In The Name Of Progress

Here's a quick update for those of you interested in knowing more about the details of my Journey to Publication.

Short Stories

Disc Love

I recently submitted this fast-paced tale of Ultimate Frisbee glory to a new online woman's outdoor magazine. Fingers crossed!

About Face

I'm (hopefully) in the final stages of a series of edits and critiques for this story about a woman who struggles against a purposeless life and a unique disability. I'd like to start submitting it by the end of September.

The Secret Lives of Mushrooms

As I composed this story about a group of girls who learn some hard adult truths in my head, I managed to miss my exit on the way to my orthodontist appointment! I just finished the first draft of this one, but I'm still a little iffy about the whole thing. I really like the title and the first line: "In the beginning, our gang numbered three: Lillian the beautiful, Mia the strong, and me, Kay the wise." Maybe I just need to let it stew for a while.

Books

The Hidden Land of Gre

This has been my main project for the last seven or so months. I'm simply amazed that I've made it to 55,000 words on my first novel! I'm guessing that I have about 10,000 words and a month of writing left to go. The book did surprise me recently, though - it decided to turn into a series! Here's a quick teaser of a synopsis:

A girl named Elish from the Hidden Land of Gre, along with the boy Cade whom she kidnaps from our world of Lume, must fight to find the source of a secret curse that will mean the end of the Greling race.

Lueil's Lyre

This fairytale appeared on my blog a few months ago. I'm partnering with Konstantinos Tsiopanos, who is working on the illustrations for the story (along with concept art for The Hidden Land of Gre). I've considered submitting it to agents once the illustrations are complete, but posting it on my blog triggers the "previously published" switch, which doesn't appeal to all publishers. Alternately, I'll look into independent publishing.

Nonfiction

India Travel - More Than Meets The Eye

An article about some of the safety issues you'll come across when traveling in India, based on my trip there a couple of years ago. For submission to a travel magazine.

Upcoming

I'm still wondering whether or not to participate in the National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. Nanowrimo) this November. I should be done with The Hidden Land of Gre by then, and ready to start the next novel in the series. Probably won't be a bad idea to give the first draft of Gre a rest before I get to editing. Still... 50,000 words in one month?! That's almost 2,000 words a day! I can get in up to 500 words first thing in the morning, and 500-1000 before I go to sleep, but with a day job 2000 words will be a struggle. Then again, it will be good practice for the real life of a professional author. We'll see!