My first book published under my real name (or close to it) is Wolves of Harmony Heights, which I have to admit is something of a “vanity” project.
It all started back in late 2014 when I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month. At that point, I had already written several original novels and over 1 million words of fanfiction, so cranking out 50k words over the course of November was not much of a threat. What made the commitment different from things I had done in the past was that I was going to write something in a genre I love, paranormal romance, and do so “openly” under my real name.
For those who have no fear, that’s not a big deal. For me, though, it represented a significant mental shift from writing under secret names, as is done in fanfiction. It was the idea of opening myself, my “real me” and not an avatar, up to criticism and mockery that had me quaking in fear. Experience has taught me that the best way to conquer a fear is by working through it, not around it, and with that in mind, I announced to all my friends in RL and online that I was writing a cheesy, genre, paranormal polyamorous romance novel. I figured 50k words would make or break my fears about doing it, and dived in on Nov. 1, 2014, with a rough outline and some characters in mind.
NaNoWriMo came…and went…and I was still writing. I hit 50k words in late November, 70k by the end of the year. I kept going.
Why? Well, bad planning is part of it, in that while I knew the pieces of the puzzle, I had not allowed for 3 different POVs, world building, backstory, and character development.
For one thing, I was still in “fanfic” headspace, which meant that I was not accounting for the fact that readers would NOT be starting the story with all the world building and backstory done for me. Lamentation Hart, one of the antagonists of the story and our heroine’s own father, was not a stock villain played by a character actor who appeared last season. He was a blank slate that I had to weave into the other characters’ lives in a believable way. And so it went, with all the characters in the book. For instance, why is the daughter of the wealthy town patriarch working at a low-rent gas station? Why doesn’t she and her son live with her father in his manor? Where is her son’s father, and what kind of relationship do they have with him? What is the lore for the werewolves? How do three very different people fall in love with each other and make it work? etc.
Secondly, when I was nearing the 100k mark and panicking about how long it was getting, I decided, fuck it. I would write the book I wanted to write and screw the word count. This was never meant to be written to market; I never expected to do more than finish it; it was never designed to be a money maker. I dove back in and tore it apart and put it back together the way I wanted it. I rewrote a couple of major scenes a few times, over the course of the year.
Anyway, 2015 came and went and WoHH was mostly done. Then I…I had issues. 2015 was a tough year for me at work, and there were some personal stresses in play, and the result is that 2016 became a “year of recovery/regeneration.” It was laborious and required that I focus entirely on working through several of my issues, but by the end of 2016 I was sailing calmer oceans, I had adopted Keely (oh my heart!) and was in a mental headspace to focus on my writing. I pulled out the draft of WoHH I had let languish for over nine months and got to work.
Finished up, it’s at 200k words! It’s a hell of a book, and I love it, and will always love it even if I’m the only one who ever does. At this point, I sure hope some people buy it and enjoy it, but I do not consider it the cornerstone of my career as an author.
It’s more of an introduction.
Next blog post: the inspiration for Wolves of Harmony Heights! Personally, I think it’s pretty obvious.
