Quirk Book Update

I realize it's been a while since I've posted. Time flies when you're busy! I've been itching to give an update on my middle grade novel for Quirk Books, but it's a little tricky as the project is still under wraps at the moment. I can't wait to reveal the title, which I believe will happen very soon!

Buuuuut here's a little hint in the meantime ;) :

As I mentioned previously, I'm collaborating with illustrator and designer, Will Staehle, and we have a phone meeting set up with Quirk's marketing team next week. I'm looking forward to this because it means we're going to start the process of book-promotion before long! Woo!

The manuscript is just about done and ready to go to - after cranking out the first draft during NaNoWriMo, I've been spending the last few months doing revisions. The downside of rushing to complete an entire novel in the span of a month means that it isn't going to be perfect. It also means MANY revisions/tweaks are needed to transform it from a first-draft to a polished manuscript fit for publication.

I've going back and forth with Quirk publisher/editor/man-of-many-hats, Jason Rekulak, to make the story as tight as possible. This has been my first time working with an editor who is so hands on, and it's been a wonderful learning experience. Jason is a writer and author as well, so his insights have been really valuable. It actually reminds me of being in a writing group, which I was until recently (sadly, it disbanded because, life).

There's still been the pressure of a time crunch because Will is going to need as much time as possible to do his portion of the book if we want this to be released on schedule. You see, it won't just be a novel with a few spot illustrations - this is going to be a really cool looking book with a unique interior design and lots of art! If you look through some of Will's other design projects, you'll have some idea of what he's capable of! But Will can't get fully started on his art and design duties until the text is 100% complete - and we're very, very close! The final manuscript should be wrapped up within the next week or so!

Watch this space, because once we get going with marketing and promotion I'll be able to post a lot more! I can't wait to share more of this project with you guys! :D