2019 is now in its death throes, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could not be happier to see it go. It’s a scab to flick away. A dry, dead skin to wriggle out of and leave behind. Something sleek and fresh is about to take its place. Something new is about to begin! We are embarking on a unique 365-day journey around the sun. Look at it, spread out before us like a blanket of pure, undisturbed snow glistening in the first light of dawn. I’m ready to step out and leave my trail.
So, goodbye old year. Come here, 2020… I have a bear-hug for you.
Why all the poetic enthusiasm? Well, it might have something to do with my vision for the immediate future. Here it is, in print, so I won’t be able to backtrack on it later.
After too many years of sitting on too many manuscripts, either too apprehensive or too busy to set them loose on the world, I am finally going to do it. 2020 is the year, my friends. A tentative plan has been written (in ink). A budget has been set. A list of goals has been made. And I am even now in the process of assembling a team to help me polish and shine my baby to perfection (or at least as close to perfection as a book can get).
*Pause so I can exhale, then inhale again, then let loose one small squeal of anticipation*
I don’t want to spill all the beans at once. For one thing, my pile of beans is still on the small side. But here are a few preliminary details.
I always thought that the first novel I published would be the first one I ever completed. It seemed logical. Several months ago, however, I realized that a different choice might help the process go quicker and smoother. A shorter story would cost less time and money. A stand-alone story to which I am less emotionally attached would alleviate much of the pressure I felt to achieve absolute perfection. A story targeted at a slightly younger audience will allow whatever audience I find to grow into my more mature writings, later on. It just makes sense.
That is why I am now officially planning to release, not book one of a fantasy trilogy, but a short, stand-alone retelling of the fairy-tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”.
All The Queen’s Sons is an upside down and backwards rendition of this classic, that I hope readers will find fun and unique. I loved writing it and cannot wait to share the finished product with all of you. I can’t say yet when that will be, but it’s gonna go down in 2020. Let’s not call it a resolution, or a goal. Those are too wishy-washy. I’m calling it a plan.
Stay tuned!
elizabeth kipps 