Thank Yous and What's Next

Last week was the last chapter for Estancia Aldea Norteña. I had promised to post a writing update for readers on what might be next but this post got delayed until today.

First, a shout out to some of the many faithful readers who not only read a whole novel based on Northanger Abbey and set in Argentina (a tall order in fandom), but were kind enough to encourage me along the way.

• AnKa was one of the earliest commenters here on the blog and not only grave great feedback, but inspired a short story that would otherwise never have been written with these characters.
• NN Schneider not only gave a guest interview to kick this series off but also faithfully commented on AO3 and Dwiggie.
• Speaking of AO3, special mention goes to Sonetka, erinamelena, and mythologicalmango for steadily providing reactions for the final twists and turns of the narrative, sometimes just to let me know how much they were enjoying things.

Amid all this feedback I received some persistent requests, starting with my first beta reader over two years ago: what happens next for these characters? Good question! Writing two additional short stories during the release schedule got me thinking about other potential ones. I would like to write another book with them too, but such will have to wait until I can develop a sustainable plot and devote sufficient time to writing it. For now, I have one specific story concept already in the works that might get released later this summer. Stay tuned!

One reason I don't want to dive straight back into this setting is the many other writing projects I want to complete. I still plan to release Gentlemen of Gloucestershire as an eBook some time this year, once my editor and I can finish revising. I've been amazed by the success of my first publishing experiment, with Trifles Light as Air now at five sales and available in select libraries for borrowing. Given the interest that's out there, and the original fiction I hope to some day publish, I've decided to start my own imprint. I'll post more information about that plan once I've had time to get everything in order: expect an announcement here on the blog before summer's out.

Postings here on the blog will continue with more 3 Sentence Ficathon entries for the time being; with my novel over, I'm upping that series schedule to twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday. I have enough shorts prewritten to get me through the middle of June, including a set of four that loosely tell the story of Northanger Abbey in contemporary northern California featuring Henry as a park ranger.

I'm also in the middle of writing a play for a competition presented by Fellowship for Performing Arts. I've been fortunate enough to attend four of their plays in person; it would be amazing to work with them as both a writer and a thespian. However, regardless of the results of the competition, I'm really excited by this story and its potential. Expect more updates as things progress.

Until I finish the play all other long-form writing is out; however, I have plenty of fan fiction I've started outlining and writing! These include:

• Pride & Prejudice genderswap, with James Bennett the heir to Longbourn courting the visiting Miss Bingley;
• Persuasion tale set just after World War II and partly inspired by 1940's criminal John George Haigh (aka the Acid Bath murderer);
• Northanger Abbey AUs in a magical Regency, 18th century Vienna, and 1500s Japan;
• Sherlock Holmes casefic set in contemporary NC (I've posted some character beats but would like to write a full mystery);

I'd also like to get more interactive with readers and offer some opportunities for story requests. If you're interested in any of the above ideas, or want something totally different, let me know!

While writing that above (and not at all exhaustive) list was daunting, I take comfort in the fact that I now have three different books out. Just three years ago I didn't think I would ever get even one finished. So it's both humbling and exhilarating to realize that these successes may just be the start of more. Whatever happens, I look forward to sharing it all here with you.