the fishbone wolf

Took Way Too Long to Write

I started going to critique groups in 2018. In early 2019, I started writing The Fishbone Wolf

In 2022, a developmental editor read the entire manuscript and told me the final third wasn’t working. This was the right call. By the summer of 2023, I’d written every chapter as I wanted it, though the book still needed editing

Outside Eyes

Most of my feedback came from critique groups, but I also paid freelance editors for feedback and sent drafts to several alpha readers

The hardest part of critiques is deciding what to do with them: 50% can be set aside, 35% are worth mulling over, and 15% are pure gold

stupid volcano

Another Story

Back in May 2021, I hit a lull with The Fishbone Wolf, so I started a few sections of Stupid Volcano. Then in March 2022, I got in the zone and knocked out the entire first draft in two months

That draft had been set side while I slugged through The Fishbone Wolf

Cancelled Plans

For 2025, I planned to publish a two-story collection called Lost on Screen

One story was Stupid Volcano. The other had the working title Food Contest. It follows someone who knows almost nothing about food but suddenly finds herself serving as a judge at a national cooking competition

For now, I've set Food Contest aside. One of the most common critiques was that readers needed more time with the main character before the competition began

Cancelled Plans Again?

At the start of 2026, I began working on a novella with the working title Moon Witch. It's about someone living on the moon who gets possessed. I knew how it ended, but I had issues figuring out the first and second acts

I decided to set Moon Witch aside, joining Food Contest on the incomplete shelf. Maybe I'll publish these together in 2028

So what now?

My next project was a nonfiction book about how I caught 100 fish species, with gear and tackle advice woven into the stories. I outlined the structure first. Once I started writing, the keyboard was on fire

100 Species of Fishies will be my next publication. I hope to land a traditional publisher, but if none bite the hook, I’ll self publish. I’m aiming for a 2027 release