Tag Archives: writing plans

2024 Year in Review – writing successes

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It has become a ritual to look back at the year and check in on my achievements.

It doesn’t feel as if much happened in 2024 as I didn’t meet many of the goals for the year that I set rather optimistically in 2023. However, plenty of other things did happen, so it’s important to focus on the positive.

Writing

I published a new short story collection called A Little Christmas Magic on 28th November 2024.

I also made the decision to make a series of Christmas stories – Winter Warmers. This now includes my previous Christmas collection – A Christmas Wish.

Both books had a book tour on Instagram in December which I enjoyed immensely. There’s nothing better than seeing what reviewers think of the heart-warming stories I’ve created. And it was great to be able to share so many review snippets and posts on Instagram throughout the month. Both were run by Love Books Tours and went very smoothly. Highly recommended service if you are wanting a book tour next year.

Aside from writing, I attended several writing events in 2024. There was a weekend event just outside of Stratford Upon Avon hosted by Alison May and Janet Gover. A whole weekend of food, writing workshops and talking writing with fellow writers. Plus some excellent 1-2-1’s that helped me move my ideas forward. I would recommend both Janet and Alison for the services they offer to writers, and they also run the Debut Author Club together.

The Romantic Novelist Association conference was held 10 minutes for my home at The Royal Holloway College, so I couldn’t resist attending the whole weekend event. At times I found it a struggle socially as I didn’t know anyone, but it was a wonderful opportunity to mix with both aspiring and published writers. The workshops were great as well.

I kept up with my monthly writing sessions at my local library, and attended several author events in libraries and Waterstones.

The not so successful side of 2024….

Fantasy genre

I made the decision to park my new fantasy series Starlight Prophecy for a while. I need to go back to the planning stage and really get to know the world and the history before I commit to working on the half completed trilogy.

I also toyed with the idea of writing a collection of short stories in the world of my Silent Sea Chronicles, but I think it’s a hard one to pull off. I want to provide extra content for readers who’ve enjoyed the series and also entice new readers without giving too much of the various storylines away. Maybe I will revisit this idea in 2025.

Romance genre

I’ve made great headway with The Mermaid Hotel Series (news I will share in a New Year’s post). However, 2024 has seen a lot of work editing and re-editing the story, reshaping major points of the character arcs etc. I’m almost happy with the way it is now, so I’ll share more about that very soon.

Reading

I met my Goodreads goal of 24 books. That seems like a sensible amount, though of course I’d love the time to read more. I did not however get around to reviewing many books, which I am not pleased about. I enjoying reviewing books on my blog and see it as a way to score some good karma points! Hopefully people will review my books more in 2025. Fingers crossed!

I would love to put a post together celebrating my favourite reads of 2024, but will have to see if time allows.

Other

I love the little graphic I made to show off my books. It will need to be changed soon because it is very festive, but I will enjoy it for now.

And that is about it for 2024. It’s had its ups and downs, but I’m confident 2025 will be a bigger and better year!

Happy New Year everyone.

Stay safe and have fun!

My plans and writing goals for 2024 #amwriting #indieauthor

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Happy New Year!

I always look forward to this time, when I can set myself goals for the year ahead.

So far I’ve invested in my writing for the new year by purchasing;

1. Notebooks – who can resist a beautiful notebook?

2. Research books – Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash. Even though I’ve written quite a few novels, you can still learn new things and new ways of doing things. Blood, Sweat and Tears by Bear Grylls, not pictured above as it’s on my bedside table. This is a research for book 2 in MH series, the reason will become apparent when I publish! I’m reading Bear’s book at the moment and really enjoying it.

3. Pens with built-in lights for those ideas that strike in the middle of the night.

4. I’ve joined the Romantic Novelist Association’s New Writers Scheme for the second year running.

5. I’ve invested in the BBC Maestro subscription giving me access to hundreds of hours of masterclasses on all sorts of topics, writing being the big one of course.

6. I’ve bought the Mslexia 2024 diary and planner.

7. During Black Friday 2023 I bought the Pro-writing aid lifetime subscription of their editing software.

8. I joined the Marine Conservation Society as it’s a great charity more people should support. Plus it’s research for book 3 in MH series.

