in which I disprove the existence of free time

It’s been a hot minute since I talked with y’all, hasn’t it? To say life got the best of me is quite an understatement but that’s how it always seems to go. Since my last post I…

• finished drafting Project Thistle (finally) and started my next draft, Project Song, while I let Thistle sit for a bit before edits

• bought a house (which I still haven’t wrapped my head around) and oof is it one hell of a fixer upper

• started testing to see just how neurospicy my brain really is

• rescued yet another cat (as of last night) who’s the half sister of the two I tamed last year

It’s been an endless stream of work and words, house renovations and animal care, and all the things in between. And unfortunately with so much going on, writing always seems to be the thing that takes a backseat to paying bills and preparing a house so I can actually live in it and other living beings dependent on my care and… and… well the list can always go on, right?

Creating art doesn’t happen in a vacuum and sometimes I think that’s forgotten. Having both the mental space and time to put words to the page can vary and when there’s only so much of both in a day, sacrifices are made. One of these days I’ll talk about finding the balance in it all but first I need to find it myself 😅

backlist books & current reads

I can say I’ve been doing lots of reading, as much as I can squeeze in, which has been lovely. Plenty of romances (of course) and some fabulous fantasies.

Saint Death’s Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney was an absolute joy to read, full of witty, snarky footnotes and bones and a continuous self discovery that felt intimately relatable. It’s the sort of story that meanders with purpose, ebbing and flowing much like life does. You know, if life included people shapeshifting into birds and death magic and generations-old secrets literally coming back to haunt you.

Though not bone-focused (a shame), Notorious Sorcerer by Davinia Evans proved to be just as delightful, quickly turning into an immersive reading experience as we’re dropped into this city where the natural order is decidedly not orderly right now. And who better to save it than someone who is equally mundane and extraordinary? The character work is exquisite and intricate, bringing an already intriguing world of otherworldly planes and alchemical-esque sorcery to life.

I’d recommend both to fans of character-driven worldbuilding who don’t mind getting into the weeds of fantasy a little bit.

I’ve also been reading The Antiquity Affair by Lee Kelly & Jennifer Thorne as a potential comp title for Project Song, and it’s been fun! I’m not usually one for historical fiction (well, really, I’m just very picky about it) but it’s giving me Indiana Jones vibes. That is, if Jones had two daughters who had to save his butt from his own stupidity. A good romping adventure so far for fans of treasure hunting-style stories.

works in progress

On the drafting block, like I mentioned, is Project Song. Current comps include The Mummy (1999), Indiana Jones, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and The Memoirs of Lady Trent series. Hoping to get a few more book comps in there once it’s drafted and cleaned up a bit.

Think cross-continent adventuring, lost cities, ancient gods, demon bargains, and all sorts of fun things in between! It’s been a nice change of pace from Thistle even though they’re technically set in the same world (different places and times).

My original goal was to draft it by the end of this year but with all the other things going on life-wise, I’m looking more toward early 2024. But once I get through the first act, I’ll be adding Thistle edits into the mix because 2024 will be the year I start querying.

as for everything else…

At some point this year (if all goes well…) I’ll be moving into the new house! It’s a bit of a mess right now and needs some serious work before that can happen. Lucky me, it’s one of those places that we keep finding more issues that have to be addressed and the timeline for moving continues getting pushed further out.

On the upside, there were hardwood floors under the absolutely disgusting carpets?? (Though they’re in rough shape so verdict is still out if it’s actually better)

The floors are the least of my worries right now but it’s a start!

We also welcomed another cat to the family last night. She’s from the second litter of the mama cat who had the two I rescued last year and we finally caught her! Mama cat, that is, along with this kitten, and got them fixed. We still have a few more cats in the area to trap but this was a big win.

Meet Tilly!

I suspect my posting will continue to be a bit erratic until all the house stuff is settled but after that I’m hoping to get back into a routine of posting once more and start diving deeper into writing process stuff, more book recs, and whatever else comes up! Until then, here are a few things to check out:

• Nicole Brinkley came up with a fabulous list of 24 things publishing should change in 2024 and honestly why aren’t some of these things already happening?!

• In this age of book banning, Scholastic is allowing schools to opt out of “diverse books” for book fairs and it’s not going over well

• is offering early access to her Beginner’s Guide to Revising a Novel course if you pre-order The Hunting Moon

• Eric Smith (lit agent & author) is hosting a Crafting the Query Letter webinar at the beginning of November that I recommend checking out! (I attended the last session and there was a lot of great information and insight)

Hope your October is spectacularly spooky!

🎃 austine