I know it has been a very long time, but I promise I’m not dead! I have talked about this on my other pen name’s website and social media, but obviously that does no good for any of you who know me only under this pen name.
So, yes, I write under two pen names. Keeping them entirely separate seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have discovered as the years have ticked by that I honestly can’t keep up with that with my health problems. And there’s really no reason to keep it secret, other than the fact that the genres I write under each name are pretty different, so odds are good there won’t be a lot of overlap in interest. But you never know! Some people like to read various genres, while others like to stick with their tried and true favorites.
Anyway, the reason for my utter silence hereabouts is because under my other pen name (if you are interested, it’s Lyssa Chiavari), I am working on the conclusion to a very, very large science fiction series, and the conclusion is turning out to be very, very much larger than I was bargaining for. As in, when it’s all said and done, I am estimating the final book will be the length of roughly four of the novels I write under this pen name. So, needless to say, it’s taking about as long as it would take me to write four novels under this pen name.
I have not abandoned this pen name, though! My writing plan is as follows:
- finish that sci-fi: this should be done and published in 2023
- Fool’s Gold is next, and that should be done and published in 2024, barring health catastrophes
My health is something I haven’t talked about as much on this blog, but I talk about it a whole heck of a lot on my other blog, so if you’re curious, you can check that out. It does unfortunately impact my ability to write as quickly as I would like, which I apologize for, but the books are coming. Slow and steady wins the race and all.
I know many of you are here because of the Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge. I fully intended to write another book in that series, with a title and premise and some outlining done, but with my health problems I’m not sure whether that’s going to be in the cards. I have to prioritize what’s feasible for me with my health, and writing Arriving from Arkansas was a lot more difficult than my other books because it entailed so much research. I am glad I did it because writing historical fiction was something I’d always dreamed of, it just wound up being a lot harder than I thought it would be when I was a naïve history undergrad. 😅 If I am able to make it work, I’ll do my best, but don’t expect it any time soon. My focus for the time being is going to be continuing the Northwest Magic series (at least two more novels, most likely three, and very probably a novella as well) and splitting my time with my sci-fi pen name as well. If you enjoy the historical aspects of the Pioneer Brides series, you may wind up liking Fool’s Gold, which will be the next stand-alone novel in the Northwest Magic series. That book is going to feature a mystery from the late 1800s that carries over into the present day, complete with star-crossed lovers and a missing fortune of California gold. And I hope you’ll check out the other books in the series as well, which feature mystery and romance tied to historic Victorian homes!
In the meantime, once that sci-fi behemoth is done on my other pen name, you can expect more updates here. If you want to keep tabs on my progress there, you can find my social media accounts linked on my website. If you’re interested, I also have a Patreon account where I share monthly updates on my writing progress for both pen names, and Patrons get free ebook copies of all my books for both pen names as well. Thanks for your understanding and your patience!
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