My writing plans for this year

First Quarter

Finish and type up the draft of book 0 in my Mermaid Hotel Series. It’s intended to be a prequel spanning Christmas, Valentine’s, and all the way to the following Christmas.

Read Book 1 – Secrets and Love Songs at The Mermaid Hotel. Send it to the publishers on my shortlist.

Write / Edit 1 – 2k words per day of book 2 in the Mermaid Hotel series. I need to get the word count up drastically as I plan to send this book in for my RNA New Writers Scheme entitlement. I can then get some feedback from a professional romance author.

Write something (anything) in my writing diary everyday.

Later in the year

I plan to write a draft of book 4 longhand as that is how I find I am most creative. I also plan to type it up at the weekends. That way I will quickly have a working draft ready to edit and it won’t be such a daunting task typing the whole thing up at once. I’m hoping this method will prove to be a success and I can write future books in this way too.

Each month I plan to write a short story for my Christmas short story collection (in the Christmas Notebook pictured above). Then I will get beta reader comments from my writing group and edit accordingly. I want to have the collection ready for publication in October 2024. This will include a blog tour and I want to have all formats of the book available including audiobook.

At some point in 2024

Revisit my unfinished fantasy series. I really want to work on Starlight Prophecy again.

I would like to take part in Nanowrimo 2024. Whether that is with the fantasy series or one of my mermaid hotel stories, it depends how far I get with the rest of my goals for the year.

Writing Retreats – it would be great to go on an all-inclusive writing break for writers. I think it could really help me get unstuck with my fantasy idea. If that isn’t possible, I hope to go on a writing break of my own design where I stay at a hotel all inclusive and write between meals! Sounds like heaven.

I would love to visit Cornwall with the family. It is where my book series is set and it’s been far too long since my last visit. I love the idea of catching an overnight train like some of my characters do. I wish Lowenporth existed in the real world and not just in my imagination. We could stay at The Mermaid Hotel, with Mrs Shallon looking after us. We could take a stroll along Kerensa Bay and have a dip in the sea at the Secret Cove. Maybe a visit to Sedgewood Nature reserve or spot some dolphins whilst hiring a boat from Yerling Harbour.

All this talk is making me want to get back to my characters. I hope 2024 is the year I get to write lots more in this world and share it with my readers.

***

That’s about it for my plans so far. These will no doubt change as the year goes on, but it’s a starting point. I have the usual plans to eat better and exercise more in 2024, but I’m not setting any strict resolutions.

What about you?

Do you set lots of goals and resolutions?

What do you hope 2024 will bring?

Here’s to the new year everyone, though when this post goes out not doubt we’ll all have had a few too many of these!

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

Find links to all my socials on Linktree.

See all my published books at Suzanne Rogerson Collection.

Writing plans for 2023 #amwriting #indieauthor

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As this year draws to a close, I’m planning my writing aspirations for 2023.

This year has been very much focused on short fiction, but I’m determined to make 2023 the year I work on my longer fiction projects = the fantasy trilogy and my contemporary women’s fiction series set in Cornwall.

I have a few housekeeping issues that need addressing too, so I’ll list them first in the hopes of getting those tasks out of the way asap.

To Do List 2023

Publish all three short story collections as Large Print Editions – this is an experiment to hopefully make the books more appealing to libraries.

Consider whether it is worth producing all books in hardback format. They look beautiful but it costs more. Will libraries be more willing to stock hardback versions?

Approach libraries to stock my books.

Get the audiobook of Fantasy Short Stories produced.

Update all books with details of my new releases in 2022. This will involve updating the format of the books with the new style table of contents Amazon now requires.

Ensure all ARC copies I have to offer reviewers are updated versions as per above.

Contact more reviewers for both ebooks and audiobooks.

Attempt to join the RNA when the New Writers Scheme opens in January.

Writing Plans 2023

The Mermaid Hotel Series

Book 1 is pretty much complete and a much stronger book than it was this time last year. I’ve decided to approach agents and publishers direct to see what the feedback is like before deciding on the self publishing route. Once I make my decision it will be full steam ahead!

I need to develop the drafts of books 2 and 3 and hope to publish them in 2023 if that is the path I choose.

Work on the series bible, complete a series timeline, work out the arc of the series and draft the other novels asap.

