I’m back from Penned Con 2018 in St. Louis! Had such a fantastic time meeting authors and readers. Didn’t sell a ton, but other writers said their first year was the same way, and sales increased in subsequent years. Already booked my table for next year – and it’s over my birthday, so I’ll take that as a positive sign.
I’ve been working on the Bad Moon Rising posts, and nearly half of them are done. All slots are filled, and I think everyone has sent in their info. After seeing so many tables decorated for Halloween at Penned Con, I’m in the mood for all things fall – cooler weather, football, Smores, and horror movies and books! I’ll post an author preview list this Friday.
My current WIP has been giving me fits, and I’ve struggled with the basic outline I work with. I’m already 20K into the first draft, but in my gut I knew something just wasn’t working. While at the hotel over the weekend, I made a sloppy kind of diagram, with arrows, lines, question marks, comments – if I’d had yarn and thumb tacks, it probably would have looked like a crime board. But I think I’ve figured it out. The story in my head won’t fit into one book – looks like I’m working with a duology, friends. It’s not something I planned, but you know how characters can be when they want to tell their story. This is foreign territory for me, so more planning is in order. And a mega ton of more writing.
On the TV/movie front, I watched the first episode of this season’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse, and it’s totally captivating and off to a promising start. I have high hopes for this season. Hubby and I just finished Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime last night. I’m a huge fan of The Office and John Krasinski (A Quiet Place was exquisite), and he’s completely convincing as the ‘just an analyst, but also pretty badass CIA agent thrown into the field’. We’ll definitely be watching season 2.
Wishing everyone a great week!
Books and Such 
A duology, that sounds good, Teri. Lots of work ahead for you though. I am glad you enjoyed the event – sometimes it is more about the people than the sales.
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Work is right, Robbie. And you’re right about the people – I love being around all those books and readers. Excitement and energy.
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Welcome back, Teri. I’m glad you enjoyed it enough to register again next year.
Looking forward to Bad Moon Rising and learning more about your duology.
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I’m not sure how far you are from St. Louis or how you feel about cons, but your books would do really well there, Staci. Maybe you should look into it?
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It’s about a five-hour drive for me. My daughter goes to school just 20-ish minutes from there, so I’m sure my arm could be twisted to go to the event. (But I have to wonder how much time I’d spend at the con and how much time with my little girl!)
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That’s perfect she’s so close – you could easily spend time with her. There are parties at night, but I skipped those. Would rather work on writing or recovering from the day. Tables for next year are already being booked. Here’s the link if you want to scout it out.. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/penned-con-2019-tickets-44798978952?ref=eios&aff=eios
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Thanks, Teri!
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I just struggled with the same thing. Mine is fantasy, and I’m allowed a higher word count than some genres. I chose to shoehorn mine into one volume, but may write a sequel anyway one day.
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I thought about that with my WIP, leaving it open, but it’s leaving too many unanswered questions and doesn’t do justice to my MCs story.
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Gotcha. Mine has a conclusion to the main issue, it just poses an additional one if readership indicates a desire for it.
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A duology! that’s great news.
And good luck with next year’s conn!
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Thanks, Jina! Taking on a duology is daunting, but it’s good to challenge yourself, right?
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Welcome back! And I can relate to the WIP giving you the fits. I’m in the same “something isn’t quite working” spot you were. Glad you got yours straightened out. Hoping I will too!
Looking forward to Bad Moon Rising!
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Good luck with it, Mae. Mine’s been nagging at me for weeks, and I’m hoping this will work out the kinks.
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Sounds like a pretty good week. Good luck with the duology you’re apparently now writing. 😉
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Thanks, Tori – I’ll need all the luck I can get!
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Welcome back, glad you had fun at the conference! Watch out with the duology, those things tend to multiply into series, lol.
How did you like Jack Ryan? I’ve been seeing lots of previews, but we don’t have Amazon Prime.
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Hubby and I both really liked it, and for him to watch more than one episode is saying something. His attention span is like a kid sometimes, lol.
I’m shooting for a duology at most – hopefully. You never know with characters!
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So glad you had a great time and thrilled you’re headed back next year. Like you said, it should be better in terms of sales. Still, a great opportunity. I love hearing about these events you go to.
On to the next book and it’s going to be plural. 🙂 Books. You know best if the story will fit nicely into one book or not. If not…split it up.
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I’m thinking if I tried to put it in one book, the word count would be out of realm of acceptability for a YA book. Going to a writer’s retreat in a couple of weeks and plan to discuss it with some folks.
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