JM Kearl’s UPDATE 12/6/24
Hello, my bookish friends! It’s been too long since I did an update. I’ve been busy with writing Elf Queen 4 and dealing with low iron and thyroid issues again! Ugh. I’ll be getting iron IV’s next week and hopefully will get more energy!
On the writing front, things are going well. I have most of book 4 written (except the ending chapters, although I know how it will end) and I’m working on edits! My beta readers/editors are starting to read and then, you guessed it, more edits!
My writing process starts with some outlining, like major plot points that will happen and character arcs. Then a messy first draft where I just write. I don’t think about each sentence, I’m simply getting the story down. Most of which is just discovered as I go.
Through this process I will figure out details that I missed the first time (which usually happens while I’m laying in bed or out and about.) An idea will suddenly strike and I’ll go back to add those scenes or fix plot holes. This happens over several months.
I will add several chapters that weren’t there in the first draft and sometimes cut scenes as well.
I usually don’t write the climax or the ending until I’ve figured out all the plot holes so the ending gets written last.
I will again go back and look at sentence structures and prose. I’ll add more “feeling” to certain areas, it could be descriptions, how the characters feel etc.
My beta readers/editor will then start reading for story, plot holes, flow and reader satisfaction. They make comments and suggestions and I go back again to make more edits and changes.
For instance, originally in book 3 it was a dragon guarding the deep underground Drakonan Treasury where Layala must get her journals, not gargoyles. My beta suggested it was too cliche and felt too close to Harry Potter, which I agreed, so I changed it.
Once they’re done, and I’ve made edits based off suggestions, I will read it again, this time looking at how it all flows as an overall story. Like how I would read it as a reader. I add any last details and make my final changes.
Once I’m satisfied it gets sent to my proofreader who finds as many typos and errors as possible! When she sends it back I go over it again fixing the typos then send it to her again to format it and get it ready for ARC’s!
I’m still anticipating a January 29th release but there is a chance it will have to be pushed back a month or so to make sure proofreading is done and there’s time for ARCs to go out a couple weeks early.
If it’s not absolute perfection, it will be delayed. It’s the last book and it has to be spectacular of course! This is why I have not put up a preorder yet.
Bookmas Holiday Sale!
I finally got my signed book store open on my website! (its still a work in progress so I only have a few items on there right now.) BUT I’m running a Holiday Sale for the Allied Kingdoms Academy special omnibus edition! It includes all 4 books in the AKA series and is $10 off until December 12 or while supplies last!
I have a very limited number of signed hardback bundles of the Elf Queen books. When I say limited I mean there are only 10 bundles. It comes with character art prints, sticker and bookmark!
Visit my website jmkearl.com (a whole new design! i love it!!) and click SHOP!
*What to read while you wait*
Great series from my friend Melissa Roehrich! Book 3 in The Legacy Series: Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance recently released!
From book 1 Rain of Shadows and Endings
Tessalyn Asura was as forgotten as the realm. But when she finds herself the personal Source to the Heir of Endings, she winds up serving in the darkest Kingdom of them all . The secrets within the Arius Kingdom are meant to be learned and kept, but this was never the life she wanted. Fighting not only the fate thrust upon her, but the temptation to lose herself to desire, Tessa will do anything to escape her new destiny. Until she starts to realize maybe their world wasn’t as forgotten as they thought, and maybe she’s the reason why…
Between Life & Death by Jaclyn Kot
On the secluded continent of Edenvale, possessing magic is a death sentence. Those who have it are labelled Cursed, and by order of the king, they are Cleansed—a horrific event utilizing a hot, hungry pyre and an iron collar. Enemy to the king, a group known as the Cursed rebels defend their lands from his reach, creating an ongoing, bloodthirsty war.
When Sage’s brother is conscripted for the war, she is forced to trade in her cozy, peaceful cottage life and join the Cursed rebels to get him back. Her mission seems straightforward, but Von, the leader of the Cursed rebels, comes riddled with dark secrets. With his otherworldly eyes, black as a starless night, and a taste for juicy thigh—ahem—red apples, Sage knows better than to get involved with a guy like him. But knowing and doing are two very different things.
Together with the Cursed rebels and Von, the king of inky deals and sexy, stolen moments, Sage embarks on the quest of a lifetime.
Little does she know that fate is at work and the gods are watching her every move.
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I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and I look forward to you reading Night Meets the Elf Queen!
JM
Written by : J.M. Kearl
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