What We're Writing -- Jenn McKinlay

 JENN McKINLAY: I'm rolling into promo season for the October release of WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN so it's a lot of non-fiction stuff like an article for Writer's Digest on writing in three different genres and I'm also on deadline for WITCHES OF QUESTIONABLE INTENT (book two in the Books of Dubious Origin series) that will come out next October, assuming I ever get it done. Also, I just turned in the page proofs for BOOKING FOR TROUBLE which will be out in February. Busy bee, that's me. 

Although I recently discovered that bees nap on flowers when they get tired and can I just say...sign me up!

Now out of all the projects I have in the works, writing non-fiction is the most daunting for me. 

Confession: I am the student who didn't read the books for the research paper that was due. In fact, I used skip the first four classes of school, hide in a study carrel at the library and crank out the paper that was due 5th period--yes, we were allowed to turn in handwritten work back in the day--arguing my case and flipping through the unread books in a pile beside me and cherry picking quotes to prove my argument. I truly can't believe what a horrible student I was. I definitely lived the motto "B's get degrees" and didn't allow anything as pedantic as school interfere with my social life. Maybe that's why I work so much now--to make up for all of that coasting. 

You can imagine how I feel about writing a non-fiction peace. First, i have to get past the imposter syndrome. I mean what do I know about writing in three different genres? I don't even know how I got here! Then I have to outline. This is nowhere near as much fun as outlining a murder, a romance, or a fantasy where an undead Viking chases my main character into a graveyard. Yes, that happens!

Thankfully, Hub is the retired music editor from the Tribune, so he will look over my article (gah!) and make sure it's journalistic enough. Phew!

Your turn, Reds and Readers, what sort of student were you? Did you work on projects ahead of time? Take it seriously? Or were you more like me, sliding in on the seat of your pants?

Oh, and I know we're supposed to share a snippet of what we're working on, but it's the article so -- no. Plus, I'd rather share the TWO starred reviews that WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN has gotten so far. If you'll indulge me, they're below:

What We're Writing: Jenn Edition

 JENN McKINLAY: I finished a manuscript and page proofs, took a few days off to regroup (clean my office) and now I'm back at my desk working on proposals. 

What am I proposing? I'm working on an outline for the second cozy fantasy in the Books of Dubious Origin series. The first in the  series Witches of Dubious Origin comes out on October 28th and the manuscript for the second (no title as yet) is due on August 1st, so I need to get cracking!

PREORDER HERE

What do I have so far in my proposal? The opening scene. I want to open the story at the Museum of Literature, where the Books of Dubious Origin collection is housed, during a booklover's ball where everyone in attendance is dressed as a character of fiction. I think the hardest part will be to keep the descriptions to a minimum. 

What happens after that...I have no idea. I should. I wrote a proposal for it last year but there were some issues. I wanted to set it in London, my editor wants it in New York. I had many story lines for the supporting cast, my editor encouraged me to whittle it down to the strongest few. My version of the love interests is them hooking up in book two (it's only a two book contract), my editor would like to drag out the romance into later volumes in the series (so I guess it's going to be more than two books--yay!)!

I wish I could share the new outline but it's definitely in the pupa stage of development so we'll just have to see what comes out of the chrysalis when I turn it in on Tuesday.

Since I'm also going to start writing that first scene on Tuesday, tell me Reds and Readers, if you were going to a Met Gala level ball for booklovers, what character of fiction would you dress as? Inspire me, please.

About WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN: 

When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.

Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded.

Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.

With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide whether or not she’s ready to embrace her destiny.

What We're Writing: Ghosts Pirates! by Jenn McKinlay

 JENN McKINLAY: I am polishing up the first draft of my first run at writing a fantasy novel entitled BOOKS OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN (coming 2025). It's very fun as it's a fairly new genre and the rules are not yet set. As in, the only limit appears to be my imagination which is both intimidating and thrilling!

I was doing my final read through the other day and I hit a scene that felt flat when all of a sudden...ghost pirates! 

BOOKS OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN excerpt

     “Zoe, about last night,” Jasper said. 

     No, no, no. I didn’t want to talk about this. The potential for more embarrassment was too probable. Should I pretend I couldn’t hear him? Interrupt him with some other talking point? Listen to him? Ugh, I was so bad at all of this. This was why I was happily single and not dating excluding short lived hookups. Anything longer and I would inevitably humiliate myself.