Starlight Prophecy Trilogy

If I could just get over the block in my planning I could finish the first two books in 2023 and start planning book 3. I would also love to start publishing this series in 2023.

To achieve my goal, I need to strip the idea back to its basic premise and work out the series arc as well as for each individual novel. I also need to brainstorm the books with my husband as that usually helps me figure out plot issues.

Other writing

Short fantasy series – I have a couple of characters that arrived on the paper some years ago and I really want to get their story written. It feels like a strong contender for a short series, perhaps around 50k per book.

Silent Sea Chronicles – I’d love to revisit this world in 2023. Whether that is with short stories or longer works, I won’t know until I write them. I do know that I want to finish the prequel and I have ideas for future stories that need exploring.

Later in the year I may decide to write some more short stories for publication too. Another Christmas themed one, or paranormal stories maybe. I have a few romance ideas that need developing as well, though what length they’ll turn out to be I’m not sure yet.

For the start of the year I want to focus on just the two series, but everything else can still simmer at the back of my mind until I’m ready to get on with them.

Other Plans

Get a part time job. The cost of living crisis is taking its toll so at some point it looks like I’ll have to take the plunge into the workplace again. It’s a big decision for me as it will take away from my writing time. Somehow, I’ll have to be more organised. That, or we need to win the lottery!

That about sums up my plans for 2023, though no doubt something else will come along and distract me.

Whatever the new year brings, let’s start positive and have fun!

See you again soon for some of my favourite reads of 2022.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

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2022 Writing year in review #amwriting #indieauthor

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I love to look back over the year’s achievements before planning the next year’s goals. 2022 has not had all the publishing success I was hoping for but I have achieved a lot and can’t grumble too loudly!

Publishing three short story collections is pretty good going and I’m particularly proud of the latest one – A Christmas Wish. It was such fun to write 8 stories in just over a month and I proved to myself that if I set my mind to a task anything is possible.

Although I didn’t get my romance series out into the world, I have got book one in a much stronger place and I’m still really excited about the series working as a whole. I have yet to decide how best to approach the publication of it. I love self publishing, but would an agent and traditional publisher have a better chance reaching more readers?

I’ve also just found out the RNA (Romantic Novelist Association) are opening the New Writers scheme in January so that is another opportunity I need to explore. I’ve heard how brilliant it can be, so it’s worth giving it a shot. It’s all about who gets online the quickest, so I think it will be as hard to join as getting tickets to a Coldplay concert in the Albert Hall – something I tried and failed to do this year!

Publishing achievements in 2022

Fantasy Short Stories

Love, Loss and Life In Between

A Christmas Wish

As the above are all small books I’ve experimented with publishing hardback copies and I have to say they look fantastic on the shelf and are lovely to read. The biggest drawback is the cost.

I’ve also recently managed to get ‘A Christmas Wish’ and ‘Love, Loss and Life In Between’ produced into audiobooks. Watch this space for the release date of the later. I am on the look out for audio reviewers, so please leave a comment below, or use the Contact form if you are interested.

Fantasy Short Stories is more difficult to produce in audiobook as it focuses on characters from previous books that have already been narrated wonderfully by different narrators. I’m thinking that is an issue to resolve in 2023.

Other events / achievements in 2022

I attended a fantastic writing retreat in the summer run by Janet Gover and Alison May, met agents at Winchester, attended the local Christmas fair with my new books (see the post here), and have stuck to meeting with my library writing group almost monthly, only missing once when I had Covid back in March.

I’ve enjoyed several blog tours run by Rachel’s Random Resources which are a great way to celebrate a new publication and share it with reviewers.

I’ve also enjoyed taking part in the Advent Train Story through December where 24 flash fiction stories were shared by different authors. Here’s the link to my story. There are some great stories amongst them so you can check out the list on Ari’s website (Ari was the mastermind behind it all).

The year has flown by with many plans left unfulfilled, but that just means I need to get my head screwed on and focus more next year.

My plans for 2023 will follow shortly. It’s a post I enjoy writing even more than this one!

