Are they even related? Well…let’s say I managed to finally review, rewrite and self-edit my book while recuperating from a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy performed ten days ago because my tonsils were simply making my life hell for the past few years.
So in between takes of Tylenol extra-strength (I refused to get narcotic pain medication – I read it wouldn’t have done much anyway), I sat on the couch and re-read 32 Seconds for the x million time, and finally decided the WIP was at a stage where the editor could come in and give me his input. Writing this book has been excruciating, probably not as much as the pain I went through with recovery from surgery, but enough mental struggle to make me doubt about my writing more than once. And more than once, I told myself I had to finish this story. No matter how many times I replotted the whole thing, the book had to come out.
And it will come out. I’m confident I’ll be able to release it at the end of this summer, just in time to promote it during the fall and winter holidays, and then, I’m back on the saddle with Book 1 of the Manicheans Trilogy.
Every challenge brings its load of questions and answers. Working on 32 Seconds was difficult because 1) I wrote in the first person, 2) my main character was a teenager, and 3) I mixed fantastical elements with reality, and this was tricky, of course. Keeping track of the rules of one world versus another world, while preserving the integrity of each character and making them come to life in a realistic fashion was extremely challenging, but I didn’t give up. Now let’s wait for the editor’s feedback, and maybe I’ll change my opinion completely about this book and think it’s crap after all. But I doubt it. Not this time.
So here I am. One project almost completed, another project awaiting my efforts. I started working on 32 Seconds about two years ago, the Manicheans, three years ago. All these stories have been maturing in my writing cave, and I cannot wait to tackle the Manicheans and release Volume 1 in 2015. That epic tale promises to knock my (and your) socks off.
32 Seconds
At seventeen years old, Julie Jones is one tormented teenager for whom the glam and glitz of Los Angeles don’t mean much anymore. Born troublemaker, she seeks to forget about the demons of her past by leaving her family and friends behind. Her journey to a fresh start takes her to the outskirts of a small town where an old lady lures her outside a one-dollar store, and gives her an enchanted chocolate.
After eating the magic piece of candy, Julie enters a parallel universe called the Underworld, where she meets her handsome guide, Evan. Despite her constant struggle to grasp the severity about her past deeds, and the main reason behind her ill-being, Julie keeps moving on through obstacles and challenges as Evan feeds her answers to many of her questions.
Why does Julie feel like she doesn’t belong anywhere? Why does her anger control every one of her actions? Why does she keep having visions about her best friend Kara, whom she hasn’t been in touch with for the past two years?
It only takes thirty-two seconds to surrender. Deep down, Julie knows she won’t find peace of mind until she accepts the truth about her anger. And why Kara keeps coming back.
The Manicheans 