As always, I am terrible at keeping up with my blog. Firstly, apologies. The truth is, I haven’t had much to update because until a few months ago, there wasn’t anything to update. I fell into the giant blackhole of writer’s block.
That being said, the last couple of months have been really great for my work.
I completed the fourth draft of Halflife (which is a whole hot mess in and of itself, but here we are). I am currently trying to complete a readthrough and a cursory edit by the end of the month.
I’ve also jumped back into joint writing with a long time friend and brilliant author: Lauren Sevier (her debut novel SONGS OF AUTUMN is releasing November 21, 2020. I’ve read it, and it’s brilliant! Check it out by clicking here!)
We started a project many years ago on a whim, and have finally gotten back into it. Look out for our first joint project to be published in 2021!
GUNS & SMOKE is a post-apocalyptic western romance. Writing this was the most fun I’ve had writing in a long time. I enjoyed it so much that I think I’m going to embrace the Romance genre. Nearly every story I’ve ever written centers around some sort of romance or romantic elements. Romance does not equal erotica.
For this year’s National Novel Writing Month, I am embarking on a journey to write an entirely new project.
As is normally the case, I can’t contain my characters to just one story. A SHIELD OF STARS is the first in a trilogy about a priestess who gives up the world she’s known for over half her life to find out the truth of what happened to her mother. It is an Adult Fantasy Romance novel. The normal NaNoWriMo goal is 50,000 words, but I am going to shoot for 75,000, which puts my daily at around 2,500. It’s not going to be easy, but it will totally be worth it.
I have gone back and forth on Halflife for years. I started this project thirteen and a half years ago, and I feel like I’m so so close to getting it into the right form. All of that said, it’s still not quite where it needs to be. I would like to traditionally publish this one, but it may not be the first to get done.
We are self-publishing GUNS & SMOKE next year. This will be my debut novel (super scary to think about!). While I am working on it, I plan on shaping up HALFLIFE and A SHIELD OF STARS. For me, it’s important to not get stuck on HALFLIFE, as I have been.
It feels wonderful to be able to dive into my craft. When I’m writing, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and the last couple of months have been full of happiness, which is a new and welcome change to the way things have been over the last few years.
I’m going to try my best to keep up over here. I’ve got a couple of book reviews in progress, so keep an eye out!
As always, thanks for reading!
Abbie
P.S.: I decided that I wanted to do Christmas cards with my animals this year. Check out a sneak peek of them below!
Abbie Lynn Smith | Author 
75,000 words in a month is pretty intense. Wishing you all the best! And Klaus is super photogenic indeed!
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It is! Luckily, I have a number of days off from my day job! Thank you for the well wishes!
My Klaus is the most spoiled pup in the world; it’s a good thing he’s cute!
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I am hoping for 50k for a total of 15-20 chapters. I haven’t tried nano before. This will be first time. I’m super excited.
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Good luck!! One thing I’ve found is if you keep the mindset of just meeting the minimum, there’s not as much pressure!! I look forward to following your progress!
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