Now that Shards of Faith is done and published (yay!) I can get down to some series spring cleaning while I gather ideas together for the next book. What does that mean exactly?

Well, for starters I am re-editing Journey to Aviad, because it has needed that for a long time. In working on that project, I can really see how much Elowyn has grown, and how I’ve grown with her. You can read more about that in my most recent newsletter, which incidentally is a great place to find lots of free books. So if you’re not subscribed yet, check it out.

Series spring cleaning doesn’t stop there.

Did you know I’ve already created a large timeline that details all the major events in my world’s history, starting right from the Creation story? Now I need a new one that contains all the more current events in my books, from the new novella (which takes place in the past), all the way through Visions of Light and Shadow. Instead of showing events by the year, it will zoom much closer in to view things down to the hour, or even minute if I want it to.

I’m using a program called AEON Timeline, and it’s the best way for me to keep the details straight, because at this point there’s an awful lot of information for me to just remember in my head! Once this monumental task is done, I’ll be able to see how old each character is and where they are located at any given point. I will be able to identify and group story arcs, and visually see where subplots overlap and connect with each other.

As you can see from the image above, I’ve started this new timeline already, but completing it is going to take a while. It will be so worth it though! It’s already fun to see how things intertwine, particularly with Journey to Aviad and Into the Shadow Wood, which take place in the same time period.

While I’m doing this, I’ll also be taking  LOTS of notes–looking for plot threads I’ve started but not tied off yet, and getting ideas together for new short stories, novellas, and of course series books. All of this is gearing me up for another Camp NaNoWriMo session in April. As you can see, a writer’s work is never done. I’ve got even more on my plate now than I did while I was working on Shards of Faith.

I do have to take breaks every now and then so my head doesn’t explode. When I can’t stare at my computer screen anymore, I’m getting a bit of quilting done. But I’ll save that for another post.