Reading over my old posts, I feel like an archaeologist delving into ancient history. In the last two years, so much has happened and so much has changed.
For now, I’ll only talk about what’s happened in my writing. I’m glad that She Made a Monster is still out there, still selling best around Halloween. And it’s been translated into Korean, Italian, and Russian, with a German edition forthcoming. But it’s been so long since I was in a classroom reading it out loud!
During the pandemic, my main focus was (or has been? Are we still in it?) on my dystopic sci-fi novel for teens, AGELESS. Having something to fill my imagination during tough times was priceless. I wrote and revised over and over, putting things in and throwing things out, submitting pages to my patient critique partners, rejecting their advice and then realizing they were right. So, more rewriting, more molding and shaping and smoothing.
Until I felt it was ready. My agent for She Made a Monster had ultimately decided this project was not for her, so I had to face the agent search again. It didn’t go well. I hired a developmental editor and made more changes based on his feedback. The book improved, a lot. The agents stayed away in droves.
I am not a stranger to this process, and maybe another time I’ll write about the difference between two experiences, twenty years apart, of a futile chase after traditional publication. But for now I’ll just say: Ageless will be coming out towards the end of June. I’m excited to be publishing it myself, with complete control over the timeline, the content, and what I want to write next. (Because that three-book deal would have been such a burden!)
I’m not expecting to sell a lot or be “discovered.” Like so many self-published authors, I just want people to read my book. I want my friends and family to know what I’ve been working on for the past three years.
I hope they’ll think it’s worth it. It was definitely worth it for me. I enjoyed writing the book, and I want people to enjoy reading it. So watch out, world, here it comes!
A story about furry bioengineered creatures turning into humans.
What’s not to like?
Lynn Fulton 