JUNE 2, 2024
As I’ve always enjoyed reading and listening to other authors share updates about their writing lives, I thought I would do the same here on my blog! Each Sunday, I’ll give a quick progress report on my current projects, share my “sword” (career challenges and what I’m fighting for) and “shield” (self-care, personal life, and what I’m protecting), and look ahead to next week’s goals.
Let’s get started!
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
This past week, I had two big projects on my plate:
- The short story Raided Fate which is exclusive to my Ravens’ Nest subscription on Ream
- My upcoming new serial Mythic Hearts Saga, which I’m currently obsessed with
As usual, I had a lot of fun writing Mythic Hearts Saga. I started daydreaming about the story months ago but kept it on the backburner. Then, in April, I started plotting it in earnest. But something wasn’t clicking—too much blood, not enough heart? It was an action-packed story, because I typically write about shieldmaidens and their epic battles. But this story is different. It’s inspired by my love of small town romance and intrigue, like Virgin River. My first tagline—that first inkling of an idea way back when—was, “What if the Gilmore girls were medieval monster hunters?” The problem was that I was focusing too much on the tough second half of that idea and missing the cozy vibe of the first half!
In May, I attended the Subscriptions for Authors Summit in Boston. It was my first writing conference and SO rewarding to meet other authors! (Yes, even my introverted, socially awkward heart loved it.) On the last day of the conference, I skipped the group lunch and went to a cafe by myself, where I worked with ChatGPT to brainstorm a whole new version of the story from scratch.
That’s when everything clicked. I felt so inspired from the conference, and my mind was free to explore new ideas.
I realized it’s not about monster hunting—it’s about a small Viking village brimming with mythical secrets. Where the magic of the Norse gods is coming alive again. And it lives within our heroine… but she can never know that.
The story is full of hidden motives, secrets, and mysteries. There is also action and romance, but the heart of the story is the character conflict and the mysteries readers will unravel right along with those characters.
The world just feels like home to me, and I hope readers love it as much as I do!
SWORD & SHIELD
SWORD: Career challenges and what I’m fighting for.
Because I was obsessed with Mythic Hearts, it was a little harder for me to return to my short story Raided Fate. I actually finished writing it the previous weekend, but instead of editing it right away, I set it aside for a whole week to shift focus to Mythic Hearts.
So I did what I always do when I’m lacking motivation: I blasted a release date on Ream and social media so I HAD to commit to the schedule. Responsibility is my #4 Clifton Strength, so making promises and setting deadlines really helps me get things done. I’m not saying it always works. My one and only Kickstarter so far was evidence of that, because for some reason I promised a published book the same month I was having a baby. (Don’t do that, people!) But in general, it gives me a push. It helped me get Swords in the Snow out the door before Christmas last year, and it helped me publish Raided Fate this week.
So when exactly did I return to it for edits? Literally the morning of. Like, I promised the story on Thursday, and so Thursday morning I woke up at 5am and spent two hours editing it.
I’m not saying the promising process is pretty, but it works, okay?! And I have to say, reading the story back to myself, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it, as I often am when I finally get back into a project I’ve been avoiding. Funny how that works!
SHIELD: Self-care, personal life, and what I’m protecting.
Last weekend was Memorial Day, so I spent lots of time with my family. It was refreshing to take a break from writing. Mythic Hearts was still playing like a movie in my mind half the time, but I was able to slow down and savor special moments with my husband and 15-month-old son. I’m trying to do more of that in general. Quality time with loved ones is the most important thing to me, so I need to act like it by protecting that time even from my own creative brain!
GOALS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
This week’s focus is a mystery giveaway I’m running on my Instagram. I’m excited about it and hope it generates a bit of buzz about Mythic Hearts Saga! The way it works is, participants will see clues about my heroine Freyda’s story in my Instagram posts all week (three in total). They can leave their thoughts and theories in the comments for a chance to win a free month on Ream, early access to the story, and a digital bookmark commemorating that they are the “First Reader in Midgard.” It should be a lot of fun, so I hope people join in!
I have already prepped the Instagram posts, plus updates to my newsletter, Facebook, and Ream so people know it’s going on. It was quite a lot to manage and took me most of Saturday morning to put together! Now, I just need to remember to actually post each day this week on IG, plus alert the winner on Saturday and make sure their digital goodies are ready to go the following weekend. Lots of alerts in my calendar to keep track of it all!
Other than that, I’ll continue writing Mythic Hearts. I’m on Chapter 15, and the first season should have around 20 chapters in total—so there is a chance I will finish season one this week, but I’m not setting that as a specific goal since I’m already way ahead with my writing there!
That’s it for this week. Until next time, skol!
Ashley