New book

Today, although summer’s around the corner, I’ve been swept away by the autumn spirit . . . partly because of the gloriously dreary weather we’ve been having here in Amarillo lately (overcast and rainy days are a rare occurrence indeed!), but much more because I FINALLY FINISHED WRITING MY WiP, MYSTIQUIEL, a young adult urban fantasy set during the Halloween season! 🎃👻

Fun facts:

• This is book one of a duology. The working title is “Mystiquiel: Of Rust and Ruin”

• Premise: On Halloween night, seventeen-year-old Phoenix Loring, an amateur graphic novelist still grieving the death of her sister, steps from modern-day Astoria, Oregon into a portal—leading to a dark fairyland that appears to be born of her own imagination—where she must face a mercurial goblin king’s maze to rescue the people she loves. 😈👑

• The portal world is described by Nix herself as “an industrial-faerie dreamscape” and the goblins and faeries as “part magic, part lore, and part mechanism.” Think: Goblin Market meets Labyrinth with cyberpunk/horror elements.

• Why did I choose Astoria for my MC’s hometown? For one, The Goonies movie was filmed in the port city; there’s also a trolley tour, shops and art galleries, brewpubs, and misty mountains, beaches, and forests galore. This all adds up to a beautiful, unique, and gloomy atmosphere—the perfect parallel to my Goblin King’s domain.

Manuscript writing stats—Started writing the book proposal (first 100 pages and a 7-page synopsis) in late fall 2019; sent proposal out to publishers in June 2020; sold the book on proposal July 2020; completed MS May 2021; Final word count: 105,505 (approx. 420+ pages).

I’ll be posting insights into the story, setting, characters, and creatures over the next few months. Until then, I’m going to catch up on some pleasure reading in hopes to make a dent in my TBR tower. 😊