, outlined and set aside “for later.”
What else is new- Turnbull House has been getting some nice attention. It was named one of the Best of 2014 by The Novel Approach, and was a runner-up for a Rainbow Award. Fool’s Gold is set for release on April 1.
Sold a story to Mischief Corner Books entitled “About a Dog.” It’s an Amy Archer mystery set in 1940s LA, and concerns a little lost dog and a lizard man from the Shufelt Tunnel. It should be coming out in their second quarterly ‘zine, I imagine in the summer sometime.
The Death and a Cup of Tea anthology has had some hiccups, but hopefully it will be coming out soon.
Oh, and I’ve also acquired one of these. Yes, it’s as much fun as it looks =)
Happy New Year!
Jess
Jess Faraday 