hello, friend

A bit of news

Hello, dear friend! It’s been a while.

You’ll forgive my lack of missives—time continues to get away from me. It’s impossible to believe it’s been nearly nine months since my last newsletter, which means its been nearly nine whole months since Two Twisted Crowns was released. Utter witchcraft.

I don’t have earth-shattering news to share. Today’s missive amounts to a gentle seismic roll. A middling belch of information, if you will. I’ll cover:

• The Knight and the Moth cover news+ writing process

• Barnes & Noble’s special editions of The Shepherd King Duology (plus a tiny peak of the extra scenes I wrote for them!!)

• The melodramatics of staring down the barrel of a hot, sunny, summer.

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The Knight and the Moth

COVER NEWS

• I’ve seen The Knight and the Moth’s cover and am utterly blown away! Truly, my jaw fell. It’s designed by Lisa Pompilio, the same designer who did One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns, whose work I love and respect so much. I haven’t been told yet when I can share said cover, or when Knight will be up for preorder, but rest assured I will be sending a special missive with info on both the moment I can!

Writing Process

A piece I drew while drafting, featuring our main characters Rory, Sybil, and the gargoyle :)

Knight is officially in copyedits! To those unfamiliar with the pre-publication process, it consists of 4 major parts:

1. Drafting the book. For me, this is a messy process. I throw everything I have—every idea, every theme, every *vibe* I can into a draft. And, to my chagrin, when you have everything, you also have nothing. You can’t have distinctly atmospheric writing if every scene luxuriates in its environment. You can’t have a hard magic system with soft rules, and you can’t have stand-out banter if the characters are always bickering. There tends to be an abundance of information in my 1st drafts, and, in tandem, a lack of clarity. Which brings us to part 2 of the process…

2. Developmental edits. This is when my glorious editor gets her hands (and scalpel) on my work and dissects it. I also sent Knight to my agent to do the same. I used to fear this part of the process, afraid that, in discovering the flaws in my plot, that my agent/editor would find my skill wanting. This is NOT the case, merely baby author Rachel projecting her imposter syndrome and perfectionism onto others. But I have grown so much as a writer by the small but poignant act of not taking feedback personally. I deeply trust my agent and editor, and know their notes are nothing but beneficial to me and my work. That being said…this is the most stressful part of the process for me, because I am often working on tight deadlines. There is much to do, and little time to do it, and that always leaves me frantic.

3. Copyedits. *cue happy dance.* Getting to copyedits means my editor has accepted all my changes, and now we get to move on to line-level work. Working on a book’s syntax versus its overarching story itches a different part of my brain, and I enjoy the change. There is still work to do—I’m dyslexic, and my books are usually full of typos and missing/out-of-order words—but I enjoy the challenge.

4. Pass pages. This is when the book is fully formatted to look the way it will once printed! I get a PDF, and read over the book for any last (small) changes. It’s always so exciting to see a book’s format, I love this part, and I CAN’T WAIT to see what Knight will look like once formatted.

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The Shepherd King Special Editions: Barnes&Noble

If you follow me on social media, you’ve heard me babble about these beauties. If not—happy news! Barnes&Noble are making their own special edition hardcovers of The Shepherd King Duology, coming October 29, 2024 and available now for preorder!

They include:

• foil treatment

• designed endpapers with patterns from the front cover and edges,

• stenciled edges with a two-color design and a foil stamp on the HC case.

• 1 verrrry special bonus chapter per book!

  • Here’s a hint of Ravyn’s POV bonus chapter in One Dark Window…

    

  • And here’s a hint of Two Twisted Crowns’ bonus chapter! I think you’ll love this one, especially those of you who craved more love between Ravyn and Elspeth at the end of the novel ;)

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Wally, Me, and Trips to the Sea (Summertime Sadness)

Wally and I went to visit my parents the other day. I slithered into their kitchen and sat upon a stool and listened to my dad talk about what he’s been doing. We laughed and complained and talked about how our dogs are aging and Wally’s good teeth. But then he told me how the warmer weather agrees with him, and how content he is in summer, and quite frankly that made me a little sick. Because summer is here, and while I don’t have many (unvanquished) enemies, the hot season is my greatest adversary. She kills me every. single. year.

Maybe its the oppressive light. Or the heat. Or the way everything in California goes from green to brown. Either way, the skin suit I’m living in, my tired gray brain—we can’t handle it. I fall quickly into melancholy.

I know. Whining about summer. It’s a lazy complaint. But please, let me have my distaste. Let me despise summer so well that when autumn comes, with its low light and thick clouds and glorious rain, the world feels full of beauty and promise again.

**Please disregard if you are a summer lover. You are stronger than me, and I wish you all the happiness from the shade of my ridiculously large hat.

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Let me tell you what I’m ACTUALLY doing to cheer myself during the sunny months. Wally and I have been going to the sea like a couple of Victorian ladies! Everything feels a little less maddening when there’s a coastal breeze.

I’m also focusing on atmospheric books and media (which I do year round but I become suddenly conscious of it in summer) to trick myself into thinking it isn’t 100 degrees outside. Right now I’m:

• Reading: I just finished Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid and loved it. I adore everything Ava writes, and her books always deliver such vivid gloomy atmosphere. Absolutely recommend (when it comes out!) My next read (beyond blurb books) is The Secret History by Donna Tartt, because I can no longer live with the shame of never having read it.

• Listening to: The Maidens by Alex Michaelides on audiobook.

• Watching: I finished Bridgerton season 3, and wasn’t sure what to do with myself afterward, but then I arrived late to the party that is Only Murders in the Building and love love love it! It’s the most fun I’ve had with TV in an age and is sure to be a new comfort show.

• Working on: Copyedits for Knight, and slowly beginning to play with draft 1 of Knight 2!

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My, my, that was a longer missive than I intended; how lovely to catch up! As always, thank you so much for being here, let’s hope it’s not another nine months before we chat again!

All my best,

Rachel