Ask any writer what their biggest distraction from writing is, and after “TV” and “napping” will inevitably come the same answer: the bright, shiny object of a new idea.
People often ask writers, “where do you get your ideas?” The thing is, though, most of us rarely even have to think about where our ideas come from: the actual issue is sorting through the mountains of them to pick out the good from the boring, and then to stick with one of them and see it through.
Especially that last part.
There’s nothing like plowing away on an idea you truly believe in and want to see finished and published, only to have a glimmer in the corner of your eye say “psst! Look over here!” Ignoring those nudges from “shiny object” ideas (or at least figuring out a workable system for putting them into a notes file fast and refocusing on the project at hand) is a big part of an author’s job.
But every now and then, we give in. And sometimes, that weakness pays off.
Exactly one year ago, I heard the siren song of a shiny object. (Yikes! Got any more metaphors for that mix??) I had more series, books, and stories planned out for Barrow City world than I was likely to ever finish, and I was perfectly happy with that. I loved my world, loved that everything in it was connected, that I knew how everything worked, all the back stories, the history, etc.
But then this other idea came calling: The Nexus. A whole new city, a whole new series, a whole new world to write in, and I fell right down that rabbit hole. I still love Barrow City, I do, and I still plan to write all those many, many novels, novellas, and stories, but there’s been something so exciting about creating a whole new world. My werewolves operate under completely different rules. Magick works differently. And vampires? There aren’t even vampires in Arcanum. (For now, anyway…)
My point is, this has been one of the most enjoyable years of writing I’ve ever had. In one year, I’ve gone from a glimmer of an idea to eight finished novellas and a ninth more than halfway done. The first two books are slated for release on June 14th (happy birthday to me!) and July 5th, with the rest of the series coming out on the first Friday of every other month after that, with the ninth, and final, book in this first set due on September 5th 2025. It’s gone so fast, and I’ve loved every minute of it.
I really love this new series, and I hope you will too! I hope you’ll agree it was a worthwhile distraction from Barrow City!
And don’t worry, I’ve already got the next BC projects lined up and ready to be resumed. I’m working on a major late-draft revision pass on the second Olive Tree Academy book, Between the Worlds, and intend to have that out in the first half of 2025. I’ll also soon be resuming work on writing a new BC series, structured like The Nexus, called Widdershins. I’m hoping to see that one premiere sometime in 2026.
If I can just avoid any more sparkles in my peripheral vision for a while, I’ll be keeping you entertained in both Barrow City and Arcanum for a nice, long while to come!!
Thanks for stopping by!
