Thinking On My Next Projects

Image source from Unsplash

That image is frighteningly accurate. I sometimes lay there with a notebook on my face and let myself think. Maybe the scent of ink and paper helps? My carpet doesn't look nearly as plush though.

I'm finishing off a romance book for my pen name (Alora James) that I wanted done two months ago. I dragged my feet because the story was already done in my head and I was ready for something new. This is why I'm a pantser. I need the novelty and the surprise of twists and turns in the plot to keep my momentum going at a steady pace.

I already know my next project for my pen name. It will be a second chance, cozy small town romance series. It takes place in a fictional town in Ontario, and I'm excited to be writing in Canada. Even more giddy that the first book will take place around the local maple syrup festival. All those maple syrup facts that I somehow still have in my head will finally have their time to shine!

I have a good group of friends who give me excellent advice for my pen name. That brand has done far better than the books I've published under my own name. I could focus solely on writing romances, but I'm hungry to create other stories. Creepy horror, dark fantasy, playful LitRPG, and romance that doesn't have to follow the strict rules of a genre. And I don't want to choose just one. I want them all. But that type of speculative fiction is near impossible to market.

Yet why can't I have them all? My pen name's romances are written to market, so why should I restrict my other stories that way?

I've had several debates with myself. I don't want to lose my love of writing. I don't want to see it as merely a job to help pay the bills. I want that rush of creating a new world and the joy seeing where my characters take me. I need wonder, horror, magic, and love. No constraints.

So I'm going to do it. A big dark fantasy in a fae realm based on the myths of the Wild Hunt. I'm still researching myths and trying to get to know my protagonist. It will require more time lying on the floor with a notebook draped over my face.

The world that I'm building is big and dark, and I'm loving every second of it. I'm not putting any deadlines on myself or adding any restrictions. Let the story take me where it wants. Let it grow and bloom and shine.