Thanks for reading and enjoy what’s left of 2022.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy, heart-warming romance and short stories

You can follow me on

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Quarterly Writing Plans – What’s next? #amwriting #amediting

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Things haven’t been going to plan at the moment, at least not the plans I set myself a few months ago. I still like to look back, take stock and make new plans in the hope I can get back on track. With this in mind, I’m going to take a moment to celebrate what I have done so far this year.

Achievements in 2022

I’ve published not one, but two short story anthologies!

Fantasy Short Stories

Love, Loss and Life In Between

After a barren couple of years of not publishing anything, it’s been brilliant to break back into self publishing. These are passion projects that I hope fans of my writing will enjoy, but they will also hopefully help me reach new readers too. I had a blog blitz for Fantasy Short Stories in June and have another planned in October for Love, Loss and Life In Between. Rachel’s Random Resources is still taking sign ups for anyone interested.

The Mermaid Hotel Romance series

I’ve edited and rewritten parts of Evie’s Song, including adding a new VP character (the match making hotel owner Mrs Shallon) and adding more scenes which include a prologue and an epilogue. I’m trying to find time to read through all the changes and decide if it’s finally ready or not.

I’ve spoken with a few agents via the Winchester Festival in June and have taken steps to make changes to Evie’s Song as per their suggestions.

Probably the most fun thing I’ve done this year is go to a weekend writing retreat run by Alison May and Janet Gover. It was so helpful and wonderful to spend a whole weekend just focused on writing, in particular Evie’s Song. The 1-2-1 feedback was invaluable! I would love to do it again, but funds are tight so it maybe a while before that is possible. They run these retreats 3 times a year and I highly recommend them.

Not gone to plan

Starlight Prophecy

The trilogy has stalled while I worked on the two short story publications and focused on Evie’s Song. I haven’t looked at it for months, but hopefully my subconscious has been working on those plot issues while I’ve been busy. I love fantasy and really would love to get this going again. I’d hate to abandon the 139k I’ve written between books 1 and 2, and Delaphine is an awesome anti-heroine I can’t wait to share her with the world!

MH Romance Series

I had hoped to have up to 3 books in the series published in 2022. Evie’s Song is coming along nicely and I have the drafts of books 2 and 3, but I just haven’t gotten around to continuing with them. With funds tight, the idea of self publishing may have to go on hold, and I’m still toying with the idea of approaching agents and publishers direct. We’ll just have to see where things stand in a few months.

Plans for the rest of 2022

The Mermaid Hotel Series

Finish Evie’s Song and make a decision on publication method. If self publishing I would love to have this ready by December. But I’m not sure yet. And is December / Christmas the best time to release a summer romance anyway?

Work on the drafts of book 2 and 3 so they are in more publishable shape.

Plan and develop series arc.

Starlight Prophecy

I want to work on this, even if it is just to plan the series and characters arcs so I can finish the first draft.

Future Projects – no date in mind

Reworking the old

Whilst watching the first episode of the House of the Dragons (the difficult birth scene) I was reminded of the second fantasy book I ever wrote. It was written 20+years ago, and will no doubt have many amateur mistakes. But as I started explaining the scene to my husband and all the events leading up to it, I got really excited for the idea again. I also realised I had a pretty twisted imagination back then, I’m definitely a lot kinder to my characters now!

I would love to revisit my old novels and see how much effort it would take to re-write them because I still want to tell those characters stories. I’ve even transferred them to my kindle so I can read them without being tempted to start editing straight away. It’s been in the to do list a long time!

Series and other ideas

I would love to write a fantasy series with shorter instalments than my trilogy. I’m think around the 100 to 150 pages mark. I have a project in mind, but nothing planned beyond the first few chapters.

I have ideas for a timeslip romance, and spin off stories around the Mermaid Hotel series.

Silent Sea Chronicles

I would still love to write the prequel to book 1. I recently reviewed the prologue I’ve written for it and really like it, but I’m still not sure if a prequel would spoil the rest of the trilogy. That’s what’s been holding me back for so long.

I would also love to continue the story of the various characters and see what the future holds for them. I just need to decide what format those stories will manifest in. A book of short stories, novellas, or a whole new novel / series?

***

I think that will do for this update. I will review my achievements and goals at the end of the year. I can’t believe that’s only a few months away.

Have you any goals to share? Ones you are happy with achieving, or ones you’ve set yourself to complete by the end of 2022?

