I am excited to report that
I’m currently putting the final touches on the second novel in my Clubmobile
Girls series (look for a cover reveal on Diary of an Eccentric: Writings of an Eccentric Bookworm next week and on my social media thereafter).
So while many of us are
experiencing trouble summoning our creative muse or focusing generally (count
me in both camps), the tedium of inputting line edits provided the perfect (and
productive) distraction from the news and my worries. I received my line edits
in late February just as everyday life began to shut down for many of us. Aha! Line edits: this I can focus on. With far less to
do in my other lines of work than typical, I was able to turn those edits back to my editor
much more quickly than might have been normally the case, and now I’m putting
in the final round of line edits/copyedits.
Wonderful, right? Well, this
past week, I dusted off the various components of front matter and back matter
Word documents from my first novel so they would be ready to go with the
manuscript to my formatter this week. Publication pages for both print and
e-book, a dedication page, a quotation page, reviews/praise for the first book,
the call to action (plea for reviews/ratings), the author’s historical note,
the acknowledgments section . . . and then, I realized what I did not have at all: a teaser chapter for the next
book in the series. Oops.
I spent a few days convinced
that I could dash off at least a first scene, if not a full-fledged chapter. I
know the third book will take place in India! But, no, wait, it might end up being in Burma. Okay, but
if the heroine arrives in early 1943, she won’t go straight to Burma, which was
then under Japanese control, so I can still show her arrival in India. Sure,
that seems reasonable. So, will I open with her stepping off the ship into the
steamy streets of Bombay? Wait, did the troopships dock in Bombay at all or
only Karachi or Calcutta? I don’t know. The back-and-forth with myself, as I
say, went on for a couple of days last week.
Panic eventually gave way to
reason. I’m not going to have a teaser chapter by next week (or even by next
month when the book officially releases), and I just have to make my peace with
that. Rather than hastily throwing something together that might ultimately
have to be scrapped entirely, I think it makes more sense to just eliminate
that stress from my writing life in these trying times.
I may write a short note to
my readers explaining that I spend several months reading widely and deeply
about the theater of the war in which my novel will be set before I begin any
writing at all. I have read all the available Red Cross Girl memoirs from the
China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater, but I now will turn to exploring online oral
histories that will shed more light on the experiences of the ARC staff in
these remote and challenging locations. And I’ve truly only begun the reading
that will bear on the hero’s story. So .
. . no teaser chapter.
As many of us are noting
on this blog, this is a good time to simply be kind to yourself and to others
around you. We’re all dealing with much more than the ordinary stress, so there’s
no point making things worse on that score. I hope all of you are taking time
to get some fresh air each day, relax as you can, and spend time with your
family and friends, whether physically in your household or virtually. Take
care everyone!
Learn
more about me and my writing on my website, and you can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Remember, you can check these sites later next week to see the cover and read the sales blurb for my second novel in the series.
You can purchase my debut novel
through the links below.
Amazon US
~ Amazon UK
~ Amazon CA
~ Amazon AU
~ Google ~ Nook
~ Kobo
5 comments:
Eleri, I think writing about your research process for Book 3 is a perfect "teaser." I love the highway pictures - laughed out loud! Yes, lol is faster but sometimes I just like to see the words!
Thanks Judith! That meme really resonated with where I am mentally with this 3rd book -- LOL
Eleri, I love your idea of the note to readers about your research process. I always read those end notes in historical fiction.
i agree with Judith and Luanna. The note to readers about research for your next book will work in place of a teaser chapter. Burma, India - WOW!
The book sounds absolutely fascinating. I also agree with others that you have a treasure trove of things to share with your readers. Pick one of your favorites or most interesting oral histories you find and share the link. Share a picture of red cross girls in those days. Share a brief funny anecdote you came across. Lots and lots of things to share as you work to get to the writing.
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