WRITING UPDATE
Hello!
To be honest, I hoped by now I’d have a new book to announce for you, but life just hasn’t worked out that way.
The plot and storyline for Misinformation is fully composed, including all the twists and turns and secret reveals and I’m really so freaking excited for you to see them. The only thing I don’t have is the words that make up the story and that’s because life got crazy and unusually busy all of a sudden.
Here’s why…
First, we had a big move. We thought this move would have it’s challenges, but be easier overall than previous moves (#militarylife) because we got movers instead of doing it ourselves. Turns out that made the process significantly more difficult, stressful, and hard to undo. I’m still trying to put the house back in order. It’s not fine.
Second, my day-job changed to one requiring a bunch more hours. Originally not supposed to, but once they get you, they suck you in like the least sexy kind of vampire. Actually, recovering from this job at our last duty station is sort of how Misdirection came to be. It literally sucked the life out of me (and led to a new diagnosis, ay-yo!), and when I switched positions, Misdirection became my outlet to rise from the ashes. With the move, I had to switch back to the previous title and my spunk and life and energy were slowly drained away. I recently was able to move into a position more similar to the one I left and the improvements are already coming in swift. Like 10K words in a week swift.
Third, I have to finish my degree program. I was one internship away from completion, but just hadn’t found one. Well, I finally did, but it’s a 135-hour commitment on top of all the other things. With the job switch, I’m now not dying, but it’s still a lot. Fortunately, this phase will be over at the end of June so I’ll have more time again!
So what’s to come…
I’m about 25K words into my 100K word goal for Misinformation. The plot is totally conceived, so in terms of timing, I could have it done by the end of the month or it may take until the end of the summer. The first draft of Misdirection was 80K words and I completed it in 10 days, so really, once I catch a flow, it comes quick! I just need the time and energy to catch the flow for Luke & Chloe’s story.
I’m so excited for you to meet Chloe and get to know Luke better. In the spirit of keeping you excited, I’ll share that Misinformation will have a lot more angst than Misdirection. These two have a lot to work on to save their relationship and it’s going to take some scary circumstances to help them see eye-to-eye. We’ll also get more of Theo & Madi, and a major secret in their relationship will serve as a learning point for Luke & Chloe.
Okay…
That’s enough teasers. Time to get back to work. If you want to follow along on the progress, follow on Instagram. I try to post regularly and include behind-the-scenes and teasers on stories!
If you’re interested in being a Beta reader, send me an email at authorjmleigh@gmail.com. I have a couple of spots for this book for anyone interested. Beta readers will read the story even before the ARC Team in exchange for providing feedback about the storyline and informal edits. More ARC Team spots will open up shortly before the book comes out, but stay tuned for updates on that!