Monday, June 2, 2014

To Book in June, or, Happy Birthday to ME!


It's my birthday month. Did you know? If you DID know, you might ALSO know no birthday should be celebrated for less than thirty days, so I am calling the whole month. It might not REALLY happen until the 23rd, but ALL MONTH we are having a bit of a party.

And by party, I mean I am FINALLY starting a BRAND NEW book that has been bugging me for a couple years now. The seeds of it, strangely enough, stem to a couple Veronica Mars episode. I don't get many ideas from TV shows, but every once in a while there is just a breeze of pollen from one that falls on some OTHER idea and makes it explode.

With Shot in the Light the the whole 'near apocalypse' obsession began with the book series Tomorrow When the War Began (to this day, 10 years later, my daughter's FAVORITE book series), but the TV show Jericho gave me a lot of good feed for how communities might cope when the world around them is falling apart. It gave me blocks to build from.


NOT the Castle episode: these are the Tritons. VM hit the theme twice.
So with Undoing... do you remember the Skull and Bones secret society that supposedly the Bushes are a big part of? Those rumors planted this seed. But it got a big dose of fertilizer from the VM epidsode where Wallace is tapped to join Castle. Simultaneously, Veronica is taped getting a little naked with Piz, totally unknown to her, and the tape goes viral so she starts to dig... and finds out some very interesting things about Castle. The kinds of advantages members get. The things the society does to keep its members in check... And Undoing began to take shape.


The teaser for Mere Mortals, first book in the Undoing Trilogy (first draft, forgive me)

 Just days after he graduates high school, Sebastian Childs, grandson to Rockwell Childs, learns his grandfather has chosen him as heir to his publishing empire. His grandfather asks only one thing. He is dying and would like his heir to spend his last summer living with him so he can get to know him. Sebastian's father, passed over in the line of succession is furious, and even Sebastian feels the inheritance should be spread over more people, but if Sebastian refuses, his grandfather threatens to donate the entire thing.

While with his grandfather, Sebastian learns of the secret society that had given his grandfather and so many others their huge advantage over other people. His grandfather has come to believe there is too much power and too little accountability in the system and he charges Bas with gaining admittance and then undoing the society from the inside.


So I have conceived of this story as three books of three acts each. It is possible I will release these serially (that would be nine distinct parts), but unlike last time, I am going to have an entirely solid first draft of all three before I begin making such decisions.

This is planned more than most of my past books because it's been bugging me for so long. I have choreography for when various important characters make an entrance and what the big point of all nine acts is.

My plan is to write book 1 in June... then I have major editing to do on four different projects in July an August for a query fest, so maybe I will write book 2 in September and book 3 in November.

Other News

THAT said, other than special days (IWSG and my 5-year blogiversary, etc) I am only going to blog Mondays this month.

And if YOU want to write a book in June, BuNoWriMo would WELCOME you to join us! We've lost our widget, but we are still an awesome system of writerly social support.

And finally... my learned wisdom... that free day thing? GREAT for two days, but I think that is the limit of increasing returns. Next time I will do two days and save the other three for a different promo...

10 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Happy birthday month!

Love the teaser. Hope the writing this month goes really smoothly!

5 year blogiversary! Woot!

Old Kitty said...

Yay for Bas!! And double yay for your most NAKED birthday month!! Enjoy! Take care
x

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Happy Birthday month! And good luck with the new book. :)

Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption

Mason Canyon said...

Hart, Happy Birthday Month and 5 Year Blogiversary. WOW a busy month and it rightfully should be celebrated all month long. BTW, great teaser.

mshatch said...

Ooh, that sounds VERY intriguing :)

Jan Morrison said...

That sounds great Tartlette! I can't wait to read it. I won't be joining you this month but I will be thinking of you all and wishing I had a book in my mind to put on paper but right now I have The Labrador Project which is poetry and poems - not suitable for forcing into the format of a BuNo!
I'll begin your birthday present today...I'm making you something out of dreams, willow branches, old forgotten treasure maps and a bear's paw print on the beach. I know you will love it!

jack welling said...

Happy Birthday to my favorite watery tart.

Congrats on the new book, as well.

Enjoy. Revel. Rejoice. Pass out swords.

Have a great time. Eat some cake.

Jack



Chrys Fey said...

Happy Birth Month!!! :D

Best of luck to you with your new book!

Arlee Bird said...

Happy Birthday month! You can also have all of mine if I don't have to get any older.

Intriguing story idea. I love conspiracy theories.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Helena said...

Happy birthday month! And the idea of a YA in which the grandson is charged with taking down a secret society from the inside -- I really like it. And yes, Skull and Bones is very real, and packrat for articles that I am, I might have something in my files about it, if you want me to send it to you.