     “I didn’t mean to leave you so abruptly,” he said. Even his charming British accent couldn't soften the words.

     Jasper was talking to the back of my head. I didn’t want to turn around. I didn’t want to see his pale gaze filled with pity at the lonely librarian who’d been hitting on him. I hadn’t been but if I denied it now, he’d think I was trying to save face—which was even more mortifying. A motion outside the window of the ferry boat drew my peripheral vision. I turned and felt my heart drop into my shoes.

     “I was unforgivably rude, displaying the sort of boorish manners—”

     “Pirate!” I yelped.

     “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” Jasper protested.

     I whipped around to face him and all thought of our previous evening’s awkwardness vanished. I glanced around the nearly empty lounge and pulled him down by the lapels of his freshly laundered coat. 

     His eyes went wide, his face mere inches from mine. “Zoe, I—”

     “Listen, I don’t want to panic the passengers but there is a ghost pirate ship floating above the water headed right for us.”

     Jasper turned his head slowly to the window. His eyebrows shot up and he muttered, “Bloody hell!”

Yeah, so that happened. The scene is definitely more exciting, at least to me. Now I just have to figure out how one gets rid of ghost pirates? Suggestions?

What We're Writing Week: Jenn's Roughing It

First things first, the winners of Barbara Ross's giveaway are Judy Singer and Abigail!!! You can claim your prizes at:

barbaraannross at gmail dot com

CONGRATULATIONS!

JENN McKINLAY: My favorite part of the writing process is the first draft. I think I used to say that my favorite part was the revisions but I've had some pretty horrific revisions since then and now I love the first draft when there is no limit to my imagination and no one else has gotten their sticky fingers on my project. LOL.

I know I've asked before but, Reds, what's your favorite part of the process? First draft? Revisions? Copyedits? When you see your baby in the bookstore? 

Presently, I am roughing it, meaning I'm writing the rough draft of BOOKS OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN. Yes, I'm stepping into a new genre - cozy fantasy - which is described as low stakes fantasy and can be as fantastical or not as the author desires. There don't seem to be any rules. This suits me just fine. 

Because it's me, there is humor, as well as a slow burn sub-plotted romance, and a mystery...natch. 

One of the best parts of this new venture is the amount of research I've done, looking at pictures of all the amazing libraries in the world, searching for just the right image as my stepping off place. I found this one and knew THIS WAS IT!

The George Peabody Library in Maryland: Isn't it beautiful?

Photo shared from: https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.18385/ 

Here are more sources if you want to feel reassured that the love of books is alive and well in the world: 

Architectural Digest

National Geographic

Veranda

But back to the writing, because I can't share the manuscript yet - still roughing it! Here's the short synopsis, to give you an idea of where I'm headed, hopefully.

BOOKS OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN

A mysterious black book is sent to small town librarian Zoanne Ziakas. She has no idea who sent, why they sent it, or what she’s supposed to do with it. The volume is old and battered and unable to be opened as it’s locked by an unbreakable latch. Zoe thinks nothing of it until she wakes up in the middle of the night having pricked the tip of her finger with a straight pin and the book is on the kitchen counter beneath her hand. Zoe is positive she left the book on her bookshelf. Remembering her disturbing dreams, she fears the book was calling to her in her sleep, instructing her to prick herself with the pin. Yikes!

On the recommendation of her mentor Agatha Lively, Zoe takes the book to the Museum of Literature in New York City, where there is a secret collection for Books of Dubious Origin, known to the staff as the BODO. Housed several floors beneath the museum and inaccessible to all but the chosen few, the BODO is maintained by carefully vetted archivists and librarians. They say the books are full of secrets that can’t be deciphered and possess powers that must be guarded because of their ominous potential.

The volume Zoe received definitely fits the profile. When offering the book to the BODO department, Zoe is stunned to learn that she is descended from a family of witches who specialized in necromancy and the archivists think her book is the family’s grimoire. A confirmed skeptic about all things witchy, Zoe has no interest in discovering the secrets of the strange book. She just wants it gone.

When newfound evidence suggests that someone wanted the spell book so desperately that they murdered Zoe’s grandmother, and quite possibly her mother, to get the volume, Zoe has no choice but to leave her quiet village in Connecticut and join the staff at the BODO in an attempt to crack the book’s code and ensure that she is not the killer’s next victim.

Hopefully, by the time we're talking about what we're writing, I'll be able to share more!

What's the prettiest library you've ever seen, Reds and Readers?