I will share my reading goals in another post very soon. Until then, happy reading and writing!

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

You can follow me on

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Welcome 2022! My writing plans and goals #amwriting

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I love this part of the year when 12 whole months stretch ahead of me and I can think about the future with time and optimism on my side.

I have a lot I want to achieve in 2022 as I feel the last 2 years have been a let down on the publishing front. I will set myself some big goals and do my best to meet as many as I can.

First I want to share the big goals to work towards over the whole year and then break that down into monthly tasks. I’ll try to give monthly updates which will hold me to account and hopefully give me the impetus to power through these goals.

Mermaid Hotel Romance Series

I’m considering approaching agents and publishers with this series idea, but I’m torn as I do love self publishing and I have already bought 3 beautiful book covers with the intention of doing everything myself.

If I do self publish I want to get 3 books out this year; Evie’s Song, A.J’s Legacy and Love in Degrees.

Starlight Prophecy Series

This fantasy series has been in my head for a long time and I really want to get book 1 and 2 finished and published in 2022. Again, I have purchased the covers but I’m stuck on the titles. So far I have Starlight Prophecy – Awaken. Starlight Prophecy – Arise and book 3 would be Ascend.

Other Writing Goals

Stick to a weekly word count. Before Christmas I was managing between 3 – 4k. That is a pretty good figure to aim for, whether that be new story ideas, new scenes for my WIP’s or with the new book I’ve pre-ordered as a late Christmas present to myself which is all about daily inspiration. More on that when the book arrives later in the month.

Write a new piece of flash fiction or short story each month for my writing group to critique.

Publish fantasy short stories set in the world of my books.

Publish a short story anthology.

Summary

As you can see I have set a huge challenge – publishing up to 7 books! I’m not sure if it is possible but I like to aim big!

For now I will focus on a month to month strategy. With that in mind my goals for January are simple. Finish editing Evie’s Song and publish my book of Fantasy Short Stories.

I’ll be back at the end of the month to review my plan and see how it’s getting along.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

You can follow me on

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Writing update – 4 month plan #amwriting #fantasy #romance

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***IMPORTANT UPDATE*** THE LOST SENTINEL IS A FINALIST IN BBNYA 2021. I’m excited to reach the final round though the next few months will be agony waiting for the results! See my earlier post about it here.

I haven’t done a writing update for a while so I thought it would be a good time to share my plans for the rest of the year. But first…

What have I been up to?

It doesn’t feel like much. I’ve written 3 fantasy short stories as lead in’s to my books. The Guardian is a prequel to Visions of Zarua, Garrick the Protector from the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and War Wounds from my new series Starlight Prophecy, which I hope to publish in 2022.

I’ve also been working on my romance series Mermaid Hotel though did put that on hold to re-work the whole structure of book 1 and 2 in the Starlight Prophecy series. It’s been so good to escape back into fantasy, but now I’m at a stage where I need to put that on hold to get back to the romance series.

The next 4 months

In September I’m doing a 6 week Curtis Brown Writing Romance course led by Jenny Colgan. I plan to work through book 1 – Evie’s Song and hopefully get it into a publishable state very soon.

In October I’ve signed up for a World Building course run by the Romantic Novelist Association. It’s an area that my readers have said works really well in my books, but I don’t want to be complacent. I’m always eager to hone my craft so I’m hoping to learn a few things that will enhance the Starlight Prophecy series.

Publishing plans…

At some point I plan to publish the short stories I’ve written in a short fantasy teaser book which will be free to my newsletter subscribers. I’m toying with the idea of writing more stories to go into it but I haven’t decided for certain yet. I’ve also wondered whether to publish a book of modern day short stories and that idea is still in the back of my mind.

I’m hoping to finish books 1 and 2 in the Starlight Prophecy and the first few books in The Mermaid Hotel ready to publish in 2022. I would love to get something out sooner but time is running against me.

The most important thing is to keep working and hopefully 2022 will be the year I get lots of books out into the world.

I hope you will be there cheering me on.

Til next time…

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

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Quarterly Writing update April-June #amwriting #indieauthor

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It doesn’t seem long ago that I was sharing my writing plans for the first quarter with you, and I certainly haven’t reached the goals I set myself then. The extended UK lockdown and kids at home struggling through online learning has set me back, but it doesn’t help to dwell. Spring is here, or at least it was for a day or two, and it’s time to move onward with a positive attitude.

