Writing Book 3 of The Azellian Affairs

One of the joys of writing is the exploration. My writing is organic, unfolding in a vivid tapestry of ideas, characters and discovery. I uncover my world as my readers do, finding the story within, taking it step-by-step toward a finished product - sometimes misstepping (okay, often misstepping) - so that I have to start all over again. 

And that leads us to the challenges of writing the way I do. My stories are organic, so they morph and change as I do, and I never quite know what is going to happen when I sit down to write. My editor helps by sensing into the story with me, pointing at places the story isn’t quite solid, or might be heading off into directions that just don’t work right. She has a sixth sense about it, and though sometimes, it’s difficult to accept that she might have called out something I didn’t even sense (something I may not have wanted to sense), I usually come around and the story is stronger for the re-write. 

Still, when I am facing the third re-write of a story in which I had thought was done, I take a deep breath and close my eyes —several breaths, actually— to regain my center. As I do, I realize that she is correct, yet again. The story wants to say something that I am struggling with. Something that I haven’t wanted to share or talk about, yet is critically important for Tamara’s story arc as a hero, and for the arc of the higher series as a whole. 

When will book 3 be ready? I don’t know, honestly. This part of the story is not mechanical and will not be rushed. But I do know that the story that bubbles inside, the story that is being born now, is a powerful, deeply personal story that will be something I’ve never written before. Will it be worth the wait? Yes! But, in the end, I can only follow what is unfolding in my heart and onto the page. I listen for the characters’ voices and hope I can do justice to what they whisper about their lives. And in the process, I learn about compassion and patience with myself, with the story and with others. In that way, my stories become truly a part of me, and what I am learning to live myself.