books by s.r.

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you’re all doing well and surviving the holiday bustle. Today I wanted to give you guys another writing update and kind of discuss the highs and lows that have made up my writing schedule lately. 😉

Current Projects:

• Book 1 in the Robin Hood Trilogy
• Round 2 of the On Writing Blog Event
• Writing Courses/Classes

Update on the Robin Hood Trilogy

Outside of a few quick updates on social media, I don’t think I’ve actually updated you guys on here since I first began writing book one. *gasps* Sorry about that. It will definitely make this update more exciting though!

I am officially only five chapters away from completing the rough draft of book one! I am so excited to finish it so I can begin editing, and also writing on book 2, but I’m also not ready to be done. I’ve slowed down my writing process a lot with this book to truly focus on it, and that has rewarded me in more ways than I ever imagined. The characters have come to life for me every singe time I’ve sat down to write, and that’s not something that has happened since I wrote my debut, Smoke and Mirrors. There are also themes in this book that I discovered that needed to be explored more slowly than with my others. I wish I could give a more accurate description on how it feels and why it feels that way when I sit down to write, but I find I lack the words. All I know is that it’s been therapeutic. It’s been a much needed change of pace for me to slow down and not feel pressured (well, at least most of the time *winks*) to write super fast or accomplish manuscripts super fast. During these busy past few months, I’ve needed Robin and Marion’s story, and that makes me all the more excited for when I get to share it with all of you.

Another thing that’s been great about slowing down with this book is that I’m trying a little bit of a different writing style. It’s still very Savanna-esque, don’t worry! I doubt you’ll be able to tell much of a difference between this book and my others. But there are slight differences that I’ve experimented with, and through those experiments, I feel like I’m really nailing down what I want my style to be from here on out. That’s a huge step as a writer, and one I’ve personally been waiting to reach for awhile now.

I also have to say that I’m so crazy excited to write these final five chapters in book 1. Chapter 15 is the official start of the climax. It’s Marion’s point of no return. She has the option to turn over Robin Hood or side with him, and it’s just a crucial turning point, not just plot-wise, but for all of the characters’ arcs and emotional journeys as well. Obviously a rough draft is going to read as a rough draft and have things that need to be fixed, but I hope that when I write these final chapters, I can at least feel satisfied with how they turn out the first time. Editing can come later, yes. I just want to feel like I did well by the ending, if that makes sense.

So…when is the estimated publishing date? What does my whole editing and pre-publication process look like?

I wish I could give you guys a straight answer. There are parts that I definitely know about — for example, my cover artist and I have been collaborating the past few months and she does have my final cover for book one finished! It’s awesome, you guys. She did an amazing job! But she can’t completely finish it and send it to me until I finish writing and have a better estimate on page count so the spine is the correct size. I know that I’m going to be hiring an editor for this book, and the other books in the series, and I already have one picked out. But, once again, I actually have to finish writing, so then I can make initial changes and give it to my alpha reader, and then I can send it to her. Basically everything is hinging on my finishing the book.

My most recent goal was to have it completed by the end of December, but life decided to throw us a few curve-balls, so unfortunately I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to make that happen. I’m going to do my best, but I also know I need to honor the other priorities in my life right now. If I don’t happen to finish by December 31st, my new goal will probably be January 10th or 15th respectively. From there, I can create a more concrete schedule for all the steps that need to happen before publication. 🙂

Thank you guys so much for sticking with me through this whole process. I’m so excited about the Robin Hood trilogy, and even though it’s taking me a lot longer to finish than expected, I hope you guys are excited too.

In The Works

Outside of working on the Robin Hood trilogy, I have two separate projects I’m preparing for early 2020!

First, there’s going to be a second round for my On Writing Blog Event! For those of you that may have missed it, back in March I hosted a month-long event that covered a variety of topics on writing, the pre-writing process, editing, publishing, marketing, etc. I had two lovely authors join me for that event, and not only did we have a blast working on it, but a lot of you enjoyed the topics that were shared. In March of 2020, I’m bringing it back, but this time I have a handful of wonderful authors joining me! All of them come from various backgrounds and various walks of life in the writing and publishing journey, so I think you’ll find their information and tips invaluable. Again, this project is still in the works, so I can’t disclose much information right now, but it will be happening in March of 2020. Be on the lookout for further updates in the near future!

Second, I’m finally putting aside my fear and excuses and will be starting something I’ve been wanting to do for the past six months or so now… I’m going to start teaching writing classes! I’ve officially planned out one course for beginning writers and then individual classes for intermediate/advanced writers. My goal is to have these three items available for purchase on my website by April 2020 at the absolute latest! Each class will come with worksheets and resources that will help you put what you learn into practice and provide more information on the topics presented. Obviously the courses will have more worksheets just since they will cover a lot more ground. I’m so, so stoked about these, and I hope you are too! I’ve been diligent about polling y’all on my social media platforms to figure out what types of things you’re wanting to learn. I think you’ll be happy with the course and classes I’ll originally have to offer. There will be other courses created and listed for sale on my website later in 2020, but I wanted to start off small since the beginning of the year is normally busy. Once again, be on the lookout for official announcement posts either on here or on my social media accounts!

Planning

Finally, this is just a fun little section I wanted to include before I wrap this post up. Nothing in this section is concrete, but I thought it’d be fun to mention it. Also, you can proceed to laugh at me for how much I tend to have going on in my brain. 😉

Outside of planning more classes, blog posts, and things for the Robin Hood trilogy, I’ve also had a few different story ideas bubbling in the back of my brain.

The first is a medieval fantasy kind of deal with forbidden romance and a crap ton of political intrigue. Basically this noblewoman is pledged to be married to a prince, but she falls in love with a knight instead, and the knight with her. They secretly marry, but since it would be treason to reveal their love, they keep it under wraps, and then the noblewoman marries the prince. After three years of marriage to the prince and secret rendezvous with her knight, she still isn’t pregnant, and the King and Queen are desperate for there to be heirs to the throne since their line ends with the noblewoman. The noblewoman’s life is threatened if she doesn’t produce a son and heir soon, so her knight creates a scheme to protect her. She gets pregnant with his child, but they pass it off as the prince’s. Very dramatic, possibly cliche, but the medieval fantasy genre is making a huge comeback as of late, and it might be neat to jump on the bandwagon if I can. *shrugs* We’ll see if this ever amounts to anything. It might be one of those ideas that I never do anything with and then later I die of shame from mentioning it to all of you. 😉

Also, a mini update on the sequel to Je Te Veux! I did finish outlining it, so I have that ready to go whenever I’d like. I’m still hoping for a 2020 release date for that, but since Robin Hood is taking up so much of my time, it may have to be pushed back. We’ll see. I do like what I have outlined though, and I think you will find it a worthy end to Tom and Sara’s tale. 🙂

I think that’s about it, friends! How are your projects going? Any questions for me?