Category Archives: Kathleen Oudit
I only realized I hadn’t actually shown the cover of the new novel, Cast in Atonement, when I tried to find the post in which I’d done it T_T. It’s really been that kind of month here at Michelle central. On the bright side: I’ve been getting writing done. But, first things first: Cast cover: Cover designer: the inimitable Kathleen Oudit. Artist: the wonder Shane Rebenschied. This is the full cover as it appears on the book. You’ll note – or maybe you won’t – the new Mira icon at the bottom of the spine. I like it, but I would: it’s books :D. Because I’m so late, I also have a preview chapter of the book. It’s possible that Mira will post a larger sample online, but, well. Chapter is on the … Continue reading →
January was the month of reviewing copy-edits for Cast in Atonement, while writing the Sagara book that is not yet titled — Magic School 2. Copy-edits are gone, and until page proofs arrive, only writing remains. The West novel in progress is The Wild Road. I have broken 100k words, and I am hoping that the book will be 250k words long. Or less. To be fair, I was also hoping Hunter’s Redoubt would be 250k words long. Which it wasn’t. The only West novel that has stayed on the right side of 200k words was City of Night. Which came in at 176k words. I honestly do not write long books on purpose, but… I write them to reach the end. Sometimes the end is farther away than I thought. … Continue reading →
This is a little bit late in the day, and I apologize for that, but: it’s November 28th, 2023, and that is publication day for Shards of Glass. For some reason – not, clearly, one set in consensual reality – I thought today was the 27th. So tomorrow would be the 28th. …and books are released on Tuesdays, which this is >.<. Shards of Glass is the first book set in the Academia that the former Arkon claimed as his hoard. New faces and old occupy the Academia, but the Academia is older – by far – than the fledgling Empire in which Elantra is set. Robin, kidnapped from the streets of the poorest of neighborhoods in Elantra, was an involuntary student, but he learned to love the learning elements of his captivity. And the food … Continue reading →
This book had a bit of journey. I’d written 200k words. I’d cut 110k of those words, but still believed I had 90k words. This is not what happened. What happened in the end was I had 0k of the original words I’d written — and 303k of the new words I’d started once I’d typed “the end” (which is figurative as I don’t think I’ve ever typed that unless instructed to do so). It is the longest first book in an arc I’ve ever written. Which was not my intent. But. Michelle. Story length. It is the story of my writing life >.< Jody Lee did the cover art, and Kathleen Oudit, the cover design across all four formats. This is the front cover and the … Continue reading →
I have the full cover for the new novel, Shards of Glass. I assume most people see the front cover at various retailers, so, as usual, post the cover when I have the full version. The cover design was done by Kathleen Oudit, who I adore. I’ve stopped calling this the Magic School book because it turned left almost immediately. I don’t usually have to start the CAST novels multiple times; I sit down, I start. Maybe I’ll start a second time if the first attempt doesn’t hit the right tone, but the CAST novels have a tone. This book had to be started many times, and the eventual beginning of the book was not the one I’d envisioned on any of the prior attempts. It’s not necessary … Continue reading →
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