The excitement of publishing my latest book has come and nearly gone. With just a couple of items left to tick off on my to do list, I’m ready to close out NightWind and move on to the next thing. But, what’s next for me?

As you may have heard or read, I am not planning to start the writing portion of a new project for some time. I’m in the final stages of planning my wedding (coming up in November) and then a much-needed vacation to follow. With all of the details and errands to run, there just isn’t really time left for me to dedicate to writing. Plus, I’m feeling a little burned out. But, that doesn’t mean I won’t be prepping for my next project or that I won’t have updates or nuggets of “wisdom” to share with you here along the way.

So, what will I be doing between now and January? I’ll be researching, character building and plotting.

And what will I be working on? My beloved Sappho novel! Finally!

Since college I have wanted to write a story about Sappho and I have started and stopped this project more than once over the years. But right now, I’m in a place of confidence. I feel like I have a good grasp on story telling and how to tell a big story in the form of a novel. With three completed projects under my belt, I think it’s time.

It has been several years since I read the 32+ books for research in anticipation of this very project, so a lot of that knowledge has been lost. I’ve been starting that process over again, starting slowly with podcasts and re-grounding myself in the period. I have a minor in classical literature, but I graduated college 13 years ago. There’s a lot of ground to recover. So, that’s where I am for now.

Sappho is a tough subject because we know so little about her life. Instead, we can speculate at worst. At best, we can make educated guesses. Despite this, people have very strong opinions about what her life was like and whether she had intimate relationship with other women or not and how she lived and died. It’s kind of a minefield and I’m entering somewhat dangerous territory by taking on this topic.

Honestly, all I want to do is write a compelling story with beautiful language that reflects the beautiful language that we have left from this almost mystical figure. Onward!

 

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