I announced last year that I’m officially back at work on A Curse of Venom & Scales (the story that has been a literal curse in my life). Since then, many of you have reached out to learn more about this book.

Friends, it has been a journey. If I’m honest, I’ve never been more ready to see the backside of a project. Ride off into the sunset already, ACOVAS! Please.

The good news is I’m still working on this book. The bad news is I’m still working on this book.

It just isn’t going as swiftly as I’d hoped.

As someone who has written a fair few books in 2 months and under, this process has been a nightmare. I started writing ACOVAS in February 2020, right before the madness struck. And let me tell you, going from 2 months to FOUR YEARS isn’t good for morale. Worse, I’m still nowhere near done. My cousin and alpha genius, Shants, recently commented she’d be surprised if this thing was done in six years.

Please, no.

Unfortunately, a few more issues have popped up, and I’ve struggled to find a feasible rhythm with the writing. Still, I’m soldiering on.

I’ve started Chapter 30, and I’m at just over 90k words. My current estimates are that this book will clock in around 160k words, which means I’ve breached the halfway mark.

I don’t feel too stressed about the word count at the moment. Fantasy books tend to get longer as any series progresses, and as a reader, I don’t mind spending extra time with my favourite characters. I also trust the guidance of my editor. If she says it’s too long, I’ll find a way to cut scenes.

I’ve also made major changes to the story plan (and I mean MAJOR). The plot hole that derailed everything carries its share of the blame, for sure, but I cut some characters and switched around the order of events for Books 3 and 4.

Now that the order switched, some of the cast included in earlier drafts of this book have fallen away. And that, folks, has been a game changer. Suddenly, I have more time to develop the story arcs integral to this book, and I don’t have to worry about the rest beyond foreshadowing. The overall plot is less convoluted, I have a smaller cast, and I find it easier to keep track of everything that must be mentioned, handled, and written in this book.

Because let’s be honest. Since everything I write tends to have strong flavours of political intrigue, the plots are pretty complex.

During this rewrite, I’ve also discovered things about certain characters that I never realised before. An opportunity popped up that smooths so many plot issues in future books, I simply had to roll with it. Though, in the words of Hiccup Haddock, ‘This changes everything.’ (My kid will be so proud of that plug.)

So, the bottom line is I’m still working. For my sanity’s sake, I desperately hope to have a complete manuscript soon, and the next update post will be to tell you the project is with the editor.

Meanwhile, I’d be so grateful if you checked out the rest of the series.

Until next time.

Yolandie