The Hollow Marionette
The Hollow Marionette
An upcoming epic fantasy novel!
Magic. Artists harness the ability to wield fluorescent light with their fingertips. Bound by an oath to protect.
Tu 'Krau. Invincible, mythological beasts destroy Ava's home, slaughter people by the thousands, and steal her brother.
Prophecy. Warring Divine forces toy with Ava's life, molding her to suit their purposes.
But Ava is stronger than she seems, and has more agency than the Divine know. She won't go down without a fight.
12/2/2024
First positive response from an agent received! A partial request, but I am still excited. I just have to find the right agent that believes in my story as much as I do.
I did end up rewriting my query letter and beginning of my book. I felt like I needed a better hook than my original prologue provided. Instead of having the POV being Oleander from years ago, I rewrote the beginning sequence from Ava's POV, as a flashback. Also trimmed it down substantially.
I have already started writing my next fantasy novel, tentatively titled The Lost Relic. Hoping to make this one a bit more fantastical!
7/14/2024
Sorry, its been a while since I last gave an update. But I'm happy to say that I've been hard at work!
Third, and final draft before querying, is completed! I've been living, breathing, and sleeping this book for the past couple weeks, pushing to complete it. The total comes in at 410 pages, and 113k words, which is right around where I envisioned it. Perhaps even better considering my first draft was 123k words.
There's a ton of emotions running through me at the moment. I'm proud that I finished a novel. Two years, three drafts. So many edits. So many things learned. I'm excited to start querying, even with how daunting the task seems. And ... I'm a little sad. I've spent the last two years with these characters. Almost every day. I'm sad that I'm going to be taking a break from them.
(maybe I'll return later for a sequel :) )
Off to querying!!
2/5/2024
Progress has slowed a little, as Ember (our puppy) decided to start waking us up at 4 AM. Every. Single. Morning. Despite me being a morning person, even 4 AM is a bit too early for my brain to function.
I am proud to announce that I am now on page 80 of my third draft of The Hollow Marionette. Getting back into Ava for chapter 8. Really looking forward to rewriting this chapter, the fight scene especially. 80 pages puts me about 20% through editing this draft, which overall, has been good progress so far. Hoping to finish this rewrite in the next couple of months.
The plan after this draft is finished ... is querying! I'm excited, and a little terrified at the same time to put my book out there. I'm open to self publishing, but wanted to take a crack at traditional first.
Also, can't wait for the 2024 Michigan Writing Workshop!