Achieved so far

Evie’s Song has reached the beta reader stage for the second time having had a 20k word extension. It is still just shy of the 50K mark so I envision this to be a novella romance series.

Silent Sea Chronicles is now complete and available to listen to in audiobook form.

Thanks to Motion Kitty I have this great cover animation to share.

Writing plans for the 2nd Quarter of 2021

The Mermaid Hotel Romance Series

Finish and publish book 1 – Evie’s Song.

Finish and prepare to publish book 2 – AJ’s Legacy.

Complete book 3 and plot out the remaining 4 books in the series.

Expand the lead in story to offer to newsletter subscribers.

The Starlight Prophecy Fantasy Series

I haven’t touched this since last year so I’m itching to get working on it again.

I need to complete the prequel and get it off to beta readers. I would love to do this asap, but I am heavily invested in the romance series at the moment.

Write the lead in story to offer newsletter subscribers when the prequel is ready for publication.

New Fantasy Series – Shadow Hunters (working title)

I came up with this idea quite a few years ago and have recently revived it for my online writing group. They are all enjoying the characters and the story, so I want to keep planning and working on this book and see where it leads.

Short Story Anthology

Over the years I’ve written some short stories that I’ve really loved in a variety of genres – romance, ghost, thriller, fantasy etc. I’m feeling 2021 is the year to share them with the world. Plus I want to include the lead in stories from my fantasy and romance books. It’s an exciting project I’m looking forward to working on.

Other tasks for this quarter

I need to work on Amazon sales pages and blurbs. I’ve decided to try to remove Silent Sea Chronicles from the YA category – I think 13 year olds will be happy to read it, but I don’t feel right marketing it to all children of that age.

The dreaded tax return is due, so I can’t ignore that.

Keep reading writing research books and share the ones I’ve found helpful on my blog.

Keep sharing book reviews of the fiction books I’ve loved.

***

I think that is about it for now. I know I’ve set myself a long list again, but it’s always good to have several options on the go, it keeps life exciting.

What are your plans for the second quarter of 2021?

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic fantasy and heart-warming romance

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Writing plans update #amwriting #amediting #fantasy and #romance

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Ok, so I had planned to post this at the beginning of January but due to lockdown and its various issues I haven’t been able to focus much on my writing. It’s still great to have a plan, even if it keeps changing and evolving so here’s the original post I planned for January with some changes to my writing and publishing goals.

The start of a new year is always a great time to set some new goals. As usual I have a head full of ideas and not enough time in the day to work on them all. But I thought if I set out my plans here then it might help me keep on track.

As I shared in my post Books I’ve read in 2020, I have been reading some how to books on writing. In particular romance and series writing. This is a whole new direction for me and one I am very excited about.

Romance Plans

What started as an idea in the March 2020 lockdown of a woman turning up in a quaint seaside town has steadily grown into a series. The original idea was nine novellas, but I have condensed these ideas into 6 longer books and a Christmas special. I can’t wait to get these books written and out into the world.

It’s exciting times, but I have to learn to curb my impatience as I want to have several books written before I publish anything. It’s going to be tough, but I hope it will be worth the wait.

Here’s the working blurb for book 1 – let me know what you think.

Will Evie’s dreams of a seaside escape turn out bittersweet?

Songwriter Evie Rose lives in the background, her confidence knocked by a past trauma that keeps her from the limelight. When her creativity dries up, threatening her livelihood, she heads to the seaside town of Lowenporth hoping to find inspiration.

Lowenporth’s lush sandy beaches and dramatic seascapes are just what burnt-out Evie needs. She adores the quirky charm of The Mermaid Hotel and is soon intrigued by another guest. Brooding William Bristow could be just the man to help her find her muse, but Evie’s sure he’s hiding something from her. And his secret could threaten everything. Can Evie write herself out of the slump and find the confidence to star in her own life? And will William be there by her side, or will the secret he’s keeping come between them?

