Dear Friend,

Spring is here in the hill country. This week, we’ve watched bright neon green break out across the neighborhood and around town; just a little bit now but growing more every day. The grass is darkening, too. Dandelions are popping up all over. The birds act like it’s choir practice all day every day. And writing, while slow, has been coming along beautifully.

If you’ve ever wondered what brainstorming a novel is like, imagine working out. Just with your brain. It works muscles you’ve forgotten you had and you get worn out quickly. But once you see the results, you know it was worth it.

That’s been me with Book 3 of Swan Song. For the past month, I’ve been brainstorming this bad boy; following threads from the previous books; plotting backwards from the end of the series; asking all the “what if” questions; and slowly piecing together the character arcs. It came to me like a knotted-up mess of yarn. So. Much. Untangling.

That being said, I’m finally finding the story and the character journeys. And it’s very exciting. Very different from the first two books in some ways. A very faithful continuation of those adventures in another. Definitely maintaining the ‘Jane Austen meets Cinderella’ vibes I envisioned for this series. Tudor-era-inspired fairy tale with political fantasy elements. Such a fun story!

Book 2 is still resting from my last rewrite. It was quite tangled, as well. I’ll be working on rewriting that book later this spring so I can send it to my developmental editor in May or June.

But what about Book 1?

Beneath the Curse of Six is currently with the beta readers. I’ve already gotten some feedback, and it’s well on its way to being finished. Once Book 3 is outlined (looking to finish that in a few weeks), I’ll be doubling back to Book 1 to do a final edit before it goes off to the copy editor.

Finally…

I have a surprise coming.

Earlier this month, I decided to do something very fun for my newsletter subscribers. I’m working on a FREE BOOK that comes with subscription to this newsletter!

Originally, I had planned on releasing first chapters from the Swan Song books as my teasers (and I will still be doing that; Book 1 chapters coming soon!). But I wanted to provide something more substantial to give potential readers a look at my writing and stories, and to thank my amazing subscribers for being here.

What will it be?

First off, it will be short. It will technically be a novella (a short novel). Secondly, it’s another young adult fairy tale retelling, one of the three other ideas I initially shelved so I could move on to work on the high fantasies after Swan Song. It’s set in the same world and time as Swan Song, but from a different part of that world. (There are actually already a few easter eggs from this story in Beneath the Curse of Six!)

It will be available as a free download to all of you lovely friends and to all new subscribers. I’ll be dedicating quite a bit of time in March to writing and editing this book so I can have it out to you all in either April or May. So keep your eyes peeled for more news about that!

This month started off rather dark. Our family received news at the beginning of the week of the loss of a friend. It made us all heavyhearted. We are trusting God and leaning on His promises, though. The good old Texas heat has actually helped. We’ve all been outside a ton. The vitamin D is rebuilding fast for all of us.

And…we’re looking into getting a dog.

I know. It’s a little crazy. Four kids AND a dog. What are we thinking? Truth be told, we’ve had dogs before for seasons, and it has always been a delight to watch the kids learn and grow alongside a four-footed friend. Our most recent experience was rather traumatic for the kids, though, so we’re walking on eggshells this time. (If you’ve ever lost a dog with children in the house, you know how that can be.) I will definitely keep you all updated on how that goes.

Thank you for visiting, friend. Until next time.

Joanna

 Want to continue the conversation? Feel free to email me at [email protected] or DM me on social media (@authorjoannagholden).

Clean, wholesome Christian fantasy for preteen girls.

Want to read what’s already out?

Click Below to learn about my Middle Grade Fairy Tale Retellings.

https://www.joannaholden.com/middle-grade