Fantasy News

The Starlight Prophecy series is another project I want to finish and publish asap. I know what to do, it’s just getting around to finishing it. The structure of the series has a dual timeline so I’m desperate to get my beta readers opinion on how it works. Again, I’m so excited but I want the first two books finished this year and published, whilst working on the third. I have a plan, but with the new lockdown and kids home schooling time for writing is not something I have a lot of.

I also have another fantasy series I would like to start planning. The characters have been in my head for years and are eager for their time in the limelight. There are also other story paths I’m eager to explore in particular with my Silent Sea Chronicles series.

My big plans for the first quarter of 2021

  1. Finish book 1 of The Mermaid Hotel Romance Series.
  2. Complete draft of book 2 in MH series.
  3. Plan book 3 in MH series and try to draft it.

Plans for second Quarter of 2021

  1. Finish the extra scenes for book 1 of The Starlight Prophecy.
  2. Work on the end of book 2 in The Starlight Prophecy.

That is plenty to work with, but the sooner I get things finished, the sooner I can get them into beta readers hands.

I will review my progress at the end of March when hopefully life at home (and for the rest of the world!) is more normal.

Wish me luck!

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic and heroic fantasy

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Writing Update September 2020 and some writing goals #amwriting

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It’s September and we’re into the last 4 months of the year – that’s scary! Like most people I think I’ll be glad for 2020 to be over.

To help me through I’ve decided to plan my writing projects for the rest of the year. I’m not setting huge goals, so hopefully I can stick to them.

First it’s always nice to look back and see what I have achieved this year (and gloss over the fact I had originally planned to have published two books by this time in 2020)!

Achieved in 2020

I finally set up my mailing list with Mailchimp. This is a task I’ve been putting off for years. I haven’t started advertising it yet, but if you want to join please follow the link here. I’m working on some free and exclusive stories for my mailing list subscribers set in the worlds of my novels, so there’s a great reason to join me.

My big news for 2020 is that the audiobook for The Lost Sentinel is coming very soon! We’re just waiting for approval from ACX and then it will be on sale through Amazon, Audible and iTunes. Watch this space for more info.

Last month The Lost Sentinel hit number 1 bestseller in several free categories in the US, UK and Canada. It was a pretty big deal for me and I shared a post about how it happened here.

What’s to come

I’ve been writing a romance novella that I hope to publish in 2020. It’s a departure from my preferred fantasy genre but it’s been keeping me sane during lockdown and I’m really excited about it. I have yet to have beta readers feedback so I’m not even sure how good the story is, but I do have my editor booked in very soon so I need to get on with it!

Those short stories for my mailing list subscribers need to be a priority after the novella has gone to beta readers.

I’m writing a spy story with a friend. We’re not sure how long it will be, but I’ve already suggested we publish it at some point. This will be my friend’s first self published book and it’ll be great to share a joint project with the world. Again, testing out a new genre is exciting as well.

I have other romance novella ideas that I hope to start drafting over the coming months, but I really must get back to my first love – Fantasy! Which leads me to…

My planned trilogy. If I can just get on with it I might be able to publish the complete trilogy in 2021. That is a big ask, but book 1 is almost complete (if I don’t end up planning any major rewrites) and book 2 only has about a 1/4 to go. Book 3 is another matter, but I’ll worry about that later.

There are always more projects in the back of my mind including the book of short stories I’ve been itching to put together and a non-fiction book on writing and self publishing that keeps rearing up and forcing my attention away from other things. These are ideas I’ll sort out one day, I’m just not sure when.

Other News

Silent Sea Chronicles has a blog tour running from 6th to 12th September. Run by Storytellers on Tour, there will be some fun Q&A’s and lots of reviews and promo posts hitting over the week.

I’m also planning an Audiobook 1 day event for The Lost Sentinel in the next few months with the help of Rachel’s Random Resources.

I’ve signed up for an online social media course to help me understand some of the platforms I’ve been ignoring, so hopefully I can learn a few tips to reach a wider audience.

***

I think that’s about all I should consider for now before I dig myself an even bigger writing hole to get lost in.

Tomorrow I have a book post from a debut author to share and then I’ll be blogging about my reading plans for the rest of 2020. Thanks for stopping by.

***

Suzanne Rogerson – Author of epic and heroic fantasy

You can follow me on

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You can also join my Newsletter for writing updates and news of promotions.